Gosh, what happened to this game? I really liked Titanfall when it first launched on the Xbox One. The game had its issues, some I wound up grappling with and learning to love after launch, but it showed so much promise as a new, well, titan in the FPS genre.

The multiplayer stress test for Titanfall 2 is up this weekend (and next) on both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. What you’re reading now are my super fast impressions of the game after spending some time with it. I’ll probably fire up the first this week and see if I can come up with a great comparison of the two, but let’s have this post serve as the starting hash for some discussion.

Boy, where do I even start here?

Titanfall felt consequential. Each moment had power behind it, and there was this great sense of strength when your titan dropped in from orbit and you climbed in becoming this hulking mess of death. You were strong, but you had to be wary of enemy pilots and titans all the same.

Battle felt alive and chaotic, and capturing points in Hardpoint (my favorite mode, by far) required aggressiveness and skill.

Titanfall 2 is the cliché I used to hate. It’s Call of Duty with mechs.

First of all, the map selection for this “beta” (we aren’t allowed to call it a beta as it’s an alpha) isn’t so hot. Homestead, for instance, is a big open field. All enemy pilots have glowing red auras around them. Put the two together and you have massive red targets trying to parkour in wide open spaces. Instant death.

Speaking of which, pilots and titans die far too fast in this game right now. When playing pilot vs. pilot, it’s a matter of who sees who first. If you’re wall running while another guys is crouched in a bush, forget it. A quick shot and you’re dead.

The titans themselves take way too long to call in. When they finally land, they feel weak and slow. You’ll get some kills, probably, but you don’t feel like you’re in a hulking mech as much as you just feel higher off the ground with different weaponry.

I’m saving this post and firing the game up again. Maybe Monday will come and feature me singing a different tune. For now, well, I hope Respawn is listening.

Fire the test up if you have a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.