Titanfall

Editor's Notes

360 version reviewed.  For coverage of 'Titanfall' on the Xbox One, see the High-Def Digest review.

Introduction

Ever since Respawn introduced 'Titanfall,' it's been clear that the mech/Titan laden online shooter was a big deal on the Xbox One and PC. What's remained clouded in mystery though, was the announced version for the 360. Surely, a game put forward as synonymous with the Xbox One couldn't be much to see on the 360. That is, unless it was really designed with the 360 in mind. Even as months of 'Titanfall' hype brought endless updates from Microsoft, EA, and Respawn, it wasn't until the last minute that the 360 version's developer, Bluepoint Games, was introduced. As the world began to play 'Titanfall' on the Xbox One and PC, the still under wraps 360 version was pushed back a few times but only in negligible two week intervals. Now that it's out, it's finally time to see 'Titanfall' on the 360, and to see what was being hidden for so long.

The Game Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

Attribute it to 'Call of Duty' fatigue, but for me, the first-person shooter, especially one connecting itself so heavily to the online multiplayer community had become a point of contention for me as a gamer these past few years. Naturally, when buzz started to form around 'Titanfall,' especially phrases such as 'killer app,' my eyes rolled and I moved my attention to other things. When 'Titanfall' originally launched on the Xbox One, curiosity won me over and I watched some game play, I was intrigued, but not wholly impressed. About a month later, 'Titanfall' made its way to the Xbox 360, for those console luddites like myself who haven't made the leap to one of the 'big two.' Cautiously launching into not just a standard first-person shooter, but also one absolutely devoid of any form of offline play, I decided to see what the fuss was about. Ninety minutes later, I was hooked; eight hours after that my praises were so high, a good friend went out and bought it himself. 'Titanfall' has landed. The bar has been raised.

Believe it or not, 'Titanfall's' approach to gaming, while sporting a revolutionary feel, is quite simple. Yes, there's no offline campaign, but in order to introduce players to the world of the game and it's various maps, there is an online campaign that is a 50-50 split between the corporate IMC or ragtag group of freedom fighters known as the Militia. Gameplay between the two factions is identical and while each chapter in the campaign does have a brief in-game expository sequence, for the life of me, I couldn't honestly tell you what either side are ultimately after. What I can tell you despite being on a team of only six other players, a battle in 'Titanfall' is always pushing itself towards being an epic experience. Players control the eventual pilots of the titular Titans (simply put, giant robots), while ground forces are filled out by AI foes in the form of grunts (the human version) or specters (small robot forces you can dispatch as normal or engage in melee combat to hack and bring over to your side of the fight). What this ensures, is you aren't continually getting sniped by a veteran player or worse yet, spawncamped. The tradeoff though is grunts and specters only net you 10% the normal score an enemy pilot would, however the way this keeps the pace of the fight going is one of 'Titanfall's biggest strengths.

From a control standpoint, 'Titanfall' is amazingly intuitive and handles without any major hiccups. Seasoned FPS fans will pick it up instantly, and the learning curve on one of the most touted features, wallrunning, is shockingly low. The feature itself is reported to have been inspired from a 'Half-Life 2' mod, but with how smoothly it functions in game (there have been a handful of matches I played where I nearly traversed the entire map wall running with ease), one would have surely thought it was an addition that had been in development for years. When the Titan's themselves come into play, everything holds up just fine with a great balance between fluid control while giving the Titan's the necessary feel of weight and large scale. The best way to sum it up is by saying, if you can image doing it, it's likely possible in 'Titanfall.'

If there's one surface negative, it would be 'Titanfall' is in all actuality, a no-frills game. There are 15 maps to choose from and five gameplay modes (classic assault, area control, capture the flag, a pilot hunt (where focusing on enemy pilots, is the focus, in lieu of the NPCs) and last Titan standing (arguably one of the most viscerally gratifying modes in the game). On the customization front, there are three major classes of pilots to choose from as well as three styles of Titans. However, unlike say, 'Call of Duty' what 'Titanfall' offers you in the form of equipment is all useful in the right combinations, it's not merely filler until you unlock 'the best' weapon in the game. I've personally found the game's submachine gun, a very early weapon, suits my play style best, while I've seen many players use a rifle unlocked midway through the game with equal skill. Add to that a small but very useful set of skills and loadouts for both pilots and Titans and you have a personalized experience that rewards strategic thinking instead of insulting newer players.