This is one of my favorite games, but when it came out in 2007, it wasn't. Now, let me tell you why...

Back then I was playing Call of Duty 4 every single day. I loved it, it's a great game. I didn't even have much time to play anything else between school and CoD. I had barely seen any TF2 gameplay, let alone play it.

After a while I stopped playing CoD 4 that much and found some time for other games, I started seeing more and more of TF and felt that I just had to try it. At the time there was this, let's say "prolonged free weekend" which allowed me to play the game a couple of times. Every time I did, it wasn't clicking with me. I did like it in a way but at the same time I didn't. Part of it was the increased difficulty compared to a Call of Duty game. I was good at CoD and I thought that skill would translate well into TF2, but it didn't.

The two games are very different, from the gameplay elements like the time to kill (TTK), the health and ammo pickups, the different classes to the cartoony visuals and the pure charm of every single character. To me, the characters are one of the things that set TF2 apart from every other multiplayer FPS.

The character models, the animations, the voice lines, the backstories all feel like they truly are a labor of love. Team Fortress 2 has heart. It's a game where you can die over and over again and start to feel frustrated but then something silly happens, you hear a funny voice line (for the 1000th time but it's still funny), you see a pyro running about, you look at his stupid face (which is really a gas mask but after all this time you can't help but see a face in that gas mask) and can't help it but just, laugh.

I can understand that not everyone feels that way and there are things that do get in the way of enjoyment for some people, things like the random crits, matchmaking problems, lack of regular new content, etc. I'm not going to try and convince you not to take issue with whatever grievances you may have with this game but please remember to keep it civil. At the end of the day a videogame shouldn't have a direct impact on the way you talk to other people, be it on the internet or in real life.

I bought TF2 in 2010 and since then there have been periods in which I haven't played it but I have it installed at all times. When I do hop in for a quick match, it's always a fun and rewarding experience in one way or another. It's one of a handful of games for which I can say that.