Legendary demaker, Eric Ruth, is at it again. Famous for retro-inspired remakes of Left 4 Dead, DJ Hero, and Halo, Eric shifts his focus to the world’s most popular online shooter, Team Fortress 2, reimagining it in classic beat-em-up fashion for PC.
Keep reading for our impressions, as well as a world-first look of the game.
Baltimore’s famous free arts festival, Artscape, finished up yesterday, after a long weekend of beer, hotdogs, and irrefutably-awesome events. Sanctioned off from the outdoor festivities was a small building, housing Gamescape, which was filled with gaming art, arcade cabinets, and indie developers showing off their new product.
Among the developers on showcase was Eric Ruth, this time with Team Fortress Arcade, a classic beat-em-up style reimagining of Valve’s popular franchise. Similar to games like Turtles in Time or Streets of Rage, TFA is a four-player co-op game which takes players through nine total stages, each equipped with original enemies and Team Fortress-inspired locales.
Needless to say, it was awesome. Check out the video below for an off-screen playthrough and demonstration of the first three stages.
Unlike Gang Garrison, another popular TF2 demake, TFA is more focused on an original co-op arcade experience. You and up to three friends will make your way through nine stages – each with a Red Team class member as a stage boss – to the final chapter, which apparently will include a nod to Portal, as well.
Each class is represented fully in 2D goodness, which a primary fire, a jumping secondary fire, and a melee attack. Some classes, like the Soldier, have additional abilities such as Rocket Jumping. (In my experience, Demoman is the way to go.)
The three-stage demo was a blast, and we even went back and played through it a few more times with the rest of the classes. Eric tells us that there’s no official word on online multiplayer, but it’s something he plans on implementing.
Look for Team Fortress Arcade by the end of the summer, which will be available for free on PC at
EricRuthGames.com
