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Titanfall 2 review

The first Titanfall game launched on Xbox One and PC back in March 2014. It also found its way to Xbox 360 a month later. For the sequel, Respawn Entertainment and EA have brought the game to Xbox One, PC and PS4.

The first game was something of an experiment as it ditched the single-player campaign in favour of merging elements of it into the multiplayer. It was a brave move but one that seemed like it might work as players love to complain about the campaigns in games. However doing so ended up being one of the biggest complaints about the first game.

For Titanfall 2, Respawn have obviously been working hard to remove the complaints of the first. So this time players are treated to a full campaign mode. It serves somewhat of an introduction to the game and how to play which prepares players for the online-multiplayer.

The story casts players as a Militia rifleman names Jack Cooper. He has ambitions of becoming a Titan Pilot and near the start of the game that opportunity is forced upon him. Jack is given the chance to pilot a Vanguard-class Titan named BT-7274 who he affectionally calls BT for short.

Watch the Titanfall 2 launch trailer below:

[brid video=”71734″ player=”531″ title=”Titanfall 2 Official Single Player Gameplay Trailer Jack and BT7274″]

 

Titanfall 2 builds upon the first game in pretty much every way you can think of. During my time with the campaign it brought back memories of big games like Halo, Portal and Half-Life 2. The action is incredibly polished and in parts is quite unlike anything I’ve played before. The game keeps things interesting with plenty of new elements including puzzles and unique gameplay mechanics.

As the campaign progresses it explores the relationship between Cooper and BT. They must learn to work together and become incredibly close as they need to rely on each other to survive. There’s a lot of humour during the campaign, especially from the logical way that BT thinks. Things that Cooper says are often misinterpreted and it leaves you loving BT even more.

Cooper spends large amounts of time piloting BT sat inside the mech. When inside you’re near indestructible when going up again the puny enemy infantry. BT can simply trample them to death. Against other Titans it’s a different story and you need to think on the go to get the upper hand.

Throughout the campaign BT discovers many different weapon loadout packages. These can be equipped on the fly, even during combat, and really change the way he plays. There’s a weapon loadout for every occasion including assault guns, sniper, flame, rockets and even a giant sword. The different loadouts also activate other abilities such as shields and hover. Each loadout also comes with a devastating special move.

Check out some screenshots from Titanfall 2 in our gallery below:

The immense size of a Titan means that there are plenty of places that he can’t go. During these sections its necessary to exit BT and find your way around on foot. While apart BT keeps in communication, often gives advice and is more than capable of looking after himself.

When on foot as a Pilot you can feel quite vulnerable when not with BT. However Cooper is incredibly agile and one of the best parts of the game is how free you feel when moving. The best sections as Cooper are when you have to use his wall-running and double-jump abilities to bounce between walls and climb structures.

While levels are relatively linear they allow the player to progress through them in a variety of ways. As well as the way Cooper moves a lot of the choice comes from which weapons to pick up. There’s a large variety on offer and they allow you to use different tactics. My favourite weapon of all is the returning smart pistol which is lethal.

The campaign is going to keep players busy for around six hours on the default normal setting. More experienced players are advised to bump it up to Hard and there’s also an even harder Master difficulty level. I enjoyed the campaign so much I can see myself coming back to it. There are also plenty of collectibles to discover in the form of Pilot helmets.

Watch the Titanfall 2 multiplayer trailer below:

[brid video=”71735″ player=”531″ title=”Titanfall 2 Official Multiplayer Gameplay Trailer”]

 

As good as the campaign is, the multiplayer is where most players will be spending the majority of their time with Titanfall 2. It’s an evolution of what came with the first game and features new maps and modes to keep players entertained.

Modes on offer are Amped Hardpoint (6v6), Bounty Hunt (5v5), Attrition (6v6), Last Titan Standing (5v5), Pilots vs. Pilots (6v6, 8v8), Capture the Flag (5v5), Free-for-All (12 players) and Coliseum (1v1).

Many of these are similar to those found in other online shooters. Bounty Hunt has both teams clearing areas of AI controlled enemies while fighting each other. Each kill rewards a bounty and you need to bank it for you team at set locations at specific times during a match.

The excellent Attrition mode returns and has you scoring points for fighting the opposing team and taking out AI enemies. The Coliseum mode is paid entry using in-game currency with first to two kills to win.

Playing the multiplayer unlocks new weapons, abilities and loadouts. These allow you to customise both your Pilot and Titan to your preference. The new Pilot Grapple Hook was a personal favourite allowing me to swing around the maps like Spider-Man.

Meet the Titanfall 2 Titans in the video below:

[brid video=”71738″ player=”531″ title=”Titanfall 2 Official Trailer Meet The Titans”]

 

Calling in your Titan is as fantastic as the first game as it drops down from space and smashes into the ground below. Careful timing allows you to drop it on enemy players and Titans which is always hilarious fun.

The multiplayer is chaotic and thrilling. The Pilot movement is as perfect as you’re going to find in a game and traversing the maps is a joy. Controlling the six Titans is fun and their different abilities allow all players to find something they will like. Importantly no matter your skill level it always feels fair.

Respawn say they will be aggressively pursuing post-launch updates with new maps, modes, weapons and patches. Best of all is that there is no Season Pass for Titanfall 2. This means all players will get all the DLC content at no extra cost.

Titanfall 2 is an. incredible package and absolutely essential for shooter fans. The campaign is one of my favourite of all time and I’ll be coming back to the multiplayer until we hopefully get a Titanfall 3. Sandwiched between the big shooter releases of Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare I fear that Titanfall 2 could get overlooked but I really hope that doesn’t happen.

Titanfall 2 was reviewed using a retail copy supplied by EA.

Developer: Respawn Entertainment Publisher: EA Release Date: October 28, 2016 Reviewed On: Xbox One Also Available On: PS4, PC

Greg Ellwood
Greg Ellwoodhttps://8ce250469d.nxcli.io
Greg is the Deputy Editor of Entertainment Focus. He writes about Games, Tech and TV. You can find him on Xbox/PSN/Steam as Tahllian.

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