Valve trailer reveals TF2's next-gen power

A new Team Fortress 2 trailer is unveiling the next generation of facial animation technology that Valve has developed for its Source engine.

The trailer, titled "Meet the Heavy", shows a wide range of facial expressions performed by the mini-gun-wielding tank class from the multiplayer FPS. You can view it in our video player top-right.

"We are pleased to announce that the next generation of facial animation technology for Source will be released in Team Fortress 2", Valve has said in an announcement accompanying the trailer.

"By leveraging the rapid pace of advancement in PC graphics, videogames can now match and actually surpass the facial animation used in feature film and broadcast television production. We've released a video of this real-time, in-game, in-engine facial animation in action in support of ATI's launch of the Radeon HD 2000 series. By running entirely on the GPU of the videocard, the facial animation not only looks dramatically better, but frees up the CPU to perform other tasks like physics or AI."

Team Fortress 2 should release with Half-Life 2: Episode Two near the end of the year.

Trailer Here