In single player, an aspiring Pilot and a veteran Titan combine forces to uphold a mission you were never meant to carry out. Multiplayer offers brand new Titans, expanded Pilot abilities, and deeper customisation to elevate the fast-paced and exciting game play fans expect from the series.
Review
The newest addition to the Titanfall franchise is the single player campaign. Titanfall 1's 'campaign' was built around the different online modes that were available. This time round there is a dedicated single player to play through, and I have to admit that I absolutely loved the addition.
You play as a pilot in training who is suddenly brought into the deep end of things when his mentor is killed in battle. Before dying, the Titans controls are passed over to you and you are made a fully fledged Pilot. After taking control of your Titan (named BT) you then have various missions to do to fight in the war that is currently going on.
What I loved about the story was the relationship that you build throughout with your BT. The more you seem to use him to bigger the bond grows and even though it is man and machine, it is lovely to see the bonds that can be made with good narrative.
The narrative within the game is wonderful as well, it is such a wonderfully told story and I think this is going to be the very rare occasion that I go back for another go at the story to mop up some achievements. The overall feel that the game gives off as well is fantastic and it keeps that Titanfall ethos.
I love the fact as well that you have choices when it comes to what you say within the game, and again linking in with that bond you have with BT, there are times that you ask if he's OK and not damaged and he does reciprocate the sentiments too. Lovely touch.
The game play and mechanics are still Titanfall esq, the game feels like your playing Titanfall, however it has that continuity and progression that you would expect in a sequel. The mechanics are so smooth in the game and I've been having an awesome time playing it.
The worlds within the single player campaigns are wonderfully designed and flow very smoothly. If you're not a fan of single player campaigns in FPS's I would high recommend playing this one! Simple brilliant. The wonderful game play is accompanied with beautifully atmospheric music.
With the multiplayer side of things, again the game does feel wonderful to play, and there has been some progression made, but unfortunately with the good comes the bad.
Burn cards that were prominent in Titanfall 1 have now been removed and have been replaced with Boosts. This is one of the good changes in the game for me. Reason for this was because I found that the Burn Cards got a bit obsolete when you got to the higher levels, especially when it came to the extra XP ones.
There are now a lot of customisation options available or your pilot and Titan in Titanfall 2's multiplayer. You can customise the skins for your Pilot and Titan as well as a badge for your Titan. There are lots of options available, but as normal, you have to rank up and complete challenges to be able to unlock and use them.
One of the biggest changes for multiplayer is the use of weapons and the choices you have. There are a lot of weapons available, however instead of like Titanfall 1 where you had a primary, secondary and an Anti Titan weapon, you get your Primary weapon, but you can only choose between either a secondary or an Anti Titan. Which does make a bit of a difference in game as not everyone is after you with grenade and rocket launchers when you're in a Titan. This does mean more strategic approaches and I have to admit, it has lead to an increase in Titan Rodeo. I have a feeling that this was anticipated by Respawn as most of the Titans have Electric Smoke ability. (I say most as I haven't tried all of the Titan chassis yet)
There is one part of the customisation that I really like and this is the execution style for your Pilot. There are several to pick from and each one is as satisfying at the last. These range from a good ol' neck snap to stealing your opponents pistol and shooting him with it. I highly recommend giving these a look. Titans also have execution moves, which I absolutely love doing.... Yes... I am that guy. Instead of just ripping off arms and smashing the opponent Titan in the head, each Titan still has there own execution but these are far more satisfying and you can see a video below of a few different executions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ5qbEBjr7k
The overall setup is slightly similar to Titanfall 1 were you can set a tactical skill to your Pilot. The tactical skills are varied and there is a fair amount of choice to pick from, and they come from anything ranging between Cloaking to Stim, which TF1 players will be familiar with. However, the newest addition to this section is the Grapple, which I found to be immensely fun to use, especially when you get swinging and get a couple of moves together, it feels so smooth and there is a sense of satisfaction when you get a flow of moves going.
As I said earlier, with the good comes the bad. With Titanfall 2 they have changed the way parties work, and this is for the worse for me. This is now called networks and when members of your network are online they will show in the Multiplayer menu and you can invite them to games. Simples, yes? However, once the match is over, your party will get disbanded and the matchmaking will continue without your party in it, you will all end up in different games, which is really weird and I hope gets fixed, because it is a bit annoying having to back out of matchmaking and invite everyone back in again.
I have found the map designs to be lacking in TF2, this is one of the few areas that lets the game down for me. The TF1 maps felt natural, good to play, but in TF2 I don't get the same feelings for them. Maybe I need to get asserted and learn the ways properly, but even the ones I have played over and over and know, I still don't get the same feeling from them. There are 1 or 2 which I love and enjoy playing, just the rest haven't really grown on me yet. Hopefully in time they will grow on me, but at the moment I am not too sure.
One last thing I have found disappointing with the game as well is the lack of statistics. I'm not sure if they are going to be added later on, but the absence of them is rather a let down. The amount of detail that went into TF1's stats was brilliant, and I loved looking at each of the different sections.
Overall the game is wonderful and I am having an absolute blast playing it. The single player is a wonderful addition and with the beautifully told narrative it is a joy to play.
The multiplayer feels like the multiplayer from the first game, but with the update and progression it needed, which keeps it fresh and new.
A wonderful game which I will enjoy for a long time! 9/10
I find Titanfall 2 to be lacking. Sadly, I was looking for a serious single player campaign. What we get is a mere 6 hours, which is less than a fifth or less of what a real single player campaign would give. I found the multiplayer tedious and boring as I did with the first, and while the campaign had promise, it was so truncated St not even know where this might have gone. The tease is not worth the cheese, so wait the three or four years until it's in the $5 Bargain Bin before you lose your shirt on this one.
ReplyDeleteHave to disagree with you there.
ReplyDeleteThe narrative and content throughout the single player is enough to warrant the amount of time it is playable. Plus the replayability of the single player is there as well.
The multiplayer is one of the best of the year by far. That and Battlefield 1 blows anything else out of the water in terms of content and quality.
Plus with TF2 there is no season pass and all maps etc are going to be free.
[…] GOTY is ….. *drum roll*… Titanfall 2. Surprised? I think the game is a very worthy winner. After the Tech Test, Respawn went away and […]
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