I was playing a round of TF2 CTF just half an hour ago as an Engineer, when suddenly I heard the achievement guitar riff play as I stepped onto my teleporter entrance. Startled, I looked down at the bottom of the screen to find that I’d gotten the achievement “Selfish Teleporter: Take your own teleporter 5 times in a round.”

Now, I’ve taken my own teleporters more than five times in uncounted rounds of TF2, so I knew it wasn’t some long-neglected General achievement. Intrigued, I did a quick Google search but found nothing. I searched the Steam forums. Nothing! Puzzled, I looked back at my list of achievements. It did not appear there under any category. Now, I’ve never heard of custom/server-specific achievements before, but that doesn’t mean they’re not out there. But I couldn’t find any mention of them on mod sites like FPSBanana. Of course, I didn’t think to take a screenshot.

So I’m wondering; has anybody else seen or gotten this achievement? Did Valve silently/accidentally roll out part of the upcoming but unfinished Engineer update?

Although I’m a huge sucker for post-apocalyptic fiction and hopelessly in love with the Fallout series, I was actually pretty skeptical about Fallout 3 after watching the initial teaser video released by Bethesda.

Sure, it looked cool, but I felt the references to Nuka-Cola, the Corvega, and the BoS came off as rehashed instead of homage. I wondered whether or not Bethesda was actually capable of, or willing to, maintain the high-quality, immersive atmosphere Fallout was justly admired for. Were they as inspired as they claimed, or merely milking the franchise?

Happily, they’re making a powerful case for the former:

More post-atomic echoes are available here.

If you haven’t already heard, Valve released an update to Team Fortress 2 that adds new fun to what was perhaps already my favorite class, the Pyro. But more immediately amusing (and impressive) is their latest introductory video, “Meet the Sniper”.

I think it’s their best machinima to date, and shows that as good as Valve’s efforts have been, they’re getting polished even further. These guys know how to tell a story. But don’t just take my word for it, watch it yourself.

I finally downloaded—and finished—Portal a couple of weeks ago. As many, many people have already opined, it’s a marvelously clever HL2 mod, and I had a lot of fun playing it.

But it’s been two freaking weeks and I still can’t get the song (that plays during the end credits) out of my head. Still alive, indeed.

After a recent stint wearing the togs of one of the lesser-played classes, I just wanted to throw a couple little tidbits of wisdom out there for the general TF2-playing public. You know, a few little “pro tips” that might add up to that little extra edge, something to sharpen your game.

Medics are some of the hardest-working members of your team. But it’s a two-way street. You gotta give a little to get something back. To wit:

• When you call for help from your friendly team Medic, stand fucking still for just a second, could you please? Especially if you’re jumping around in a roomful of other idiots. The “health hose” doesn’t automagically lock onto your sorry carcass just because you’re mashing the “call for medic” key.
• Don’t run and cower behind your Medic when an enemy Heavy or Pyro rounds the corner, then whine and bitch that you “could have taken him if the Medic had used his übercharge” after the Medic, thanks to your brilliant display of cowardice, turns into a collection of bloody chunks. You’re in front for a reason, dumbass.
• Don’t instantly become a petulant little twat and complain that your Medic “can’t keep up” or “should have stayed around” if the healing suddenly stops. There’s a good possibility your Medic got backstabbed, torched, or gunned down, and you were too dense to notice. Guess who’s next in line to be fragged, shithead? Look over your fucking shoulder every once in a while. Protect your Medic, and he’ll protect you.
• For fuck’s sake, don’t charge into that four-sentry crossfire unless you can see the übercharge is already at 100%. And when you stupidly do it anyway, ignoring the Medic’s pleas to wait, don’t start screeching about how much your Medic sucks. There’s only so much a Medic can do. Down to half your hit points? Gotcha covered. Are you a halfwit? Can’t help with that.

Bitte sehr.

I finished the much-anticipated Half-Life 2: Episode 2 over the weekend. I have to say I wasn’t very impressed. If it wasn’t for Team Fortress 2’s inclusion in the Orange Box I’d be feeling pretty ripped off. I was eager to see more of the Half-Life story unfold, and in this, Episode 2 did not disappoint. The atmosphere and graphics were stunning as always. The gameplay? Unimpressive. Perhaps it’s just my impression, but Episode 2 seemed to deliver noticeably less content than Episode 1, and much of what it did bring to my desktop was lacking in excitement.

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