Titanfall 2 (alpha/beta?)

Titanfall 2: Tech Test (Alpha/Beta?)

So first yes it was a tech test.  A test of servers and matching and all around game play.  So there are a few good and bad points and I'm going to get to them, but I want to let everyone know that this isn't a fan boy post for Titanfall 2 it is a genuine review of a game that has an unreal and almost unobtainable hype.  The campaign mode was not released with the tech test and the titans available were only 2 of the 5 offered in the game.  You were also limited on the the weapons and game modes.  The game modes you had were amped hard point, pilot vs pilot, and bounty.  Bounty was the first new game mode that you are introduced to and it is the only game mode of the three that have AI.  The object of the game is to shoot as many of the AI (including the new Specter robots and larger Specter characters each of which carry their own dollar value).  You also shoot opposing pilots to steal half their money.  You then have banks that open after each wave and its a mad rush to the banks to shoot your rivals and drop your money in.  The team with the most money at the end wins.  The other modes aren't much different from what they were previously however in amped hard point the longer you old a point the higher the chance you can get it amped, which doubles the number of points you get while holding the point.  Also this is a review, post a quick fix after the first 2 days. That means it'll be a review after the quicker Titan drop times/scores update.  So, with that winded beginning lets get to the goods and the bad. 

The Bad:

1) It was a tech test, max pilot level is 10, minimal guns, no campaign trial, etc.   It did have an interesting training level which was better than the previous TF, however it lacked titan training and that is the biggest change in the mechanics of the game.  I'm sure it will be in the final version but it was disappointing to have to "earn" your titan and then have to spend your entire titan life trying to figure out how to use it.

2) Titans didn't have a way to get a pilot off their back, and pilots can do a significant amount of damage to a titan by rodeoing it, as well as shooting it from almost any point on the map.  The Titans themselves felt clunky and hard to move around quick enough to get in a position to kill pilots.

3) Glitches/Servers/Frame rates/ etc.  This was the real reason we were playing the game.  The idea was to try and break the servers.  I experience minimal issues however the ones I did were hard to tell if it was my service or their servers.  I was only booted off once (their servers), however there were times I was playing pilot vs pilot and had some issues.  I'm not experienced enough to tell you what the issue itself was but I can tell you what I experienced.  So I was playing against a group of other pilots, all of whom had mics, and at the beginning my character was really moving slow, jittery, and pilots would just suddenly appear in front of me (without cloaking).  At first I heard this could be a frame rate issue, but I also thought that it could have been a bandwidth issue.  I reset my internet and reset the xbox one and didn't experience the problem again.

4) Same issue with match making that I didn't like before, and that was people of a much higher level of skill and hours of play time are placed with level one players who don't have the weapon upgrades, or the titan upgrades so you last half the amount of time you normally would in both pilot, and if you are lucky enough, a titan.  That also creates a problem of if you aren't a very good pilot player you may not ever get a Titan as you earn a Titan by killing other pilots, grunts, or holding a hard point.

5)  Rodeoing is no longer fun.  So it was really fun in TF1 to jump on a titan start shooting, they pop smoke and you jump off and grab onto a wall, then jump back on, they pop out of the titan to shoot you and you drop a satchel charge on them.  Now its you jump on, pull a battery and it automatically jumps you off.  You jump back on and you drop a grenade in their battery hole and then are automatically sent off again.  I think this takes out one of the most exciting aspects of the game.

The Good:

1) It was still really fun!  I put in 7 hours of playing in the 3 days we had access and trust me,  I was not the only one to putting in the time.  There were people I was playing that had logged 20+ hours.  They had played so much that they were able to buy, with credits you win in the game, items that probably weren't meant to be able to be bought in a three day span.

2)  The new titans and their abilities, once you learn them, are pretty awesome.  Slow yes but we are still missing three titans from the list, which is still a positive.  There are 3 more titans 1 of which we don't even know exactly what it is yet.  All of them have unique personalities as well and the sound effects that go with them are just sweet.

3) New weapons are quite amazing.  The spread also seems to be a bit tighter so if you are shooting the LMG your bullet spread is closer to center.  Head shots are head shots, you need to protect your head, any shot to the head means death to your person.  That makes things a little more balanced as well.  The effects for the guns, the tracer rounds, and the drop over distance even feels really good.

4) Pilot mobility.  Not much has changed, but for someone like me who was never very good at bunny hopping, the grappling hook has added a number new possibilities.  Not to mention your ability to grab onto and run on regular trees, not just the large ones in the jungle.  The maps feel a bit larger, mainly in a way that you can create a fortress but if you are only facing one direction there are at least 2-3 other ways players can get behind you.  Sliding is a nice addition as well as you come in lower and faster then one might expect, but be careful, your head is exposed and a quick kick or shot will end your slide quickly.

5) They are listening to early criticisms and already making changes that the testers are requesting.  A good example of this is the Titan weapons feeling a little nerfed and having a long time to wait to get your titan.  They have also provided a Titan core boost upgrade that helps you earn your Core ability faster.  If you are having issues or there are areas that you are just fed up with, let them know.  If it's something others have had issues with and it's something they can fix before release they will!  Also all future DLC's are free!!!