TF2 has been taken down an... interesting path.
The original class updates were good. They were additions to the class that made sense and broadened how that class plays; e.g. Blutsauger allowing Battle Medics to become more viable, allowing Pyros to burn players at long range, giving Heavy a way to heal without a Medic, etc.
Where it began to go wrong was in the Sniper vs. Spy update. Jarate was good. But the Huntsman and, to a lesser extent, the Razorback, didn't make sense.
The Razorback simply didn't make sense from a gameplay perspective; if a Sniper has the Razorback equipped, the Spy will simply use his new Ambassador to headshot the Sniper in a ironic twist of fate.
The Huntsman did not and has never fit in with the class. The Sniper's an Australian assassin. There is no logical reasoning for him to be using a bow and arrow. While it made him marginally more effective at medium range, it didn't fit his class nor his character.
Spy's unlocks weren't quite as bad; all seem like a fitting addition to the Spy that changes how he plays, and all fit his character.
The next major drop in characterization was the WAR! update. The Soldier (with the exception of the
Equalizer; why is he mining? Pickaxes don't build trenches) had weapons that fit his character and gave options for how to play the game.
The Demoknight was a step in an interesting direction, moreso than the Sniper's update. Sure, it opened up a new realm of combat for the Demoman, but it simply never fit his character. He may be drunk and Scottish, but the Targe and Eyelander didn't have anything to do with the explosions he so loved.
I think the Demoknight would have been better executed if an entire new class joined the fray after the update that did everything the Demoknight does now. This new class, whatever it would be, would be a melee-only class that would've gotten the Targe and Eyelander, while the Demoman got weaponry that better suited his character.
But alas; the Demoman was instead transformed, his role taking a sharp turn to a place where it wasn't designed to go.
The next stumbling block was the Polycount update. While it's great that the weapons came from the community, it's not great that the community didn't bother keeping in line with the TF2 theme, for the most part.
Soldier was the class that retained his theme and character the most, getting weaponry that complimented his character.
Pyro and Scout, to a lesser extent, also kept their character. Pyro COULD theoretically be a gas station attendant, and Scout COULD be a milkman. Even the Croc-o-Style kit fit with the Sniper, somewhat, in keeping in line with the late Steve Irwin.
Then we get the Saharan Spy.
The Spy has not Arabian, nor has he ever been. He is a French assassin. While the weaponry (for the most part) was nice, the theme was not. To this day, I have no clue why Valve chose to include him in the Polycount update (no offense to the person who created the content; the stuff's great, but something more... French would have been nice).
The Medieval update suffered from a similar effect with the Medic, while in this case it's somewhat understandable due to the nature of the update, in terms of the overall gameplay perspective, there is nothing about the Medic that screams "Crossbow!" to me.
And then we have the Uber update.
The Heavy is not a mobster. Nor is the Spy.
The Sniper and Demoman are not Arabian (Again with the Arabian theme? Wasn't the Spy enough?)
While the Medic, Soldier, and to a lesser extent, the Scout, are understandable, that brings us to a total of 5 out of 9 classes that have an item set that doesn't fit their character at all. That's more than a majority, and fully half of the Uber update was devoted to making item sets that don't fit the character.
While it is good that the game is going in new directions, those directions should be a natural fit for the classes and not the stretch that it is beginning to become. With each update, this is more and more obvious. Classes are taking left turns and becoming what they aren't; for a while there, Tomislav Heavy was every bit as good as a Pyro at close range. Demoman shouldn't be a close-range class.
They need to expand gameplay, but do it in a way that isn't jarring, such as what we've seen with the Medic and Soldier, or even the Heavy offering limited healing abilities to his fellow teammates in the form of a friendly Sandvich.
