First Impressions
Background
I am not much of a first-person shooter player, but I had the itch to get into one and have some fun online with it. I had seen a lot of praise in the past for Titanfall 2 for both its campaign and multiplayer so I gave it a shot.
Presentation
Titanfall 2 looks great and the visuals hold up well enough in 2021. I’m sure more modern FPS’s are more polished, but the graphics were great and the themes, models, and environment all worked in harmony very well. From cities to canyons to futuristic factories nothing ever seemed out of place.
Initial Thoughts
I was impressed with Titanfall 2 from the start. Even the introductory section which tasked me with running and gunning through around a track to get the best time I could had me hooked. The movement in the game was challenging to perfect but so rewarding, and the shooting felt as good as I’ve felt. This little track section had me more engaged than a typical racing game and I felt like there was so much room to improve my skills in this little one-minute segment.
Once I got into the campaign I was equally as engaged, as I could tell this was much more than a typical FPS story mode of hiding behind cover and shooting repetitive enemies. The movement remained core to the challenge and the Titans added the cherry on top.
Gameplay
Campaign
The Titanfall 2 campaign is a short, linear story that succeeds by varying the gameplay and environments and never trying to be something it isn’t. The story was short not very memorable. It involved a larger conflict but focused on the interactions between the main two characters: the protagonist Jack Cooper and a titan named B2. The relationship between these two was endearing and enough to keep me moving forward. The occasional titan bosses did not have much build-up and I did not care about their characters or motives but the fights themselves were a good change of pace.
The levels are well designed and varied, with many sequences that are memorable. Each level contained sections of platforming as the pilot, running and gunning, towering over enemies with B2, and engaging in titan vs titan brawls. Each section was short enough to not get boring before leading into the next engaging challenge. More elements such as time-travel are added later that keep allowing the campaign to feel fresh.
Multiplayer
Titanfall was the first multiplayer in quite some time that I have gotten into. As good as the single-player was, the multiplayer was what had me coming back every day.
Unfortunately, there was not too many people playing in 2021 so my options for game modes that would actually launch were limited to attrition and occasionally pilots vs pilots. The good news is that those were enough to keep me playing.
Pilots vs pilots is a typical team death match mode with no access to titans, and attrition is a larger scale battle of 6 vs 6 with packs of CPU grunts aiding each team throughout the match. This mode is less about each player’s K/D ratio and more about their points, which can be obtained from killing CPU grunts, opposing pilots, and opposing titans for 1, 5, and 10 points respectively. It was great to feel like I was useful by killing grunts for points even when I wasn’t as good as other pilots in the match. As the match progresses my titan bar fills up until I can deploy a titan and be a real threat that needs to be dealt with. This asymmetry between pilots and titans lead to very interesting gameplay but is also well-balanced. The scales can even eb tipped by choosing a titan class that is better against pilots or one that is better against other titans. Even as a pilot I had agency in taking down titans in different ways, by either sniping them with titan-specific weapons or by grappling up on top of them and removing their batteries.
In each game mode the movement of the pilots that I practiced from the very beginning remained crucial to my success. Platforming, grappling, double jumping, and wall-running around each map was vital in chasing down enemies, escaping sticky situations, and getting up advantageous lookout points.
I will admit that I was not good at the multiplayer, and especially as a titan I felt more vulnerable than I should, as opposing titans clearly had more experience than me. But again, in attrition mode I could always feel useful and I always felt like there were different things to work on and improve upon.
Lasting Impressions
Story
The story of Titanfall 2 will not stick with me, but some of the levels will and the relationship between Cooper and B2 will. There were memorable moments in the campaign but the gameplay and the movement will be what I most associate with Titanfall 2.
Takeaway
I would recommend Titanfall 2 to anyone looking for an FPS that has a deep and engaging multiplayer while packing a single-player mode that holds its own very well as a fun and quick linear adventure. The campaign packs memorable levels, moments, and gameplay that kept me engaged even if the overarching story was forgettable.
The movement of Titanfall 2 is what kept me coming back for more, as no matter the mode I always felt like I could improve and get faster, using my wall-runs, double-jumps, and grapples more effectively. This added onto the great shooting added a dynamic that set Titanfall 2 apart from run-of-the-mill shooters.
Pros
Sensational movement
Varied gameplay and levels
Skill-testing multiplayer
Cons
Forgettable story
Underwhelming bosses
Waning multiplayer fanbase
Overall
7/10
