Genre First-Person Shooter (FPS), Narrative, Multiplayer, Science-Fiction
Release Date 2016
Platforms PC, PS4, Xbox One
Developers Respawn Entertainment
Considered by many as the FPS with the best story on the market, Titanfall 2 is the 2016 sequel to the original 2014 title, Titanfall, based on the concept of giant mechs, called Titans, controlled by human pilots, with different weapon and ability combinations.
Plot
The story behind Titanfall 2 focuses on the ongoing war between the two major factions of the game's universe - the allied rebel forces, called the Frontier Militia, and the villainous industrial corporation, IMC (Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation) - from the eyes of one of the Militia's pilots, Jack Cooper. After his first-in-command, Captain Tai Lastimosa, dies in battle in an effort to save him, Jack takes control of his personal Titan, nicknamed "BT", and has to stop the IMC from destroying the Militia using a super-weapon, the "Fold Weapon", while at the same time building upon his relationship with BT.
Gameplay & Mechanics
In Titanfall 2, the player interacts with the world in one of two forms - as a human or a titan. The human form is the one the player spends the majority of the time in and allows for the use of a variety of weapons, like pistols, rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, grenade launchers, amongst others. The player can have a primary and secondary firearm, as well as access to two additional items, which include a set of grenades (there are also types) and a stealth cloak, which has a small cooldown between uses and allows for temporary invisibility. Another feature of the weaponry system is the ability for the player to change weapons and grenades on the go, as different ones drop from enemy kills or are found in the world.
Another big part of the human form gameplay is the movement, which combines running, crouching and sliding to allow for more complex combos to traverse the environment, like wall running. It is also worth noting that in certain areas that requiring more extensive parkour maneuvers, the game presents a "Ghost Runner", essentially a holographic representation of the main path to follow and movements to do.
The titan form is only available at certain points in the game, and is characterized by the player controlling a mech in combat. There are various mech models to choose from, each with their (mostly) unique abilities and signature weapons, which are unlocked to be used as the player progresses through the story, and can be switched between at any time when in mech form.
Each mech also has a special ultimate ability, which charges as the player does damage, instead of working off a cooldown like the other abilities. The movement in this form is more limited, with the mech only being able to slowly walk or run and dash a small distance (aside from movement-based abilities).
At the end of each chapter in the game, the player is typically faced with a "boss" encounter - an enemy titan of an antagonist character - and needs to defeat them in order to progress.
The game also features collectibles spread through the different missions, in the form of blue glowing pilot helmets, as well as holographic depictions and audio texts exposing some of the game's lore.
Even though the main draw of the game is the singleplayer campaign, it also features a multiplayer mode, where the player can join others in different game modes, like "Capture The Flag", and customize their pilot cosmetics and weaponry, as well as their titan loadout.
Personal Opinion (Pros / Cons)
I really enjoyed this game, even though I didn't find the story as groundbreakingly good, even for a FPS game, as it sounds when reading opinions about the game. Nonetheless, I thought the story was well structured, with not too many "dragging" sections, and pretty emotional towards the end, as I find the theme of genuine friendship very moving, especially when as the player one is able to accompany it from the very start. Yet, the lack of continuous presence of most characters through the story made encounters with most antagonists and even some allied characters feel generic and characterless.
I think the gameplay duality and variety of weaponry was really refreshing and allowed for different ways to tackle the levels, and the movement was also fluid apart from the fact that certain actions, like running and aiming, seemed to only have a toggle mode and no "active while pressed" function, which I found pretty jarring especially for high speed combat.
The graphics were pretty good and ran fairly smoothly at higher settings, and the different scenarios certainly helped keep the visual stimulation throughout the game.
Regarding the mission structure, I appreciated the diversity of objectives and steps to achieve them, as it made each one feel unique (e.g. in one chapter you could be parkouring everywhere to turn on some console and in the next you would be switching between dimensions). The boss battles felt great gameplay wise, and posed a decent challenge even in normal difficulty (the one I played on) in most cases.
When it comes to the collectibles, I didn't find them particularly engaging or relevant to read/listen for the content they provided.
Didn't spend enough time in multiplayer to give a personal opinion, as I only speedran the mode-exclusive achievements in solo matches and I also don't really enjoy the more competitive side of FPS games, but from the popularity it seems to have in the community, I would venture to say it's worth it for the people who enjoy that type of gameplay.
On a final note, I have to add that this game has one of the MOST epic missions I've ever played - a full on titan showdown, where you fight alongside allied mechs against waves of enemy ones and are able to experience the different titan loadouts to their fullest, as the fight extends through multiple terrains (e.g. long range corridors, close quarter fields, tunnels filled with cover spots, etc.) which stimulates constantly changing between titan kits.
Final Verdict/Unique Phrase
This game has a really enjoyable story that is based on an emotional connection between a human and a machine, filled with loyalty and perseverance. If you're looking for an FPS game that can hold its own as a narrative driven title and still blend fast paced gameplay almost seamlessly, this is probably one of the best ones out there. Though I wish it had more depth regarding its characters, I can't deny the game is in a unique position that makes it worthwhile, kind of no matter what.
An unexpected friendship that unfolds into a true FPS classic. A must try.
Useful Links
- Steam, Xbox and PlayStation Store Pages
- Official Wiki and Website
Comments