"An elegant weapon, from a more civilized age." -Some Old Hermit created by a Passionate Man.

I have basically decided to rewrite this lil' review. I am going to be blunt, I never really was a pub-stomper. Hell, I only came back to this game due to VSH, TF2x10, and the community.

When I started off, I was a lil' squirt trying to be a Scout main. It wasn't easy, it never is when your first gaming 'PC' is a laptop and your only excuse for a mouse is a mouse pad... I kept playing, always stopped by at Gamebanana to get mods, mainly weapons skins and the like before people started charging you for the bragging rights of showing them to others. I stopped due to other games and their more attractive allures. The likes of MechWarrior 5 and others have taken up my time. Hell, I don't really play this as much as I wish I could, one last time.

But I want to chip in and say my piece (even if others have brought these points up):

Pros:
-Brilliant combat system, with emphasis on single action weaponry and consistent movement and hit reg.
-Classes are uniquely built for near-endless replayablility.
-Customization that is not Pay-2-Win.
-Easy to learn mechanics and mobility.
-Advanced gameplay mechanics are intuitive and supported by game-systems.
-Control Point and Payload modes are well-balanced.
-Wealth of custom content, maps and partial-overhaul mods.
-The Lore. One of the few games with crazy background lore that actually acknowledges earlier titles with call-backs to "The Dirty Dozen," old school Bond films/novels, and Silver Age comic books. But it handles those quirks and the potential issues they might raise with a bleak, honest, and uproarious comedic tone and wit that makes all of them work together perfectly. Like a Culinary Master cooking a grilled cheese with onions for a Customer, in a suit twice his size, trying to hold back tears after the 11th unsuccessful interview for the latter's dream job.

Cons:
-Unbalanced Capture The Flag (no round timer, no actual round cohesion, easily exploitable map architecture due to mirrored map design).
-No truly official Competitive mode (as game is not built for it).
-Any unique modes that are introduced seem to be abandoned in favor of Control Point maps, Payload maps, and Capture The Flag maps.
-Cosmetics system and basic micro-transaction systems are unstable (community market is better for savings, loot boxes split into unlock-able chunks (crates) and purchase-only chunks (keys), game has a Premium account system that requires a Store Purchase to access (rewards are minimal, just higher RNG drop rates)).
-Seasonal Item Pass (because it's just a Battle Pass)
-Valve barely supports it as much as CS:GO and DOTA 2 since the latter two are easier to support and balance for both Casual and Competitive. Why? They emphasize nigh identical Gameplay and Gamesense for both modes in those respective titles, and make more money for them with their own Microtransactions and Battle Passes (even monthly subscription). These titles, like Team Fortress 2, even have their own partial-conversion mods that have sprawling communities of their own.

TL;DR: I recommend this game, and it still has a consistent player-base, but it's just not as appealing and, dare I say, fun anymore if you're looking for something new. It's a wonderful game, however, worth the pub stomp if you want some old school team-based asymmetrical class gameplay.