Developed by Respawn Entertainment, Titanfall is the studio’s first title, but the giant robots that headline this new project are already up against massive expectations. With a veteran design team and a public beta under its belt, the game’s seemingly poised to deliver. But all the worldwide hype aside, does the finished product have the vigor and playability to make it stand tall above all the rest? Prepare for Titanfall.
A war is raging in an area of space on the farthest reaches of humanity’s grasp called the Frontier, and the pioneering Militia and power-hungry IMC both want it as their own. Jump-drive technology and mass manufacturing of Titans and synthetic troops have made this conflict for control of the Frontier an impressively brutal conflict. The militia considers it their homeland, the IMC, or “Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation,” want it for it’s earning potential. It makes for an exciting backdrop as it frames the game’s “Campaign Multiplayer” mode.
So the big question is this: How exactly does Titanfall’s campaign work? To be clear, the game has no single-player component — every mode is linked to online team match-making. Campaign multiplayer really just contextualizes many of the game’s multiplayer maps with story elements. Just like classic multiplayer, it’s six versus six with AI mixed in. Each faction has its own heroes and personalities, and each separate campaign has you progressing through a predetermined set of levels, or maps really, differentiated by unique scripted moments unique to the side you’re playing. Special picture-in-picture sequences are sprinkled throughout the match with the sole purpose of pushing the narrative forward.
Problem is, these events are displayed while you’re trying to play the game, and are too easily lost in the chaos. It’s hard to focus on the crisis unfolding in the corner of your screen when you’ve got Ogre Titan shooting you from across the map or a nimble Pilot trying kick your face in. A lot of the dialogue is well-written, and it’s a shame that some of the best moments can be cut off due to the kill-cam overriding the picture-in-picture. Ultimately, this is a competitive multiplayer shooter, and your focus will be on winning the match, not watching the drama. The story, characters and universe make a lot more sense with a few replays but you pretty much just want to unlock the titans for regular multiplayer.
The real star of this show is the map design, with environments that are perfectly suited for warfare. You’ll battle across multiple planets with diversified color palettes and unique geographies that make Titanfall’s worlds feel varied and full of spectacle. Giant beasts lumber in the distance, large-scale space battles play out overhead, and AI-controlled soldiers deploy from drop pods. All this creates a thriving theatre of war. Each match feels like an epic conflict, giving pilots plenty of opportunity to wall-run and Titans open space to strafe and maneuver. Within the game’s fifteen available maps, Boneyard and Overlook stand out. Boneyard provides plenty of verticality, with a giant alien skeleton in the center of the map, while Overlook condenses the action into tight corridors. The wide range of maps feel perfectly suited for both Titans and pilots.
There’s a varied collection of weapons and gear across both Pilot and Titan load out menus. Customization is important, and Pilots are differentiated by their tactical abilities like cloaking, which operate on a cooldown system, and kits that provide passive bonuses. There are multiple selections for each slot, along with a variety of grenades and mines, and weapons that have a few layers of customization. Similarly, Titans can use abilities like a shield that catches and return enemy fire along with passive options like nuclear ejection, where your Titan explodes upon death, damaging enemies around it. You’ll earn experience and unlock new options along the way as you gain experience and ascend to level 50. Compared to other games, there are fewer weapons, and the options push the game’s play style in a decidedly offensive direction. There are however giant gun turrets on specific maps that can be hacked to give your team a defensive advantage. And even more than the weapons, items called Burn Cards are the real modifiers that alter a player’s in-game behavior.
As you play you’ll receive a steady supply of Burn Cards, consumable power-ups that give you weapons, abilities or modifiers of different rarities. Amped Weapons are pretty common, while instant-use Titans feel suitably rare. There’s a cap to how many you can have anyway, so hoarding them is not an option, and their effects only last as long as you stay alive. Burn Cards are fun and mix up the action, pushing Pilots to pick a moment to make a difference and play a bit more carefully to maximize their advantage.
Titanfall offers a variety of modes in addition to campaign multiplayer. Attrition is team death match. Last Titan Standing has every players start in their Titans with one life per round. Pilot Hunter and Capture the Flag are also options, but Hardpoint Domination tasks the team to secure three points positioned on the map, and is the best-suited mode to showcase all of Titanfall’s strengths. This mode requires players to play both offense and defense. Strategically setting your Titan to AI guard mode to fend off enemies and push points is an incredibly fun tactical option. It’s a solid selection of modes, but the biggest difference between this game and other competitive online shooters is the addition of AI-controlled soldiers called minions.
These grunts and robotic Spectres are dumb, but they make the six-on-six multiplayer matches feel much larger and motivate players to keep moving and shooting. Mowing down the fodder will decrease the timer to let you get your Titan on the battlefield faster, and will earn you points toward victory in attrition mode. You can even hack them and turn them to your side. Simply put, these computer-controlled enemies are a resource, and a positive addition to the game.
Titanfall is balanced so that skill decides a battle, not an overpowered weapon or chassis.
In this dynamic ecosystem of competitive shooting, balance between the different Titans and the pilot is absolutely critical. Titanfall is balanced so that skill decides a battle, not an overpowered weapon or chassis. Everything is highly powerful and extremely vulnerable at the same time. Titans can stomp on pilots or blow them to bits with their powerful weaponry, but every pilot carries a weapon dedicated to bringing them down, and can be lethally effective from cover or when cloaked. A Pilot can also jump on a Titan’s back to blast away at its core for direct damage, but the defending pilot might just leap out of the Titan to counterattack. It’s these strategies and counter-strategies that make Titanfall’s gameplay unpredictable and enjoyable. The carefully crafted balance along with a unique system of AI-controlled grunts make Titanfall one of the most inviting online shooters in a long time, and that’s a powerful move in a genre populated by hardcore players.
In the end, Titanfall presents a collection of gorgeous, well-designed multiplayer maps, with a variety of game modes that change their flavor. It is an ambitious game in some aspects, while playing it safe in other others. Although the campaign multiplayer strives to entertain, the multiplayer experience easily overshadows it with its balanced battlefield choreography. If you’re looking for a story-driven experience, look elsewhere. If you’re looking for a shooter, Titanfall will satisfy and surprise you. It doesn’t redefine first-person genre, but it certainly threatens the status quo, and that’s a welcome step forward.
Reviewed on Microsoft Xbox One.
Written by Rohan Rivas.
Summary
Titanfall is a great start to an exciting new franchise. Sure, campaign multiplayer is a disappointment and I wish there was a little more meat on the bones in terms of game modes and pilot and titan types, among other things – but the gameplay is outstanding.
