Our Managing Editor, Darrin Wright, loved Titanfall and it’s not hard to understand why. Respawn Entertainment has developed an exciting, addicting, and enjoyable multiplayer experience.
I’ve done the incredibly difficult task of dragging myself away from the game to give five (and only five) reasons to love the Xbox One’s killer app. While there many, many more reasons to love Titanfall (I’m looking at you parkour mechanics), here are some of my personal favorites.
Everyone has a chance to feel unstoppable
Much has been said concerning the game’s inclusion of dozens upon dozens of AI bots that inhabit each match. Yes, they’re not much of a challenge, but they do more than just occupy space. Looking to spawn your Titan sooner? Snipe off some grunts. Hoping to get more easy XP to level up? Take down some Spectres. Tired of getting slaughtered by humans? Just pick apart the computer players and feel like you’re contributing to the cause. Plus, there are burn cards that reward you for killing the Spectre bots. See? They’re not such a bad addition after all.
Gameplay is well suited for quick matches
Do you only have fifteen minutes to spare before reality drags you away from your console? Don’t worry; matches in Titanfall are fast and frantic. I’ve rarely seen a match last around ten minutes, with the exception of the Last Titan Standing mode. Still, that gives you time for a match or two before you have to head into work, out to dinner, or remind your friends that you still exist. It’s the best of both worlds!
A nice combination of fast paced action and strategy
There have been many a comment made about Titanfall extremely fast pace. While those comments are true, the gameplay is able to combine incredible speed with strategy. If you spend your entire time wall running like Ezio, you won’t get much accomplished. Inversely, if your tactic of choice is camping, then, well…
You’re going to die a lot because everyone around you is constantly moving at a breakneck pace searching for new targets. It’s a controlled chaos; imagine the constant barrage of grenades from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. This time they’re not being thrown blindly, but with purpose.
Actually, there aren’t any grenades being thrown at all, but that’s besides the point. Every move has a purpose, every bullet a target, and every shot a meaning.
Each game mode feels completely different
While many shooters can offer seemingly countless game modes, they have a tendency to feel exactly the same. That’s not the case here. While there’s only five currently available, they each have their own distinct flavor. Whether is the non-stop pace of Attrition; the tactical, methodical games featured in Last Titan Standing; or the careful plotting in Capture the Flag; no two modes feel alike. What works in one game absolutely won’t work in the other. Titanfall has found a way to make me care about everything it has to offer; yes, that includes Pilot Hunter, because I can’t just pick apart the AI all day long and still contribute like I can in Attrition.
It’s not Call of Duty
If there’s a point I’ve made often in this article, it’s that Titanfall is not Call of Duty with mechs. There’s a certain finesse and strategy needed to the game that other shooters haven’t replicated in the past. When Modern Warfare was released seven years ago, it showed us what was possible in a shooter. The same game be said today with Titanfall. It doesn’t call back to the past, but instead focuses on the future.
