When comparing Team Fortress 2: Mann vs. Machine vs TowerFall Ascension, the Slant community recommends TowerFall Ascension for most people. In the question“What are the best 4-player local multiplayer games on Steam?” TowerFall Ascension is ranked 3rd while Team Fortress 2: Mann vs. Machine is ranked 40th. The most important reason people chose TowerFall Ascension is:
You run, jump, and shoot arrows, which anyone can learn in a matter of minutes. To become a great player, however, there is a lot of technique and strategy to learn. This includes aiming, using cover, reading your opponent, and many other things. As a result TowerFall Ascension is accessible to casual players while also being able to keep the hardcore players interested.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro The Mann vs. Machine co-op mode let’s players work together, a nice change of pace from the PvP modes
Mann vs. Machine is a co-op mode in Team Fortress 2 that places 6 players on a team with the objective of stopping robots from deploying a bomb. While not the central mode of the game, it allows for enjoyable cooperative play rather than competitive play.
Pro Free-to-play that does not require money to be at a competitive level
This game is mostly pay-to-gain, for example by unlocking new weapons, as opposed to pay-to-win. You can randomly earn or find things without having to purchase them, and some of those can be used to craft even more rare and powerful items.
Pro Free-to-play for everyone and anyone
Team Fortress 2 has been totally free-to-play since 2011. This means anyone can download and enjoy the title.
Pro Easily play with friends on different OSes
The game runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux machines, which makes it easy to enjoy the game with friends no matter what OS any of you use.
Pro Offline LAN support for those that do not wish to play online
You can play local multiplayer matches even without an internet connection as long as you follow the proper steps to set it up. This way people can set up LAN battles without worry of internet connections or ping times.
Pro Great humor breaks up the monotony of repeated gaming sessions
Valve is known for its sense of humor, and Team Fortress 2 does not disappoint. Unlike other popular first-person shooters, this is a game that does not take itself too seriously. This is great for those that may find the gameplay getting stale after repeated plays, as there is still something to enjoy.
Pro Easy to learn but hard to master
You run, jump, and shoot arrows, which anyone can learn in a matter of minutes. To become a great player, however, there is a lot of technique and strategy to learn. This includes aiming, using cover, reading your opponent, and many other things. As a result TowerFall Ascension is accessible to casual players while also being able to keep the hardcore players interested.
Pro Feels fair at any skill level
Each player only has three arrows at the beginning of a match. Once they are fired, the arrows can be picked up by anyone. This way no player can build momentum that feels oppressive, allowing even new players to control the pace of a match since they can just hog all the arrows.
Pro Single-screen levels add depth to strategy
In the style of old school games like Asteroids, everything that moves outside the edge of the screen appears on the opposite side of it. Because of this you always need to remain aware of your surroundings and other player locations, so you don't get hit by an arrow coming from an unexpected direction. This adds a level complexity not found in many modern games, which is quite refreshing.
Pro Co-op mode that improves communication
TowerFall Ascension has a 2-player co-op mode where you and your friend fight against hordes of bad guys. It has friendly fire, so you need to communicate to avoid hurting each other. This creates a mode that motivates you to communicate with your friend more, leading to a lot of back and forth banter.
Cons
Con Free accounts are slightly limited
Free accounts do not get the same rare and cosmetic items as paid accounts, nor do they have as many storage slots for items.
Con Really short co-op campaign
The co-op quest mode takes around seven hours to complete. So if you're not interested in the competitive multiplayer aspect of TowerFall Ascension, you'll run out of things to do really fast.
Con Limited to just local multiplayer
As it is now, you're limited to just playing with or against your friends or not playing at all. If you could play matches against other players online, the game would've been a lot more accessible.