I don’t envy Titanfall 2. Wedged between first person shooter juggernauts Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, writes Simon Bishop, it was always going to be up against it.
Titanfall 2
For: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
From: Electronic Arts/Respawn
Rating: (R16) ★★★★
Facing some stiff competition, Titanfall 2 needed to be really good to make a mark. I'm pleased to say it is indeed a very good game.
Titanfall 2's decision to include a single-player campaign after being purely multiplayer in its first iteration is a real bonus from the start. Being multiplayer only sounds OK on paper, but fast-forward a few months after release and what you have is only the hardcore playing it. What this means is if you don't jump in and buy the game almost immediately, good luck to you venturing on to battlefields and being shredded by the veracious hardcores out there looking for "noob blood''.
Including a single-player campaign immediately boosts a game's value beyond that original launch period. Titanfall 2's campaign centres around the pilot Jack Cooper (you) and your giant robot friend BT-7274. Now I've read that people find their relationship endearing but to be honest it didn't leave a mark on me. There's the age-old "robot doesn't get euphemisms and figures of speech'' gag that gets used a bit too often, but I guess points for trying.
The action in Titanfall 2 is super-fast paced. You'll be sprinting around environments, wall running from platform to platform, leaping across rooftops and blasting foes at the same time. It's a real thrill to play. When you jump into your Titan the action barely slows down, as you switch between "Cores'' that change your Titan's abilities on the fly, depending on the situation you're in. It's all very fluid, and combined with a high frame rate, is an impressive sight to behold.
The wall-running aspect of the game lends itself to spectacular set-piece moments and scenarios, and Titanfall 2 has this in spades. Moments where you're running up a completely sidewards town, as well as wall running between vast chasms and caverns are spread throughout the campaign.
The boss battles against other pilots (complete with some very dodgy South African accents) are a highlight, too.
Obviously, Titanfall 2 has a strong emphasis on multiplayer, too, and it plays out just like the single-player experience. However, there's one main issue, and it refers back to my initial point. Titanfall 2 was released between Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. As such, there's limited amounts of players playing it. It's a harsh reality, but by releasing the game when they did, they condemned this game to playing third fiddle. It's a shame too, as the game deserves so much more than that.
In terms of a purely multiplayer experience, I think I would recommend Call of Duty. But if you're looking for a visceral experience that also has multiplayer for you delve into, prepare for Titanfall 2.
