By JENSEN LIM LEONG
Staff Writer
Titanfall 2 is a first person shooter made by Respawn Entertainment and a follow up to the critically acclaimed Titanfall. The game played with many of the same mechanics from popular shooters like Call of Duty and Battlefield, but added a new feature: Titans. Titans are giant Mechs, or pilotable robots, that can only be earned through good gameplay. Titanfall also stood out for its increased verticality of double jumps and wall running. Although these features are standard now, they were relatively new in 2013 when Titanfall was introduced.
Although Titanfall was a critical success, it lacked a single player campaign and replaced it with a multiplayer campaign that lacked cutscenes or any real story. This has been completely addressed in Titanfall 2, with a main campaign that features some of the best gameplay a first person shooter has to offer. The design of the levels allows for the maximum use of the increased verticality, and bosses are all unique thanks to the differences between all of the Titan designs. One of the levels also includes a time travel mechanic that allows the player to avoid obstacles in the past or present. The story follows rifleman Jack Cooper who lost his pilot in a battle and is forced to take control of a Titan called BT as they try to get back to their militia. The main journey tries to foster the relationship between the Titan and pilot, and even though the ending is somewhat predictable, it is believable that they both care for each other by the end of the campaign.
The Multiplayer has also been greatly improved from the first Titanfall. There are now six Titans in multiplayer and dozens more weapons and abilities for the player to choose from. Grappling hooks allow the player to slingshot themselves across the field, Cloaking makes it impossible for Titans to spot pilots, Stim increases the health and speed of the pilot for a period of time and many more abilities are available. There are some odd changes from the last Titanfall, such as how Titans are now much easier to take down because they no longer carry a regenerating shield, so every bit of damage will stay with a Titan until it eventually dies. That is not to say there is no way to repair them because across any battle, batteries are found on the field or can be stolen from an opposing Titan and put into the player’s own Titan. Any battery the player steals could also be used to power up friendly Titans. This new battery system adds depth to the gameplay and it also encourages teams to work together.
Even with great gameplay, story and critical acclaim, Titanfall 2 will probably not do well commercially. In an attempt to dampen Call of Duty sales, the production company EA (Battlefield, Fifa) decided to launch the game a couple weeks after Battlefield One and a couple weeks before Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. This failed attempt unfortunately resulted in Titanfall being the only game to truly suffer because it is too young of a franchise to compete with massive games like Battlefield and Call of Duty.
Titanfall 2 is an improvement on all the features that plagued the first game. It fine-tunes aspects that it was already good at and adds the features many players desired. Titanfall 2 has had some of the best levels I have ever played in a first person shooter, and the only thing that could have been better was its time of release.
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Titanfall 2 Game Review: refined to near perfection
November 21, 2016
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