Meet your new and improved robot buddy.
E3 week has been a non-stop flooding of both new games and the usual plethora of sequels. One particular sequel I have been excited for is Respawn’s multiplatform follow-up to its Xbox One-exclusive mech-shooter Titanfall. The fact that this new installment is going to be a multiplatform game was driven into players straight away by having the game only available to play on the PS4 platform. Don’t worry, though, as I’m sure it will be just as amazing on the Xbox One and PC.
If there were any doubts about how amazing Titanfall 2 will be, you can rest assured knowing that Respawn is at the top of their game. Based on its showing at EA Play during E3 2016, the game runs at a buttery-smooth 60fps and there is a whole roost of new visual effects that give an even more realistic look to the map we played on if you can imagine that.
This was the first public hands-on with Titanfall 2, so naturally they started us off with more of what made the original great: multiplayer. We played a new game mode called Bounty Hunt where you’re tasked (along with your teammates) with taking down designated Titans by executing them with a rodeo takedown or by melee-ing them up close Titan vs. Titan. The rodeo takedown was way more involved and required you to do more than just hack away at the enemy Titan’s core in the original. In Titanfall 2 you need to break into the enemy Titan’s chassis and insert a grenade. If you survive you can escape with a battery than can be used to heal up a teammate's Titan. It might have been just me, but it seemed like my Titan could take more damage than in the original; hopefully, this means we’ll all get more time in the cockpit.
Unlike the original, in Titanfall 2 you now have to earn your Titan, as it’s not just given to you after your countdown expires. Just like before, you’ll be mowing down grunts and sentinels but it did seem a bit more difficult to identify the human players from the non-human players. Yes, the player names are still there but the names don’t appear until you get to a certain distance from your opponent.
My time with the game lasted the equivalent of about two rounds (roughly 20 minutes), so I’m at a loss for a few things like the name of the map we played on and the variety of weapon loadouts for both you and your Titan. It all felt new, a bit more imaginative with flashier but just as deadly weaponry. There seemed to be a stronger emphasis on going vertical and really getting to the highest point possible to start sniping fools.
Overall, Titanfall 2 felt very familiar. I was able to pick it up and get right into to the fray without having played the original game in more than a year. Gameplay feels faster and the visual upgrade will make players of the original (and I’m sure players new to the game) fall in love with it all over again. While it would have been nice to get a glimpse of what’s in store for us now that it’s been confirmed that there will be a campaign mode, but with a new variety of Titan, revised classes, loadouts and some sure-to-be fun new modes, Titanfall 2 is shaping up to be one of my most anticipated shooters coming this fall.
Titanfall 2 is coming to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC and will release on October 28, 2016.
