Ah, Team Fortress 2, the game that has sucked hours (282 at the time of writing, to be exact) away from my life.  It’s the only game that I have two copies of.  And it’s one of the three games that I’ve written about for college papers.

Why is this game that was released three years ago still as addicting now as it was then?  Why does it continue to inspire thousands of videos on YouTube?  What gives this game a lasting appeal on the gamers that play it?

I can only speculate, as there is no definitive answer to all of these questions.    

Maybe it’s the continuous updates?  Enough new content has been released for TF2 over the years that it could possibly be enough to fill a sequel.  (The original size of the game was 2.45 gigabytes, and Valve claims it is now up to 4.83 gigs).  New maps, weapons, character hats(!) and other items are constantly being released.  The fact that Valve is now also offering actual players the ability to create and release their own weapons, maps, etc. also adds to the appeal.  These updates (exclusive to the PC) are free, which means that there is simply no reason not to frequently play the game.

Did I mention the entertaining names of the weapons?  For instance: Frontier Justice, The Backburner, and The Buff Banner, to name a few.

The unlockable achievements add another addicting factor to the game.  Want to achieve the status of 2004 kills as the Scout to impress your Steam buddies?  Better get playing, that achievement is not quickly attained (My time spent was approximately 35 hours).

The maps offer a variety of different scenarios.  From the multiple entries to your opponent’s base on 2Fort, to the too-close-for-comfort battle on the control point in Harvest, chances are you won’t be doing the same thing twice across all the maps in the game.

Distinct character personalities?  Yep, TF2 has it too.  Besides the different play styles of the nine classes, every character is full of charisma.  The giant Heavy, who acts like a child, has an obsession toward his gun (which he even gives a name).  The Solider possesses a mind of a general, and is intolerant of mistakes by his teammates.  The egoistical Scout talks a lot of trash, even though he is the smallest person on the team.  One could come up with unlimited descriptions for the characters.

These are the reasons why I believe Team Fortress 2 is so addicting.  And yes, obviously I’m a fanatic of the game.