Big footprint in the shooter world
Titanfall Review
by Kaegan Stogsdill
For years, the shooter genre has consisted of sequels leading to stagnant new
entries that might be afraid to push the boundaries. Titanfall, the new shooter
from the minds of Respawn Entertainment, pushes the boundaries of first-person
shooters and leads to exciting but sometimes flawed results.
At its core, Titanfall is an online-only shooter centered on large mech-like
Titan’s and their pilots. The game features a campaign featuring two warring
factions, the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation (IMC) and the rebellious
Militia. You play through the campaign twice, each time as a pilot on a
different side. Unfortunately, there are not many memorable moments and a
largely forgettable story.
The campaign is essentially laid over a series of regular multiplayer matches. The
story is delivered through voice-overs by main story characters during the
frenetic multiplayer matches. This is one of Titanfall’s biggest flaws.
It's difficult to care about
Titanfall's story during intense multiplayer matches that serve as a
trial-by-fire training. The only mission that really stuck with me was a play
on the invasion of Normandy, but sadly the feeling didn’t last beyond that
match. By the end of both campaigns, I felt like I knew hardly anymore than
when I went into the game. The game gives players little reason to care why
they are fighting in a war, and what the war is even about. There is no
incentive to be invested in this universe and a few more cutscenes to drive the
story and characters could have gone a long way to establishing it.
During a match, the player is constantly making quick decisions, leading to
some of the most frenetic and fun gameplay to be had during a multiplayer shooter
in a long time. Players begin the match as pilots, regular foot soldiers with
the choice between standard weapons, but as the match progresses, things get
interesting. With every objective captured, player killed, or grunt disposed
of, the player notches away at their respective Titanfall drop time.
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| Pilots have a large variety of weapons to choose from. |
Titan’s are an entirely different beast from the regular pilots, acting as the
lumbering, artillery machines while pilots are agile and quick gunners. The
balance of power between the two is what makes Titanfall shine. If the player chooses to run and gun or blow through streets as a Titan they
won’t be overmatched. Every pilot is given a Anti-Titan weapon that levels the
playing field.
I never felt overwhelmed against a Titan as a pilot because I knew there were
multiple ways to approach the situation. As a pilot, I could use my Anti-Titan
weapon and my mobility to destroy it or just jump on his back and “rodeo” the
Titan while I proceed to shoot the Titan .The back and forth cat and mouse
games between Titans and pilots led to some of the most exciting encounters I’ve
had online. Every match felt exciting because I knew that I could be
experiencing something that I may never experience in another shooter.
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| Titan vs. Titan gunplay is incredibly nerve-racking. |
Titanfall’s multiplayer is accessible and fun to learn. It seems crazy to
watch, but to pick up a controller and learn is simple. For instance, the
pilot's mobility might seem complex but the system of wall running and double
jumps becomes second nature. Simply running towards a wall and jumping at an angle
allows the player to wall run and maximize their mobility against the larger
Titans.
The progression system is incredibly exciting and rewarding. Players have
challenges that they can complete that range from simple distance traveled to
how many times the player can drop a Titan on enemy players. There are plenty
of unlocks to keep players coming back.
One
twist to Titanfall’s progression system is the idea of Burn Cards. These cards
are earned for completing challenges that are tied to various things like
Titans or gun kills. These cards give the player benefits like twice the experience or
reduced Titanfall times. The tradeoff is players can only use them once and can
only go into a match with three particular cards. They don’t break the balance
and really add to the fun. There were many times when I had used a card to
maximize my experience gain.
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| Burn Cards range in rarity and can give valuable perks. |
Titanfall does feature some big design flaws that make the game feel rushed.
The lack of modes to play in Titanfall is one of the more disappointing ones.
There are only five modes: Last Titan Standing, Hardpoint, Attrition, Capture
the Flag, and Pilot Hunter.
Attrition is similar to the
basic deathmatch featured in existing games, but instead of only earning points
for killing enemy players, everything from a grunt to a Titan will earn various
point totals to the score. Last Titan Standing is similar to last man standing
but everyone starts as a Titan until there is only one left. The game modes
feature little variations that help bring some excitement to tired out game
types.
Although the game types can be
fun, it left me wanting more. Where was Free-for-All? It left me feeling like
Respawn didn’t have the time to finish the modes. The game even has an
unnecessary scroll bar on the game mode area that made it feel as if the
developer wanted more.
Also, private matches of any
sort do not exist in Titanfall. This is the biggest problem to Titanfall.
Multiplayer shooters thrive on being able to pit teams against one another in a
private setting. This leads to the cultivation of a competitive league and
simply a chance to play alone without others. Respawn has said that they plan
to add this in a future patch but it is sorely missed.
Titanfall may have its problems, but as a first entry to
an undoubtedly long running franchise, it’s still incredible. Titanfall does
something that Call of Duty once did to Halo. It gives shooter fans a taste of
something new and fresh that leaves other shooters tasting foul and old.
+ Fast, fun and frenetic gameplay
+ Balance between Titan’s and pilots
+ Accessible for everyone
+ Raises the shooter bar
- Meaningless Campaign
- Lack of Modes, and Private Matches
9.5/10
