Titanfall 2

Imagine playing a fluid motion first person shooter made by the creators of the Call of Duty series and having the abilities to pilot your own super robot. If that doesn't entice you to at least try the game, then there isn't much to be said.

Titanfall 2 single player campaign and multiplayer modes are the best experiences a First Person Shooter fan could have in this day in age. The traversal and level design of the single player mode brings some of the most fist pumping and adrenaline flowing moments. Putting those core elements into multiplayer with a variety of loadouts brings different ways to enjoy the game overall. The fast paced movements that carry through your momentum along with the rest of the predecessor's fundamentals gives Titanfall 2 the freshest and most enjoyable experiences one can have with the First Person Shooter genre.

When the remnants of Infinity Ward tried to recapture the feel of their Modern Warfare series through the first Titanfall, it was a fantastic first try to create something feel similar yet different. However, while piloting the Titans played an important role in the branding of the first Titanfall, you could finish first in a match while on foot. Titans did not play a big role in turning the tides during the battle. But Titanfall 2 manages to refine the gameplay and make Titans meaningful during combat.

Respawn Entertainment created the perfect balance between traversing as a pilot and manning the Titan. Titanfall 2 has a variety of Tactical Abilities that make it fun to wallrun off the sides of buildings to find the ample spot to find and kill grunts. Players can customize their play styles to their pilot and their Titan's loadout. While one can use the grapping hook to launch themselves on the rooftops to snipe, another can use the grapping hook to gain enough momentum to flank around the enemies. None of the Tactical Abilities make you feel slower than your basic controls which shows Respawn's desire to strengthen what made the first Titanfall unique in the first place. Even while on foot you still feel mobile. Wallrunning and sliding provides you the momentum needed to be always on the move. But while the traversal gotten the refinement it needed, piloting a Titan does not feel like a burden like the first. Each action, whether you are firing rockets or punching your enemies to death, feels impactful. The most satisfying event in the game is when you charge your Titan's ultimate ability to fire a storm of missiles at the enemy Titan. Overall, everything from the shooting and the traversal feels good.

Titanfall 2 makes all of your actions in multiplayer matches feel important. Rather than trying to camp at a position to kill your enemies, the matches provides some positive reinforcement when you kill even a NPC. As you progress with the match, more aggressive targets appear which makes the Titan every bit more useful to earn more points. Every kill scores your team's point and provides enough charge to quickly retrieve your Boost and your Titanfall. Killstreaks are less important since merits play a key role in earning experience that unlocks more weapons, skins, and perks for your loadout. But you still earn rewards and a gratifying feeling when you massacre the enemy squadron. This makes you feel like you are always progressing with each match. There is barely a lull when either attempting to damage Titans, killing NPCs, or enemies.

The single player campaign does a good job not to restrict your experience from the multiplayer modes. It still holds the same fluidity in PVP when jumping from point A to point B to fulfill your missions. They give you full range of weapons to shoot with the flexibility to choose whatever Titan's loadout you prefer. The only limitations is that you are grounded from beginning to end with one specific Tactical Ability. But that within itself is expected with the campaign Respawn created.

While the story in the campaign isn't full of lore like the Halo series, it follows the same mission bits like a Call of Duty campaign, which isn't a bad thing. It is difficult to create a background in a futuristic military shooter and Titanfall 2 does a good job to subvert the player's attention from the somewhat generic backdrop to what's in front of you. You play as a rookie soldier who gets dominated by enemy. You survive long enough to pair up with a dormant Titan that helps laid the groundwork of what to do in each mission. The whole pitch of the game is to survive through the motions of futuristic battle while bonding with your Titan. While the connection you feel with your Titan isn't close like The Last Guardian would feel like, you still feel some sort of emotional attachment to it. While you don't know why the antagonist wants the technology to change the world, you don't really need to know. Most of the game story is about survival and adapting to the environment you found yourself in.

There is enough substance in each section of the campaign to feel worth playing through. The experiences of finding tools to change the way you play was surprising and didn't overstay its welcome. There are a lot of great moments in the game that make the blood pump. Each portion of the campaign felt unique in its own way, but the level design makes the really game fun. There was a moment in the game where you could move the platforms around enough to get towards the mission objective. It was difficult to fend off yourself against the enemy forces while trying to figure out what to do, but the tense moment was smartfully done which make the different stages feel exciting to run through. Each missions are short, well balanced with action and navigating through the level. Wallrunning from one platform to the next keeps you on your toes to gain enough momentum to launch yourself onto the other stages. It's both thrilling and satisfying when you launch yourself and successfully make your giant leap. The boss fights and the traversal puzzles brings a good balance between challenging and fun which would make you want to go through the experience again. Personally I wish the campaign was a bit longer, but nonetheless, it was pure enjoyment.

Titanfall 2 brings the most memorial experience in the fluidity of traversing through each levels and the forceful impact of piloting your Titan. There's variety in the ways to play the multiplayer aspect and the single player campaign also provides enough substance to play through it from time to time again. Overall the game is fast paced and action packed fun.