Titanfall 2

Titanfall 2

If you had read any of my previous blogs you would know my feelings towards TF1 and even the pre-alpha tech test for TF2.  However, now I would like to discuss the TF2 campaign mode, and there will be some spoilers!  Overall I did really like the campaign, as it was probably one of the best I have played since the early halo games.  I would rank this a solid 8.5/10 simply on the campaign.  I will be playing the Multiplayer later today and I will let you know how that goes.   It will probably suck badly, since I haven't played TF1 or 2 multiplayer in over a month...

The Bad:

1)  Hmmm where to start is tough.  Don't get me wrong I loved the game but there where things that I felt needed improved.  I think I will start with one of the selling points, which is the connection between pilot and titan.  I don't think it really worked here.  BT has a personality, but its so robotic you don't really feel the emotional connection you do for something like Cortana in Halo.  They tried to make it work, but you are the only one that really seems to have that connection to your titan.  Everyone is singular.  More story with Lastimosa and BT together would show BT and Lastimosa's connection, or maybe some of Jack's background story leading to why Jack is able to have this strong of a connection with his Titan would help. Which will bring me to #2.

2)  They previewed your character working with other characters on a team.  You saw them jumping around, shooting bad guys, teaching you how to be a pilot, etc.  In the game you only get to see them for the one level that's previewed, and even then it's only for the time they showed previewed.  With the exception of fighting in titans.  Even leading up to it, it's like "OK Cooper, go kill everyone on the ship we'll watch you from here, even though you were just a rifleman less than a day ago."  Then in the biggest battle of the game they just sit behind you and watch.  No anti-titan weapons to back me up? Just "Oh Cooper there's a bad guy go kill him!  He's killing everyone!  You're our only hope!"  Yeah all 4 or 5 of you veteran pilots are worthless.  Taking me to point #3 and sorta back to point #1.

3)  I didn't like the connection between pilot and titan, and more for this reason.  In TF1 titans were war machines.  You used them until they could no longer be used and then they exploded and you fought until you could get another.  Here, BT can not die, ever.  If he does that's it you start back at the check point.  I don't like this because it really limits your playing.  If I'm going into battle against a ton of titans, I want to be able to have my Titan die, me hop out shoot a bunch of AI to regain my Titan and take the fight back.  I get picking up batteries to survive, but I'd rather have an anti-titan weapon, be able to rodeo AI titans, and eject and try to pick up the pieces from there.  It would have made the game longer, and it could have created more interesting levels.  For example, you could be in a titan at the beginning and play through a level then one of the mercs could come down and pull you out of your titan and throw you, but you some how survive.  You then have to kill that titan by rodeoing and anti-titan weapons, or by shooting AI and earning another titan.  It just felt very limited by this titan/pilot bond.

4)  The campaign was a bit short.  I think it would take about 5 hours if I didn't try to find all the helmets.  There was a lot of room for story telling, or video cut scenes.  You know I didn't like Halo 5 much, but the cut scenes were beautiful and they told a bit of the story at least, not to mention you had a team with you and they actually helped however small.  I feel like the story was just loosely put together, which we had a problem with this in the first game.  Hey Respawn, if you need help with your campaign I would love to help.  You know the saying, 3 strikes and all.  I think you could make a single player open map, multiplayer feel, and get that speed/rush you feel from the multiplayer.  Like I said, look me up. I got ideas!

5)  The villains/boss fights were... not very good.  I think Ash was probably the coolest and had the most believable personality, but the others were just sorta stereotypical lunatics that just didn't work for me.  Most of the boss fights were crazy easy, where as Viper was exceptionally hard, more so than the final boss.  In some cases fighting the local wildlife was more difficult than the boss fights.  There was also no leveling up, which again, I know thats a perk and is in multiplayer, but you want your character to show growth in some way.  What did the helmets even do?  Last I checked they didn't provide me any sort of boost or character customization.  Maybe if my R-201 could level or perhaps I could amp my 201 then I would have felt better about it.  I guess having more overall of the multiplayer tied into the single player would enhance the single player experience.  Maybe look at Gears of War some.  They really handle having a team play, with story mode, well.  Probably the best out of any game I've played to date.  Looking at their boss fights could really improve the next campaign game play.  Maybe putting BT in helmet or in the data knife could open a number of possibilities.

The Good:

1) So shaking off all the bad, the game play was smooth, quick, and had echoes of games like Singularity, Halo, Prince of Persia, and of course TF1.  I really enjoyed the puzzle aspect of the game, and the switching in and out of time was pretty amazing.

2) The maps are beautiful and expansive, but you still have a pretty good idea of where you are supposed to go.  Every once and a while you may jump off a cliff thinking that's what you are supposed to do but hey thats part of it.  Incorporating the wildlife was a nice touch, and again the seamless transition between present and past was amazing and really worked well.

3) I REALLY enjoyed the smart pistol level.  It was perfectly placed, and really helped with the rage component of the particular scene, again I would have liked to use the smart pistol as a boost during the actually game play though.

4) The fact that you have a real story line, and for the most part unique-ish.  It's nothing new to have an evil empire attempting to destroy the rebels' planet (hmm sounds familiar), and it's nothing new to have a lone hero trying to save the day, or for someone to sacrifice themselves, but it's those things that make it feel familiar.  It's the puzzles, maps, and villains that help pull the uniqueness together.

5) I should say that it's just straight up fun to play!  So there's that!  I was pretty hard on it in the beginning because there is soooo much room for improvement, but it is still probably going to be the best FPS this year.  You unhappy COD fans should pick this game up, it may feel like a better direction for you then Infinite Warfare.

I will be playing the multiplayer today, and it'll be painful.  I haven't played anything MP for a while so the the KD ratio is going to be pretty poor.  I will write a review on that sometime later this week!