Versions Tested: PC, Xbox One
Launch Trailer
Wall-running, ejector seats, nuclear detonations, treacherous robots, magnetic grenades and David versus Goliath. It’s the first-person shooter which finally restores my faith in the genre after a five year absence. It’s Respawn Entertainment’s Source-Engine Multiplayer Spectacle – Titanfall.
Battle of Attrition
Who doesn’t know anything about Titanfall at this point? Is there really that much I could tell you which hasn’t been covered in great detail over many months by critic sites and YouTubers alike? Probably not. But I can still share my opinion on one of the most hyped titles in recent years, especially for Microsoft’s next-generation console. Doing it right – let us start with the basics.
Titanfall is a multiplayer only, first-person shooter which pits two teams of six players against each-other both on foot and in mech-like Titans with shields and powerful weaponry. But the players (known as ‘pilots’) are not alone. Joining them are waves of AI minion bots known as ‘grunts’ and ‘spectres.’ These weak NPCs make for easy kills, but superb animations and unusual inclusion make for an expanded battlefield-like atmosphere.
Titanfall’s almost-staggering 15 launch maps are beautifully crafted to support the jet-packing, wall-running, parkour movement style which pilots can enjoy to quickly traverse and escalate themselves across and over the combat zone across five game modes (Attrition, Hardpoint Domination, Capture the Flag, Last Titan Standing & Pilot Hunter). The game’s many gigabytes of battle-chatter goes a long way to fleshing out a 6v6 skirmish in to something much greater. When it was first revealed, I was not particularly excited about Titanfall. In fact, it was only since the closed (then open) beta last month that I was pulled in to believing (some) of the hype surrounding it. When the beta ended, I was very disappointed – because I was having a lot of fun.
The primary game-mode of Attrition sees both sides partake in a team deathmatch to rack up the most attrition points through kills of pilots, minions and titans. At the start of the match, each of the 12 pilots are given a countdown until their Titan is ready to drop. Performing kills decreases that time – in larger increments from Grunt -> Spectre -> Pilot. It’s a race to see which team can dominate the battlefield in their titans first. Whoever is first to drop has that small window of advantage to control forces on the ground before more of the mechs drop in to the battlefield.
Hardpoint Domination is simply domination – with no real changes from the many titles it has been implemented in over the years. Capture the Flag is what you might expected. Last Titan Standing is a one-life deathmatch with titans available from the start, and Pilot Hunter is a stripped down deathmatch for ground players.
The deathmatch modes come with an additional ‘epilogue’ at the end of each match, in which the losing team has to escape to an incoming dropship to warp out of the battlefield, while the winning team attempt to stop them by killing the escaping players or destroying the evac ship. It will earn you extra points, but is still a nice addition which rounds off each game nicely.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? OH GOD IT’S A PILOT!
The free-running agility of your pilot is a welcome and refreshing change to the standard FPS fare and any combination of moves can be slick, exciting and extremely satisfying when pulled off correctly. TotalBiscuit described it as causing a paradigm shift in the way you begin to look at your surroundings. When put side-by-side with the likes of Battlefield and Call of Duty – Titanfall’s maps offer a certain level of freedom which event Battlefield’s land, air and sea vehicles do not grant you and tower above anything the Call of Duty franchise is able to offer in level design. Windows are the new doors and rooftops are the new roads. Alleyways are your stairwells and your jump pack is your new elevator.
The way you traverse the map may also vary depending on your load-out. Pilot customisation does not include as many mind-blowing additions as you may like, but still offer that variety of differing play-styles. One of the most heavily featured primary weapons is the smart pistol. The smart pistol automatically locks on to minions and players (the latter taking a few extra seconds) and allows you to fire upon multiple targets with one button press. It has been the subject of much debate as many consider the weapon to be overpowered and unnecessary. However, I don’t find that to be the case.
It is especially effective in taking out many of the weak AI minions to shave precious seconds off your Titan build time, but not quite as effective against skilled players. If you’re running in a straight line for any significant length of time – you deserve to be locked on to by the smart pistol. Players that use their surroundings effectively should have no trouble avoiding a pistol lock and frustrating their would-be assassins. But as it stands, there is no way to know that another pilot has locked on to you – and some say that this would be a welcome addition, just to balance it out slightly.
From there, you have your standard choice of shotguns, carbines, snipers and handguns – on top of extra anti-titan weapons of primarily rocket launchers and grenade launchers. Oh, and you also have a choice of playing as a male or female pilot. Not really a necessity in a first-person game, and unusual to find as an optional feature, but it’s there.
Control Transferring to Pilot
As you might imagine, the inclusion of Titans pave the way for a multitude of ‘WOW’ moments which I have sorely missed in my gaming life. Whether you’re beating down enemy titans in close-quarters or unleashing a nuclear blast upon your ejection from the cockpit – these mechs open up new realms of possibilities as enemy pilots and AI spectres attempt to take your down from all angles.
You can jump aboard friendly titans for protection (or to protect them), or do the same aboard enemy titans to shoot out their inside circuitry until they blow. But be aware that Titan pilots will be made aware of your ‘rodeo’ attempt – and are free to jump out and shoot you off, or even eject and self-destruct in a brief moment of mayhem.
Your on-board computer will inform you of developments in the battle and NPC chatter will alert you if you’re approaching any objectives of note (such as hardpoints or dropships). It’s an impressive audio design which keeps you immersed in the battle and aware of your surroundings. It also reinforces that there is little downtime to be found in Titanfall. Rarely will you find yourself without a new obstacle to tackle. Whether you’re in a game of cat and mouse with other pilots, using their cloaking devices to evade you – or whether you’re hacking a heavy turret to fight for you – there is always something occurring in your immediate vicinity.
The strategies I found myself experimenting with was an unexpected development. Changing my Titan customisation to find the most efficient way to stop rodeo attacks (which turned out to be the ‘electric smoke’ add-on) or throwing my doomed (point-of-no-survival) Titan in the middle of a group of enemies before ejecting to make way for a nuclear self-destruct – taking many adversaries with my destroyed mech. There are tactics to be adjusted and numerous ways to approach each microcosm.
Multiplayer Campaign? Meh.
Usually I’ll be slating a team for including a shoe-horned multiplayer on a sublime singleplayer experience, but in this instance I’m glad the developers did not include a singleplayer – because this game was clearly not meant to be designed for solo players. However, in it’s place, we get a rather loose ‘campaign’ mode which places you on both sides (IMC / Militia) of an interstellar conflict across nine matches of Attrition and Hardpoint Domination.
These really are just normal games which additional voice-overs, motion-capture and small cutscenes which you will probably miss. The story is somewhat forgettable and the characters aren’t worth attaching yourself to. Many reviewers have said this already – but I wouldn’t recommend even playing the campaign were it not for one small detail.
There are three ‘classes’ of Titan chassis available for customisation. Atlas (middle ground), Ogre (heavy tank) and Stryder (agility) – however the Ogre and Stryder classes are locked being both sides of the campaign. This is clearly a way to force players in to completing the campaign and experiencing the backstory after it’s development. I wish that was not the case, but it doesn’t take that much time to complete.
Once you do complete it – don’t expect to go back to it. You probably won’t want to.
Standby for Titanfall
Titanfall shakes things up in a way that is quick, exciting, satisfying, explosive and manic with heaps of momentum to push it forward. I truly believe that while the game was over-hyped and isn’t the revolution many believed it would have been – developers of first-person shooters will be looking to Respawn Entertainment for inspiration. Even on the movement mechanics alone. I already struggled with returning to Call of Duty (and even Battlefield after DICE’s disasterous handling of BF4) – but now I could never look at them in the same way again. Titanfall will be my shooter of choice of the foreseeable future.
Pros:
Superb Level Design & Launch Maps Line-up
Immediately Exciting and Enjoyable
First-Person Parkour Shooter
Impressive Audio Design
Inclusion of AI minions & creatures with surprising animations (which I won’t spoil)
Cons:
Lackluster Campaign
Limited Gameplay Escalation
Uninspired Game Mods
Customisation Lacking
Control transferring to players
A lot of anti-hype noise has been generated recently to condemn Titanfall as a Call of Duty clone which offers nothing for non-Xbox fanboys. Which is simply nonsense and generally comes about from those who have not touched the game for themselves. There’s being skeptical – then there’s being an idiot. Don’t rule out this FPS gem to kick off the next generation in a way Call of Duty: Ghosts failed to do so.
9/10