Titanfall 2 Preview

After the EA Play Press Conference, players had the chance to get their hands on multiple offerings of EA’s software. The latest in FIFA, Madden and NHL were all readily available, but the hot ticket items of the show were absolutely Titanfall 2 and Battlefield 1. Our time with Titanfall 2 was brief, but from what we got to try, it’s a huge improvement over the initial offering, and our Titanfall 2 hands-on shows that Respawn is clearly giving this game a lot more love and care.

During my time with the game, we were pitted against each other in full on combat, and got to try a few different default loadouts. We had the Front Rifleman, the Hardtracker, and the Counter Sniper. All three classes played quite differently, thanks in part to their distinct loadouts, with the Front Rifleman being the most fun due to their use of the grappling hook. It’s a huge addition to the game that helps flesh out the mobility, a feature that first drew a lot of folks to Titanfall in the first place. Along with the ability to slide, wall run, cling, and now grapple, you can get engaged in some hectic, vertical firefights that are a total blast to experience. There are some large improvements to the base of the game as well, with the Rodeo system getting a fairly huge tweak that helps bring Titans back into the spotlight.

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“In the case of 2, one of the staff on hand was able to confirm it’s gotten some serious adjustment and helps make the Titan feel like what it should be in the first place.”

The rodeo system was a bit of a point of contention for some, as it made the Titans feel less intimidating than they should be. In the case of 2, one of the staff on hand was able to confirm it’s gotten some serious adjustment and helps make the Titan feel like what it should be in the first place. When you mount a titan now, you first withdraw the battery from the Titan, which automatically boots you off of them. You now must re-mount the Titan, to finish it off. You can take that battery to your friendly Titans in need, and slot it in to give them a health boost as well. These behemoths aren’t totally defenseless though. Titans now have an Electric Smoke ability, which they can use one time in order to deter (read: horrible shock therapy) potential rodeo-happy players. Giving the Titans an extra layer or two of defense helps them feel like a serious threat, and some of the new Titans are a blast to play. They feel balanced as well, as they are earned based off of performance, rather than a set timer. It doesn’t punish poor play, as it appears to go up at a set rate, but the way people play will definitely impact when they get to use their Titan.

Speaking of them, there are going to be six additional Titans added to the game. During my Titanfall 2 hands-on, I opted to make use of Scorch. This model is a serious firebug, and has a single shot, thermite launcher, as well as a pair of combustible gas canisters they can combo with it to deal some serious AoE denial. This even synergizes further with it’s Core ability, where Scorch will let off a massive blast in front of it, allowing for some massive coverage with this ability. If the way that Scorch’s abilities can work off one another is any indication, these other models are going to be a complete blast to play.

All in all, Titanfall was by no means a bad game, but it felt like it petered out due to a smaller install base. It was mechanically sound, and helped shake up the first person shooter genre in a few ways that allowed it to feel much more mobile than they typically are. The additional tweaks to movement, along with the variety in potential play-styles really help flesh out the multiplayer even further. The new Titans are a blast to play too, and with these new changes, they feel like what they were intended to be: Giant metallic badasses that can turn the tide of a hard fight.

Either way, I’ve definitely got October 28th marked on my calendar, and I’m looking forward to seeing more of the game as a whole in the coming months.



