By Austin Chiavaroli, Staff Writer
The new game “Titanfall,” by Electronic Arts and Respawn Entertainment is a game made exclusively for the Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles. The game is a multiplayer first-person shooter developed by some co-founders of past “Call of Duty” games, which makes the gameplay style and mechanics easier to understand for most gamers who have played any of the “Call of Duty” series.
The multiplayer in the game has players choosing whether to fight on foot as Pilots or in the mechanical walkers called Titans to complete team-based objectives. They can also choose the two different factions on a war torn planet, militia or the IMC. The game is online-multiplayer only; however it adds elements found in single player campaigns such as a plot, character dialogue, and NPC’s. Besides the multiplayer “slaughter” games there is team “deathmatch,” where teams compete for the greatest kill count, and capture the flag, where both teams have to guard and try to steal one another’s flags.
Unlike characters in most known FPS games like, “Call of Duty” and “Battlefield,” pilots are agile and can get momentum, letting players run on walls, have jet pack double jumps, glide on zip lines, and vault obstacles. Titans, on the other hand, are slightly slower than the pilots and cannot jump. They instead have a dash and better weapons to use, giving both types an advantage and disadvantage against other players and enemies.
Another option in the game is the Campaign Multiplayer, where there are a story and cinematic sequences with non-playable character dialogue. The militia in the campaign are the civilian military of a Frontier and are the resistance against the IMC’s usage of colonial resources. The player can play as either faction and can achieve a new titan once they have played both campaigns.
The main issue with the game is precisely that the game is based solely on the multiplayer aspect, making the campaign seem less interesting. It can also be seen as an excuse for the company to be less motivated and creative with making a well prepared story, and think they can sell a game alone on multiplayer. Another issue is the repetitiveness of the gameplay. For years, first-person shooter publishing companies have taken the same game mechanics and used them in every game they have made, making each game feel like the last. “Titanfall” does the same bringing concepts from past FPS’s into its gameplay.
These issues, however, are small compared to the fun the game provides for the players. It is most definitely a good game to use for a game night or a party, and everyone can enjoy competing against each other. It is rated “M” for the blood and gore, strong language, and violence, meaning it is not for teens or children. If the player is a person that loves past first-person shooter games, then he/she should try this game out.
