I played Titanfall 2 when it was originally released and remember loving it, the only reason I traded it in was that it had a high trade-in value and I was consuming games like an addict. I vowed that at some point I would purchase it again and luckily enough the PlayStation Store was selling it for under €5 which is a steal for most games but especially Titanfall 2. The question is, is it as good as when I played it a few years back?
Maltesers, ever had one? Of course not because it is impossible to have just one unless you hate yourself. For those of you who have not tried them shame on you. They are malt balls covered in chocolate, okay, even when I reread that it sounded underwhelming but trust me they are good. They are made up of the perfect amount of ingredients, there are even different varieties that are available and they are all awesome. Playing Titanfall 2 I found myself asking was this the perfect balance of ingredients.
Story
I opted not to play the original Titanfall, why you ask, well I love single-player campaigns and the original did not feature one. For me, games will always be, primarily, a single-player experience the multiplayer is just a bonus. Part of me does not like to rely on others to enjoy a game, though that's not to say multiplayer cannot be fun. Anywho, Titanfall has you take on the role of Jack Cooper, a pilot in training. A pilot in the Titanfall universe is a badass, fast, lethal, and has a neural connection with a giant mech robot called a Titanfall. After things fall apart in the first few minutes of gameplay you are made an acting pilot of Titan BT-7274. It is not just a simple machine but an AI-infused mech, who can fight solo or with you in the cockpit. The two are who is part of the militia try to stop the IMC (essentially the Empire from Star Wars). The IMC is tired of battling the militia and has decided to use/build a planet-destroying weapon to wipe out the militia's homeworld. It's up to Jack and BT to stop this happening, but don't worry the militia won't be far behind.
Overall the story is fantastic, I felt a real bond with BT and even got to share a conversation with him by choosing different responses on occasion. The execution of the story was well thought out, it started hot and finished hotter making me yearn to play Titanfall 3.
Visuals
Technology moves quickly in our world so very quickly gaming visuals can look aged and sometimes even downright bad after only a couple of years. I am happy to report this is not the case with Titanfall 2. The visuals are sharp and the levels feel varied, two of the coolest moments that stood out for me were; when the world freezes around you and you get to move around bullets, explosions, and debris and was essentially like being in a diorama. The second was when you are in the skies moving from ship to ship with BT and sometimes he throws you from place to place which both tense and cool.
Overall the visuals look great with many standout moments, the Titans look impressive and in later levels when there are many of them attacking you and the militia it looks jaw-dropping.
Music
If I had to describe the soundtrack in one word I would say it was epic. The use of strings, and build up in many of the tracks creates a tense and a momentum that really pulls everything forward. The use of percussion really helps makes battle sequences even more epic. The music is created by British composer Stephen Barton. Barton's has a rich body of work, having created the music for films, TV series, and games including; Call of Duty Modern Warfare Remastered (and the original Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare, Apex Legends I, Robot, Jennifer's Body, Man on Fire, the 12 Monkies TV Series, and Motor City.
The soundtrack is around ninety-minutes long and I can tell you that is not a minute wasted. It creates an epic movie feeling soundtrack that helps keeps you pumped while playing. In terms of which of the twenty tracks are my favorite I would have to say, all of them.
Gameplay
Let's be honest there are a ton of first-person shooters on the market, because of this it can be easy to miss really good games. I sort of felt that way about the Wii, there were some good games but there was so many poor and mediocre games it is not an especially memorable console. Respawn Games, Sucker Punch have managed to create something fun and different.
The gameplay moves between you being on foot killing bad guys and then being BT killing bigger bad guys. Now when you have access to something like a Titan it would be easy for the sections you are not in one to feel dull. For me though that was never the case, it could be because of the good shooting mechanics, the ability to run along the wall during combats, jumping high into the air with your jet pack, or perhaps it is the ability to cloak which can really help restore your health and give you a moment to breathe. That being said nothing quite beats being in a Titan, you can get different load-outs that are easy to switch on the fly. Titans are big and they feel it but never feel sluggish as you can dash towards enemies or evade attacks. Each loadout offers it is own special abilities which you will need. Something really smart is electric smoke which can be dropped to kill smaller enemies or those trying to hijack your Titan.
The multiplayer is a lot of fun and feels well balanced. It's not as crazy as Call of Duty or some others where you have to kill a lot of players before getting rewards and if you get killed you start all over again. Initially, you start on foot but within a few kills, you can call in a Titan. The team element is a lot more fun than may other games and has gone to a new level with the new frontier mode which has you take on waves of enemies while you protect an objective.
Overall I cannot say enough good things about the gameplay, it fun fast exciting, and part of it reminds me of when I played Vanquish a good number of years ago (must play it again soon).
Final Thoughts
So, after ten hours plus how did I feel? Pretty damn good. I could not ask for the story, visuals, music or gameplay, it was the perfect package. My only disappointment is that there is not a Titanfall 3, yet. Luckily I can still spend time playing the multiplayer which should keep my appetite whetted. Overall this one gets an easy and very solid 5 out of 5
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