Team Fortress 2 lives on!

It seems that Team Fortress 2, the multiplayer game Valve has been promising us since who-knows-when, is actually coming.

(Actually, we do know when. TF2 has been coming since the original was released back in '99).

Valve has announced that it is most definitely alive, and will ship with Half-Life 2 - Episode 2, which is due out just after Christmas.

The game has been substantially reconceived. When we last saw it, it was a straight upgrade of Team Fortress for Half-Life, which was a massively popular class-based game in the early days of online gaming, when Counter-Strike was still in beta. TF2 was designed to add voice support with cutting edge new technology (which is now positively run of the mill) and extra bits and bobs including tanks and other vehicles.

Arguably, TF2 was designed to be everything that BF2 is now.

The new TF2 has not-quite-cartoon graphics, in a sort of The Incredibles style. This should give it a substantially different feel to most other FPS games around. It will also sport a new player class, the Pyro, who sports a chunky flamethrower.

Other details are scarce, but hopefully the picture should whet your appetite. Give us your thoughts on TF2 over in the forums.