One of 2014’s most anticipated games has finally crashed
down upon our consoles. Players across the globe are strapping into their
titans and are embarking in what has been described as the FPS game changer.
With the online, multiplayer first person shooter experience
dominated by the Battlefield and Call of Duty franchises, Titanfall has pooled
a great deal of time and resources into not only matching these titles, but
surpassing them. It is clear that the online mode was of great importance to
Respawn Entertainment as even the campaign mode has been designed to play as a
multiplayer experience. The campaign plays out as two stories, firstly as the renegade
guerrilla soldiers of the Militia, and secondly as the IMC military. Think the
Rebel alliance and the Sith Empire. Both sides of the campaign play out the
same missions but from the perspective of each force. This may seem as if
players are getting more in depth look at the storyline in which to explore,
but frankly there is no storyline. The campaign is merely a series of Attrition
and Hardpoint missions with different NPC’s prattling away on radio in the
background. Honestly, the radio chatter and occasional NPC selfie in the corner
of the screen is the entirety of the storyline, which simply disappears into
your peripheries and is ignored during gameplay. If you actually stopped to
listen to what’s being said, you’d be too distracted to focus on the missions.
Respawn must have anticipated this as strangely, the story progresses whether
you win or lose, meaning your performance means nothing to the development of
the campaign.
Maybe I’m being harsh. The campaign does fill a purpose of
easing players into the experience. Titanfall does of course include a tutorial,
explaining the various controls and commands of the game, yet it’s the campaign
that allows players to dive into PvP combat headfirst. After completion of both
the Militia and IMC campaigns, players will have a grasp on the map layouts, a
handful of new weaponry and skills, and the ability to customise both pilots
and titans alike.
Once familiar, Titanfall’s ‘Classic’ mode has five match
types to choose from. Attrition is your traditional ‘team deathmatch’ style
game where players receive points for pilot, titan and AI kills with no other
victory conditions. Hardpoint domination requires the capturing and defending
of three control points throughout the map, whereas Capture the Flag speaks for
itself. Arguably the weakest match type, Pilot Hunter only rewards players with
pilot kills, which leaves the final match type, Last Titan Standing. At face
value, Last Titan Standing appears to be the simplest game type, one titan and
one life, last titan standing wins. However this is when players will find themselves
playing their most tactically. It’s easy to take down a titan one on one given
the right loadout, it’s when you’re outnumbered that things get tricky. It’s
therefore best to bide your time, wait for an enemy titan to engage a teammate,
then strike.
There are a number of weapon and skill options to choose and
equip your pilots, yet only a percentage of what other online shooters have to
offer. This is good. What Titanfall knows is that throwing a truckload of
weapons at players is not what makes an online experience enjoyable.
Titanfall’s real achievement is the way in which players move around the map.
The game’s movement is so fluid and flawless that’s there are no true obstacle
in the game, merely stepping stones. The jetpack allows players to add an extra
boost to jumps, clamber to the top of roofs and seemingly endless wall running.
It is a truly joyful experience to travel across the map, jumping from windows,
leaping across rooftops and scaling buildings, all the while avoiding bullet
hail and missile fire.
One of the most refreshing aspects of Titanfall is how
gameplay is surprisingly balanced throughout. New players can be thrown
headfirst into matches with hardened veterans and not feel overwhelmed, they
may trail on the leader board scores to begin with, but it will stop players
being put off by the experience. One reason for this is the addition of grunts
and spectres, humanoid robotic enemies (think battle droids). These extra
troops on the battlefield not only bolster the ranks of each force, creating
larger and more realistic conflict, but also provides newer players with much
easier targets. Grunt and spectre kills don’t accumulate as much experience,
but does keep players constantly busy with targets. I can whole heartedly say
that you will never find yourself in a game where experienced players will
steamroll through the match, killing you again and again causing burst blood
vessels and shattered controllers.
Now the fun part, the titans! These hulking behemoths come
in three varieties, each chassis with its own advantages and drawbacks, and are
all available from level one. The Stryder class is your lightweight titan, more
nimble on the move with a higher number of dashes at the expense of protective
armour plating. The Ogre is a moving fortress, the slowest chassis available
but with the highest level of protection available, leaving the final titan
remaining, the Atlas, an in between compromise of speed and protection.
Although all chassis are available to players, both campaigns must be completed
before any customisation is permitted, which is what you need if you want to
equip some bonkers WMD’s to your metallic beast. The titan icon in the bottom
corner of your screen displays a countdown to titanfall, the moment you can
orbital drop your titan onto the battlefield and begin your rampage.
Experienced players will learn that racking up a kill count will significantly
reduce the build time for your titans.
The thing to remember when piloting your titan is that they
are powerful but not indestructible, even to pilots. Each pilot is equipped with
an anti-titan weapon, which may seem like a bug bite at first, but several
pilots combining fire power will soon accumulate into a big problem. Another
hand trick to taking down a titan is to rodeo it into the ground. Players have
the power to clamber on the back of titans and fire into its internal systems,
bypassing its shields and if left unchallenged, destroying it.
So, is Titanfall the FPS game changer? When looking at
Titanfall as a whole, there is no aspect you could call revolutionary.
Everything in the game has been done before, at some point, and there are
similar games that deliver a great deal more options in terms of weapons and equipment.
However, what it does do is deliver an exciting, balanced, well-rounded online
experience which to put it bluntly, is fun. Respawn has prioritised fun over
content which is the way it should be.
Verdict: 9/10 A breath of fresh air for online shooters.
Highly addictive and replayable for veterans and beginners alike.
No comments:
Post a Comment