So I recently started thinking about why I love TF2.
I think online multiplayer games are fun. But even though I say that, I've never really been a huge fan of online FPS games. I think they can be fun for a little while, but soon enough, maybe after a week or two, I usually lose interest. But that's different with TF2 for me. And I think it stems for my love of another game from my youth, which is Infantry. Infantry is a 2D isometric shooter where you control a little guy and run around a large map, shooting people. My favorite mode/map in that game was Skirmish...which is similar to TF2. You have different classes and each class plays different and has a different role. And the goal is to capture certain areas in order to win. The battles used to be huge. I mean, it was like 25 v 25 (I think). Back then, I thought this was amazing. Because every encounter is different, and there is something inherently satisfying in working together as a team, and using your own skills to make a difference, all in order to win the match and overcome the constant power struggle between the two powers.  When I recently tried to play Infantry a while back, I discovered that it just isn't the same anymore. And I think that's in part due to TF2. TF2 has become that game that fills the void that had grown ever since I stopped playing Infantry. Sure, TF2 has fewer players in a match, but it can still get pretty crazy, and it has that special addictive just-one-more-game feeling to it.