Team Fortress 2 gets $100 wedding rings
The Something Special for Someone Special item was in a secret update back in December, but you can now buy it. For a hundred dollars. “It’s ring-shaped, it’s gift-wrapped, it’s basically useless, and it’s really expensive,” say Valve. “In short, it’s the most accurate simulation of an actual Valentine’s Day gift ever made available to the public.”
Team Fortress 2′s Boston Boom-Bringer shake-shake-shakes the room
The Scout just got 15% more obnoxious with the addition of a great big ghetto blaster to Team Fortress 2. It’ll tease your enemies with a selection of sick beats during every taunt, upgrading the Scout from “unbearable” to “must be killed at any cost” in your enemies’ estimations.
It’s described as a “level 1-100 Futuristic Sound Device,” and will set you back a hefty £7/$10. A portion of that will go to a community member. The Boston Boom-Bringer is the latest item to be promoted from the Steam Workshop, which is still overflowing with nonsensical but brilliant items like an Anubis headdress for the Pyro, a Soldier plushie on a stick and this magnificent bug mask.
Team Fortress 2 top secret project to be revealed this year, Meet the Pyro on the way
A new post on the Team Fortress 2 blog sketches out Valve’s 2012 plans for the shooter, which include mention of not one, but two secret projects. We can so far confirm that the first will not be a hat, or a map, or as the blog post suggests, a freakish map-hat hybrid. The second will have something to do with this year’s Saxxy Awards, which rates the community’s best video replays.
TF2 crafting minigame teaches you recipes (and makes you want to play TF2)
Team Fortress 2′s loot drops crept in to my brain. At first, random items were enough. Then I had a stint of trading with friends. Then those friends became random internet men. Eventually I replaced “trade” with “buy” and “drops” with “purchases.” I started buying hats and name tags and paint and… DAMN you Valve and your clever ways, exploiting my weak brain and its desire for virtual loot.
As highlighted by Reddit, this fan-made game uses your Team Fortress 2 crafting knowledge for good. You’re tasked with creating rare stuff from an ever-expanding inventory. It’s both educational and fun.
Don’t know your Refined Metal from your Reclaimed Metal? Start here.
Team Fortress 2 video shows ten spectacular kills
Here are ten TF2 kill clips to make you go “whaaaat,” courtesy of CommFT. They’ve taken the best of all the kill replays submitted to the Extelevision site during December and ordered them according to their awesomeness. The list features some blinding kill streaks, a jammy but spectacular reflected grenade triple-kill, a remarkable string of headshots and a stunning three-rocket juggle kill. The list demonstrates how TF2′s calamitous physics can result in some baffling mid-air encounters. Only the very best players can exploit these to earn game-winning ubers and vital kills. It’s fantastic to watch.
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning demo now available
Looking for a big new fantasy RPG to play? Kingdoms of Amalur might just fit the bill. A new demo is now available on Steam, giving everyone a chance to dive in and fight the various things that live in artist Todd McFarlene’s head. There’s a “destiny” system that lets you switch between combat styles in the middle of a ruck, and there should be plenty of mad weapons to mess with. Completing the demo should unlock some bonus items for Mass Effect 3 as well.
The top 10 free PC games of 2011
With New Year celebrations just around the corner, it’s understandable that you might not have time to trawl through our weekly Best Free PC Games archive, analysing every write-up to construct your own top ten list. So, since we understand the importance of ranking free games in order of perceived quality, we’ve done it for you. Here are PC Gamer’s ten favourite freebies of 2011!
League of Legends – PC Gamer UK’s free game of the year
Do you remember the tail end of 2010? We all wore rags and lived in dirt-floored shacks, dinosaurs ruled the Earth, and ‘free to play’ was still a dirty set of words. 2011 saw those words climb into the word shower and wash themselves clean, courtesy of League of Legends.
Ladies, brace yourselves. Secret wedding ring item added to Team Fortress 2
A sly Team Fortress 2 update yesterday added a secret wedding ring as a craftable item. It’s called “Something Special for Someone Special” and is described as being a “level 100 ring.” The item wasn’t revealed in the patch notes. Players posted their discovery on the Team Fortress 2 wiki after digging through the file changes made by the update.
Team Fortress 2 Australian Christmas event adds new map, new items, doubles drop rate
The Team Fortress 2 Australian Christmas celebratory extravaganza is go! The free update adds a new control point map called Foundry which, according to the achievements list, will feature a big, deadly cauldron fire. Pyros and Engineers get new class packs and 50 items are 75% off in the Mann-Co store. The update is detailed on the Australian Christmas page on the Team Fortress 2 site. “But what about the new hats?” you’re perhaps asking, clawing at your unhatted head with eager fingers. Read on and all shall be revealed.
Team Fortress 2 gives Notch his own hat
When he’s not tweeting, Minecraft developer Markus “Notch” Persson loves to indulge in a little Team Fortress 2, according to his tumblr blog. He was recently invited to take part in the third TF2 Mixup, with famous Team Fortress 2 personalities such as Valve’s Robin Walker and YouTuber Freddie Wong blasting each other to bits.
Notch was enjoying the game, earning the Primeval Warrior medal, when suddenly he was awarded with his very own hat. It resembles Notch’s own visage, if it were made in Minecraft and then copied onto a cardboard box, and – so far – he’s the only owner. “I am never quitting TF2 again, and you should all go buy it right away,” said Notch. “How much is it, you ask? It’s FREE! YES!”
Team Fortress 2 gets Saints Row: The Third outfit
With Team Fortress 2 items appearing in Saints Row, it was only a matter of time before the reverse also became true. Now Joystiq have spotted a post on the TF2 blog that reveals new TF2 items for those that pre-order Saints Row: The Third over steam.
The bonuses take the form of a new outfit for the Heavy, giving him a diamond encrusted Lucha Libre mask, a pair of bling covered boxing gloves and a Saints Row fleur-de-lis badge (which can also be worn by other classes). The TF2 blog claims it’s a faithful recreation of the outfit Mikhail Gorbachev wore when he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990… er… indeed.
Sadly, getting hold of this outfit will be problematic for UK users, as Saints Row: The Third is yet another game that is inexplicably missing from steam in the UK. As ever, we’re trying to get to the bottom of this story, but no-one is willing to talk to us about it.
Saints Row: The Third will get TF2 bobblehead masks, new trailer has Burt Reynolds
A post on the official Saints Row: The Third site reveals that the PC version will come with exclusive character customisation options, including free, bonus “oversized bobblehead masks” of Team Fortress 2 characters. They haven’t released any pictures of the new items yet, but if they’re anything like the mental image I have of a giant, grinning Heavy mask, they’ll be brilliant. The new trailer above unveils Burt Reynolds, too. Which is a bit of a spoiler, but if Burt Reynolds is in your game, it’s hard not to shout about it. Saints Row looks great, and is only a couple of weeks away. It’s out in the US on November 15 and on November 18 in Europe.
Team Fortress 2 Halloween update adds new Soldier lines
There’s more to the Team Fortress 2 Halloween Update than we first thought! It seems that equipping the entire Tin Soldier costume gives the wearer new lines of dialogue, and they’re as hilarious as ever. Check the video for the full voice set. Thanks to ThisGuy_83 for the tip off!
Have you noticed any other mysterious bonuses readers? Let us know in the comments!
Public Service Announcement: cauldrons and seal masks appearing in TF2 backpacks
Quick, open your Team Fortress 2 backpack! We just checked ours and found great big shiny cauldrons inside. Upon opening our cauldrons, we all found a seal mask, for some reason, and a few of us gained some extra accessories, including some gleaming arm-pipes for my Soldier. YES. It’s all part of the Halloween Update, which kicked off today. Did you get a cauldron? What’s inside?
