... Wait, you mean that wasn't a Call of Duty game?... But it... Really?... Uh... Okay dude, whatever you say. Well, this is going to be awkward now...
So the developers at Respawn Entertainment, formed by two former Infinity Ward developers, decided "Hey, the shooter genre is getting boring as s@#t again, let's add robots and wall-runs and ledge-grabbing!" Turns out, that was a brilliant f@#king idea! No one had ever through of combining any of these elements into first-person shooters before! ... What? They have? What the hell is Mirror's Edge? Lost Planet??? Is that some 70's sci-fi flick? Well..., this just got awkward again...
Alright, so it's not the most unique concept on the planet, but it works dammit! Who needs a crappy single-player that nobody was going to play anyway, right!? Well actually, I have mixed feelings about that. While it's true that if you're going to make a half-assed single-player campaign, then there's little to no point in making one in the first place. However, WHY can't they make one that's good then!? People still rave about the great campaigns in Half-Life, Bioshock, Goldeneye, the first Modern Warfare, Perfect Dark, and so many others. I don't see why we can't have a game with a campaign and multi-player that equally rock the socks. If Titanfall had an offline single-player campaign, I'd have jumped on that like Twitch on Pokemon! Yeah, that's right... I reference current events (Praise be to the Helix Fossil!).
The game actually does have a campaign, but it's not what you think. In fact, it's so much not what you think that I'll have to use quotes going forward whenever I describe it. The "campaign" is actually a set of story-themed stages that are not very different from the classic multi-player as it is already. There's a war going on, and instead of talking much about anyone important in it, you're just thrown into the center of it like mindless grunt you are. DANCE YOU SHEEP! DIE FOR PEOPLE MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU!!!
So now that I'm pretty much tapped out of bad things to say the moment (though I'm sure I'll come up with more ^_^), the game is actually pretty sweet. It's hard to deny that shooter fans are going to flock to this and for good reason. Not only is it a lot of fun to double-jump and wall-run while searching for your targets, but controlling those Titans can be a pretty bad-ass feeling. Hell, even fighting them with your regular weapons can feel pretty damn cool! You definitely can't play this game the way you'd play other shooters. Otherwise, you'd get your ass handed to you pretty fast.
There's technically three types of situations you really need to master in oder to accel at this game. The first is the pilot vs. pilot scenario. This is your little guy vs. their little guy, crazy acrobatics and all. The second is Titan vs. Titan. Giant robot vs. giant robot basically. This is the scenario everyone wants to be in because it's about as high up there on that food chain that you can go. The third scenario is Titan vs. pilot. This is where s@#t gets real, because you have to double-time it on the pilot side of things to have any impact whatsoever. But it's not impossible like you'd think.
You're provided an anti-Titan weapon on top of your regular one to switch between. This adds another layer of strategy to the mechanical mix. While these weapons don't exactly make you invincible against the Titans, they can give you just what you need to hold your own, and sometimes even take one out if you're lucky. I actually did this sucessfully once and ran like a cheetah out of there before he realized it was me, laughing all the way! Glad I didn't have a mic on, that wouldn't have sounded natural...
One thing that people will either love or hate about this game is the grunt/specter setup. These are AI enemies, put in the game to basically be cannon fodder, and build up points faster so you can call your Titan to the battlefield faster. Players can even try to blend in with these if they really want. I will say it is quite annoying to think you're about to get this epic kill on someone, only to find out it was a grunt or a specter though. I felt so cheated every time I thought I was awesome, only to find out I actually sucked more than I realized. I don't think they really hurt the game though. It just adds more the fray.
Piloting the Titan can actually be quite frantic in itself. You're given a regular weapon for the right arm (like a chaingun!), a left arm item or weapon (like a shield!), and a dashing ability for those "get the f@#k away!" moments (like my blind dates!). If you run out of health, you're given time to either keep shooting for a few more seconds, or eject before you get blown up with it. This adds even MOAR strategy, because this can be the difference between takingout more enemies, or getting screwed over and not getting any experience points. The number of players or grunts you kill can determine how quickly you'll be able to summon up another Titan.
Speaking of experience points, I actually like the experience system in this game. On top of getting the most points for the best and most epic kills, you also get some great incentive to level up and unlock more pilot types, Titan models,and weapons and skills. You are also given Burn Cards for kicking ass. These will allow you to do special things throught the matches like increase your firepower or speed. Again, it all adds to the strategy, and works surprisingly well. I think the best way to describe the layout of this game would be smooth. It's amazingly silky smooth in its setup; you dig?
What really makes the game shine is all of those "Oh shi-" moments that you and your friends will have. Whether it's dropping a Titan on top of someone else's Titan, essentially destroying it and the pilot, or shooting someone outof the air from far away right after they ejected from their own Titan, you know it's going to be fun to talk about later. I could make a whole other blog, just filled with funny experiences I had with this game if I wanted.
So despite my general thought on FPS games (DUDEBROFOOTBALLGAMER138), this is actually something that I'll want to come back to again, especially with friends so we can laugh at all the insanity. Because you all know how much I love my daily dosage of insanity!... Seriously though, I'm just as surprised as you...
9 AI Grunts Wasted Out Of 10
So what's with the trend of using the word Titan in everything these days. It was crazy enough with the Attack on Titan anime, but now it's in our video games too!? What's next, comic book crossovers?... Please? >_>
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