By Alec Meer on April 19th, 2008 at 2:49 pm.
At last – Meet The Scout:
We have a very good idea who you are, Gametrailers.
Seems a bit tighter than the, to my eye, slightly iffy Demoman trailer. The Scout-as-jerk angle was the only way to go, really, and it works – certainly, I really, really wanted to see him take a beating by the end of it. Which is, of course, very much the point.
Also, the Heavy eating a sandwich is one of those images that’s bound to grace desktop wallpapers across the globe.
19/04/2008 at 15:01 Hermes says:
Pretty good, any idea which class is coming next? I am sensing ‘meet the spy’ is going to be spectacular.
19/04/2008 at 15:02 Man Raised By Puffins says:
It seems very short to me, but the animation of the Heavy very slowly turning around, and the ensuing fight, is great.
19/04/2008 at 15:06 Razor says:
Very amusing but I’m waiting for the pyro ;)
19/04/2008 at 15:08 Dracko says:
Meet the Guido!
Razor: Meet the Pyro.
19/04/2008 at 15:10 George-Duckling Manburger says:
Tight indeed! Although yes, a bit short.
But “slightly iffy Demoman trailer”? That one was bloody brilliant!
19/04/2008 at 15:13 A-scale says:
While this one was short but good, where did the concensus come from that the Demoman trailer was bad? I thought it was stupendous. So the accent is a little cheesy, so what? A black one eyed scotsman with a skull cap firing spiky royal blue balls at a wall isn’t cheesy? This game is ALL ABOUT cheese!
19/04/2008 at 15:13 Fleimur says:
Looks like the typical Mac user to me :P
19/04/2008 at 15:18 Thiefsie says:
Almost as unappealing as the demoman clip
19/04/2008 at 15:19 Seniath says:
I continue to be amazed by these trailers. The look on the Heavy’s face as he’s reaching for the sandwich is just priceless. I really really can’t wait for the Pyro one.
19/04/2008 at 15:25 Will Tomas says:
The animation’s amazing, but the quality is still not quite up to the brilliant Heavy/Soldier/Engineer ones. Especially the Heavy and Soldier ones. I was with the view that the Demoman one – whilst I could see what they were doing – wasn’t that funny, and this is rather like that. Kudos to Valve for doing it, but it’s a B rather than an A.
19/04/2008 at 15:27 Dracko says:
I have no idea what you guys are on. Seriously, this is pretty much perfect characterisation.
19/04/2008 at 15:32 John P (Katsumoto) says:
I think the reason the demoman one was panned so much was because the accent wasn’t just bad, it was so bad it wasn’t even recognisable as Scottish. I don’t understand why British accents in general are always so AWFUL in games. I know they’re made in America a lot of the time, but surely there are some actually British people that live in America. They can’t be that hard to find!
What’s more, they may even be from places other than London and Poshville, Berks.
19/04/2008 at 15:34 Steve says:
Chalk me up as another who enjoyed the Demoman one. I thought this one was a little forced, personally – still good! – but trying too hard for laughs.
Oh and to people talking about the length, I saw someone else check the times of each video and the Heavy, Soldier, Engineer and Scout videos are lengthwise within about 3 seconds of each other. The Demoman video is about 20 seconds longer than any other. That’s probably why Meet the Scout seems short.
@John
Yes, and a lot of British people in America will have picked up American inflections to their voices. That’s why the accents never seem right to real Brits, because they’ve been affected by that. It’s nobody’s fault. Similarly, that could be the case with the Demoman. Also, I can’t believe people slate the accent when the Heavy is so over the top, or the Medic. Even the Sniper is pretty ridiculous.
19/04/2008 at 15:35 Thiefsie says:
and uh…. everyone knows there is no way in hell you can dodge a turret :)
19/04/2008 at 15:40 John P (Katsumoto) says:
@ Steve
Hehe, you have a point re: the other accents. I guess they’re all very outlandish, and would sound ridiculous to actual Russians, French people etc. I wasn’t really slating the demoman’s accent for being “over the top” though, merely.. not very Scottish. If you see what I mean.
I take your point re: inflections etc though, hadn’t thought about that before.
19/04/2008 at 15:41 Elyscape says:
If they made another Meet the Heavy trailer showcasing only his sandwich eating prowess, I would watch it until the end of time.
19/04/2008 at 15:43 John P (Katsumoto) says:
Oh but by the way, I’ve just remembered:
as much as I think the Demoman’s accent is poor, for a really atrocious British accent you need look no further than Rainbow Six: Vegas. Probably the worst English accent ever? That guy DEFINITELY wasn’t English ;)
19/04/2008 at 15:52 Nick says:
“That’s why the accents never seem right to real Brits, because they’ve been affected by that”
Nah, it’s because they are being done by non british people. Anyone who has picked up inflections or even adopted another accent can almost always slip into the accent of their home town with ease.
(edit)
Especially if they are a supposed VO talent.
19/04/2008 at 15:54 Ixis says:
I happen to think the Demoman is my favorite, and probably the only one I actually found funny (Soldier is a close second, but only for the end.)
I found this one short and not funny or all that appealing.
As a side note: Anyone else see the “Copyright Valve lololol” in there?
19/04/2008 at 16:01 sigma83 says:
Just in time for my berfdae!
19/04/2008 at 16:03 Optimaximal says:
For those of you with Smartphones, EEEPCs or other small-screened devices…
19/04/2008 at 16:08 Man Raised By Puffins says:
@ Ixis: It’s been in all the Meet The… clips since they started doing that title screen (from Meet the Soldier onwards I believe).
With regards to dodgy Brit accents, even we can’t get it right sometimes. Witness Fable and Dominic West’s turn as a stereotypical cockney in The Wire (youtube isn’t forthcoming, so have this piece of loveliness instead).
19/04/2008 at 16:10 Stick says:
“The enemy has taken your sandwich!”
He is such a little jerk. Awesome.
19/04/2008 at 16:11 Cutman3030 says:
Eh, who cares about the scout. Let’s meet the Pyro!
19/04/2008 at 16:20 Mr Pink says:
All I can say is, I loled.
19/04/2008 at 16:33 grey_painter says:
Poor poor Heavy. Everyone always picks on the poor cute Heavy.
I’m still petitioning for the scout to be banned from the java server on basic principles.
19/04/2008 at 16:38 Thelps says:
I thought the HUMOUR in the Demoman piece was spot on. Yes, the accent was poor, but poor accents are all over the place, and British TV is full of ads and television shows where people do appaling American impersonations and no one bats an eyelid.
I’m more interested in the quality of the humour, and for me, a hard drinking, semi-paranoid, quasi-sociopathic Scotsman is a bellyfull of laughs.
19/04/2008 at 16:44 RichPowers says:
All of these trailers thoroughly own. But Valve will have a hard time beating the soldier one:
“UNLESS IT’S A FARM!”
19/04/2008 at 16:48 Svenska says:
I felt sad when the heavy died…:(
19/04/2008 at 16:52 Flint says:
How appropriate, recently I’ve felt like playing TF2 for the first time ever and Scout is one of the few classes that appeals to me currently.
Okay, so I’d play a snotty-nosed asshole but in the end I’d play a snotty-nosed asshole version of Speedy Gonzales with a shotgun.
19/04/2008 at 17:04 Mustache says:
it was pretty good not the best of the trailers though.
19/04/2008 at 17:04 Monkfish says:
Yeah – poor fella just wanted to eat his sandwich in peace… :(
19/04/2008 at 17:29 Dracko says:
Where is my Heavy plush toy, Valve?
19/04/2008 at 17:30 Windlab says:
Great new video!
I always seem to get the impression that Valve are continually improving animation and cinematography? techniques.
19/04/2008 at 17:54 Chiablo says:
Sadly, these seem to be getting worse as they make them. I’m hoping the Pyro one is good though.
19/04/2008 at 18:01 sigma83 says:
If by ‘worse’ you mean ‘less funny’, then I’m with you. Worse? I doubt it. The point, to me, is that the scout is being portrayed as a self-centered jerk with the skill to back it up and I think the video put across the idea that this is not your average first person shooter (remember, it’s still advertising) quite well.
19/04/2008 at 18:06 KBKarma says:
@ Thiefsie: I know someone who, as a Scout, has dodged and destroyed Tier 2 turrets. So, that’s not very apt.
The video seemed short to me as well. Of course, that’s probably due to the extended opening bit showing how fast he is. Meet the Demoman had something similar, but it was AFTER the title screen, so it seemed longer.
Also, I, too, loved the Demoman one. Probably because the Demoman is sociopathic, bordering on the stark raving.
19/04/2008 at 18:15 Smee says:
@KBKarma – just a Level 2 Sentry? I take it you’ve never seen this.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=_e2102v_nCM
19/04/2008 at 18:27 James T says:
He didn’t respawn, so maybe he was just unconscious!
I would’ve preferred more character stuff, but I’m a dialogue guy. …..So come on, Pyro!
(Demoman was a bit too ‘Dan Castellaneta’, ie, unlistenable)
19/04/2008 at 18:38 Hobbes says:
Much as I loved the Heavy and the Soldier, I can’t help thinking that the Engineer’s has been the cleverest so far.
19/04/2008 at 18:53 Arathain says:
The thing about the accents, well… the Demoman is bad, but the worst, by far, is the Sniper. Is that really meant to be an Aussie accent? And yet, one of the lead designer chappies is an Aussie. This leads me to believe it must be deliberate. It is pretty funny, after all, even if I do wince every time Demo says anything.
19/04/2008 at 19:08 Lunaran says:
I couldn’t stand this video. That Jersey accent is terrible. I’ve never even been to New Jersey and I can tell!
Completely unwatchable and lacking in all merit. Way to fuck up again, Valve.
19/04/2008 at 19:39 Dracko says:
Wow, when did the humour die around here?
19/04/2008 at 19:39 Steven Hutton says:
As far as single images go I prefer the heavy, about to lose, reaching for either his shotgun or his sandwich. The look on his face is priceless.
“Completey unwatchable and lacking in all merit.” is destined to become a running joke among my friends. I mean, really?
19/04/2008 at 19:57 Cargo Cult says:
I liked it!
Also, has Source just grown a real-time ambient-occlusion shader? Or is it just another effect (like depth of field and true motion-blur) that’ll only get used for cinematic stuff like this?
At any rate, it’s rather tastefully done. :-]
19/04/2008 at 19:58 Man Raised By Puffins says:
@Steve Hutton: You mean this? Yeah, it’s my new desktop wallpaper.
This is a close runner up though.
19/04/2008 at 20:21 Tacticus says:
Frakking brilliant
19/04/2008 at 20:46 Dinger says:
It’s more a bad bostonian accent. Either way, it ain’t close.
Yeah, the Scots accent is off; but, no offense to Mr. GladOS, the Australian sniper ain’t so ozzie, and I’m sure the corresponding cabal had some fair dinkum antipodeans on staff (we are talking tf2, here).
You know, they’re bad, but I’ve got a lot more to care about.
The Scout, well, the piece was a bunt single. The sammy was there, but there wasn’t any real insight into his character. We got a taste of competence, but no real inspiration.
Still, if you can get on base with every at-bat, you’re outstanding.
19/04/2008 at 21:23 Mataway says:
I think the scot’s is till my fav, but this wasn’t too shabby. I suspected it would be him talking about how awesome he is; it’s the only thing that fits his character.
19/04/2008 at 21:25 ChrisL says:
I love the fingerprint smudge he leaves on the lens when he pokes the camera. Very subtle.
19/04/2008 at 21:59 RobotLiberationArmy says:
Are people really complaining about bad accents in TF2? It is a cartoon after all, could it possibly be intentional? Even if it’s not, get over it.
Video was great. Um…yeah.
19/04/2008 at 22:13 MisterBritish says:
Yeah, definately some advanced lighting going on there, certainly not real-time. Characters are probably boosted cinematic versions as well (faces at least). So closer to Pixar than the game then.
But who cares, they’re brilliant!
Boink!
19/04/2008 at 22:25 Leeks! says:
I liked it. I have no well-crafted defense for liking it, but I did. And I thought the demoman was okay too. Certainly the weakest of those released, but nothing cringeworthy.
20/04/2008 at 00:13 Gurrah says:
Everyone keeps complaining about the Demo while the Medics accent is even worse, worse as in over the top. He’s probably my favourite character when it comes to the voice. Even though he’s using every German sterotype in the known universe, hear him scream OKTOBERFEST! makes me laugh every time.
Those accents are all intentionally so far over the top.
20/04/2008 at 01:34 Ed says:
The characters are stereotypes in every way. That includes their accents. Come on people, lets act a bit more mature here rather than descending into YouTube style comments…
For the record, I liked it :)
20/04/2008 at 02:11 sigma83 says:
You only gotta look at the soldier to realize it’s a monumental parody.
20/04/2008 at 03:40 James T says:
Fuck that — why do something wrong, when you can do it right?
I think it’s bizarre that the Sniper has that one ‘dinkum Aussie’ line, when he’s got one of those super-dense almost-Aussie Cockney accents (see also, say, Kano in the Mortal Kombat movie; go on, you know you saw it), and it makes perfect sense for him to have it — as I said way back when, he’s obviously an Allan Quartermain-esque ‘wild colonial boy’, with his slouch hat and his kukri and his flashing the vees and his love of Mother England (and the whole ‘sleeping in a buffalo carcass’ thing…) If they removed that one line, he’d make perfect sense. Silly.
20/04/2008 at 04:27 Dagda says:
For me, the “Hey, what’s up?” moment justifies the entire video.
20/04/2008 at 05:00 Jonathon Halliwell says:
My favourite so far. BOINK
20/04/2008 at 05:06 Radiant says:
Yeah this is terrible; Valve fucked up Lets get ‘em!.
20/04/2008 at 05:07 Radiant says:
^sarcasm^
20/04/2008 at 05:30 Rahul Gonsalves says:
“Copyright LOLOL”. Gotta love the small touches.
20/04/2008 at 09:19 MeestaNob! says:
I think the only thing thats wrong with it (and can be said of all of them) is it leaves you wanting even more.
Which is actually a good thing, if you’re from the ‘glass is half full‘ club.
Now all we need is a TF2 mini series. I genuinely think this is a project that could be a series.
And to those not getting that all these accents and, well, EVERYTHING is infact a parody, google your way to eBay and buy yourselves a new sense of Humour, the one you have is showing its age!
(for the record, I just showed these vids to mum and she lolled).
20/04/2008 at 09:53 acti. says:
Great!!!!!!!!!!!!
BOINK!!!!!!!!!!!
20/04/2008 at 09:59 Garreett says:
How can you guys say that the Demoman video was bad?
20/04/2008 at 13:23 CrashT says:
Am I the only one gets a sense of Matt Damon in the Scout?
20/04/2008 at 15:09 Doug F says:
CrashT:
Do you like apples?
20/04/2008 at 16:41 Riotpoll says:
I enjoyed it, especially the sandwhich/shotgun bit:
http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/8122/heavysandwhichuc9.jpg
20/04/2008 at 22:19 CitrusFreak says:
Lunaran: My sarcasm-detector is in the shop, but I have a feeling you’re joking. I HOPE you’re joking.
But either way, he’s not from Jersey. He’s from the south side of Boston.
Only a Southie could be that big of a prick. ;)
21/04/2008 at 00:39 Grandstone says:
I thought it was great. The animation is getting better and better, and I for one can’t wait for the next one, whichever it is.
If he’s from Southie, clearly NONE of the accents are very good, but they all serve their purpose. I still can’t decide if the Spy is Spanish, Italian, French, or Fritañol.
21/04/2008 at 08:26 Slappeh says:
Aww The heavy is so cute, I want a plush toy of him. I loved this episode though, only one to make me laugh on my own.
21/04/2008 at 19:24 Jonathan says:
Are you people actually complaining?
1) He’s meant to be a jerk.
2) They’re comedy characters. Of course their accents are going to be weird.
3) The Demoman’s video included the lines “T’all Ya fine Dandy’s, so proud, so cocksure with your head full of eyeballs”. Does that really need any kind of defence?
22/04/2008 at 01:19 James T says:
Oh yeah, I was going to mention the little ‘backstory’ snippet from the Valve update; I like how it gives a little extra to the character (it’d be pretty awesome to hear the Spy barking out the bios at the start of the videos: “Der Shcout! Birseplace: Boston, Massachusetts! Shcout vas raised on zer mean streets of Boston, vhere he cultivated der untamed savachery und fleet-footedness for vich ze crude little man-boy is now known.”
(Meanwhile, could the slower folks please remember that stereotypical accents are a staple of broad comedy, and not wrong ones).
24/04/2008 at 05:00 Saflo says:
It’s good, but something of a disappointment after the more-or-less stellar videos that preceded it.