“Titanfall” is just one of those games that enthusiasts of online first person shooters will have to pick up.
The debut game from Respawn Entertainment and published by EA games exclusively for Microsoft systems is an addicting shooter that’s hard to put down. Honestly, it isn’t hard to see why.
The gameplay is fast and fluid. Your character will zip around the battlefield, double jumping onto roofs, running along walls, and fighting from midair. Players of more traditional shooters like “Call of Duty,” “Battlefield,” or even “Halo” may find the inclusion of a Z-axis daunting at first, but after the first or second game it’s a guarantee that you’ll be scanning the air for hostile jumpers, or utilizing this new found freedom to rain hell on unsuspecting players.
Of course, this infantry combat is augmented by the eponymous Titans, which usually start appearing around the fourth or fifth minute of a round. Combat in one of these massive mechs is awe-inspiring. Titan-on-Titan combat is exhilarating; you’ll pound it out against other Titans using powerful primary weapons, missiles, and even your fists.
Fighting infantry as a Titan is a mixed blessing. You’ll feel like God as you pop enemy pilots (the game’s name for human characters,) and AI controlled infantry, with your fists, foot, or weapons, but watch out if they get close enough to ride you.
Every pilot packs a set of anti-Titan weaponry, but even beyond that you can leap up onto a Titan and pull off a panel to attack a weak point with your main firearms. This enables a balance so that no matter what, no player will ever face a situation that they can’t deal with.
Like all modern shooters, there are a variety of ways to customize your pilot and Titan. For pilots, weapon, ordinance, and ability slots can be customized, and Titans also have a similar set up. The game does lack the numbers offered by other modern shooters, with about 14 distinct weapons for pilots total, and half of that for Titans, which may annoy some players.
Microsoft really lucked out on this game, and those with an Xbox One or a computer capable of handling it should get it. 360 users will have to wait another week, but it’s a great buy and a marvelous game.