[BLOG] Titanfall 2: Campaign Review (Console)

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ArtemissBow

[BLOG] Titanfall 2: Campaign Review (Console)

Post by ArtemissBow »

This is a blog post. To read the original post, please click here »

(For Digmbot's initial impressions of Titanfall 2, head over to his article here ~Lone)



Along with many of you, I was a little apprehensive about picking up the new Titanfall sequel this past fall. As of recently, the game has been on sale and had a price drop for the holidays/Game Awards. The game did boast a single player campaign mode, which was entirely lacking from the first incarnation, and I was hopeful to see what the Respawn Entertainment writers had in store for us.



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I've never been more impressed with a game that I had so little expectation of. Having completed the campaign, I can say that it was certainly a welcome surprise to play through such an accomplished story. Aside from being well written and developed, I found myself really feeling connected to BT-7274, a titan that we 'fell' into responsibility of piloting. With the game telling us right at the beginning that the connection between a pilot and a titan is paramount in being successful, I really felt that theme flowing through the whole story. I cared when he was in jeopardy, and I feel like he cared about me as well. I do think that the theme of connection was dealt with really well through the campaign with something I was also not expecting: speech options. Now, I'm not talking about branching Mass Effect/Witcher conversations, but as a player you are in regular contact with your titan. These conversations are usually limited to a few lines, and the player only has a few different speech options to choose from. As a result of the abbreviated exchange, and the fact that the game does not pause for these quips, there is no loss of immersion or speed at which you are playing. That is HUGE. Had they decided to have the conversations with the BT stop the gameplay, or even forced you to walk, they would have been incredibly annoying. Luckily, they thought of that already, so sit back and get ready to enjoy an adventure with your new Vanguard-Class titan buddy.



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Aside from the writing and flow of the story, the level design was also extremely well executed. Each area looked independent of the last, but still flowed together. There is always somewhere for your pilot to explore in each level, which you may want to do because there are secrets in the form of fallen pilot helmets to collect in hidden areas all over the place. I found myself a fair few times jumping out of my titan to traverse the levels and leave my titan on auto to help me clear the areas. Why in the world would I jump out of my massive, destructive suit of amazing armor to clear anything? Because it's fun! Which brings me to another note about the gameplay: It's SMOOTHER. Insanely better executed than titanfall 1's wall running. In fact, it may be better than any wall running/jump pack type game I've played to date. Strangely, that also brings me to the first negative I have about the game. Get ready to wall run, a lot. Even as early as the first level, the game will demand that you are able to execute complex chains of wall running, or you will not be able to progress. Luckily, if you sit in an area for too long, the game will generate a 'ghost' for you to follow through difficult areas. That being said, being able to chain jumps and wall running is a pretty integral part of the gameplay, so it is good that they create a steep learning curve for the mechanic early. Don't worry, the game comes up with several other fun mechanics to play with during the campaign including: cranes to create pathways, a maintenance gun, and time travel. I will say, I've never seen a game that included a time travel mechanic where the story-line was note entirely based on time travel as a theme, so well played on that one Titanfall 2.



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But of course, we all want to hear about the multiplayer. My statement before about the game feeling smoother applies here as well. As a pilot, you feel as if you can easily traverse the maps and as a result, the pace is very fast. There's nothing like getting murdered in the first few rounds after coming back to a game because you're out of practice, but I was quickly able to regain my stride. Some of the new pilot weapons brought onto the scene feel really well optimized, but I don't have enough time in yet to say how balanced they are. I really appreciate the additional titan loadouts, and look forward to learning how they counter each other. Having such specific strengths in the new titan classes has added an additional aspect of strategy to the multiplayer, much more than just waves after waves of titans being summoned where only numbers on either side is all that matters. The game-modes are a mimic of the first game, with a few interesting things added that seem to be targeted towards either titan or pilot gameplay alone.



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The game is definitely an improvement on the first Titanfall, and 100% worth picking up. If you were into playing Titanfall 1, and were always wondering what a backstory on the war was, this is your game. Get ready to be 'tossed' into a fantastic adventure with your new mechanical friend.



A Titanic 9.5/10! Worth purchasing!
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