TEST of Titanfall 2: Does it make the giant leap that was expected?
The first episode of Titanfall did not leave an enduring memory in the minds of the players, despite a nervous multiplayer and a universe with very good ideas. Blame the lack of a single player mode and lack of richness in terms of content. The second opus is expected at the turn, and if he has heavy responsibilities on the shoulders, the title of Respawn exudes lightness and dynamism ... I give you my test of Titanfall 2 accompanied by a fierce enthusiasm!
We are at the heart of a modern totalitarian war in which the BMI, the villains of the game world, and the Militia, of which we are part, are tearing themselves apart ... New mechas were born to lend a hand to men, among whom we play Jack Cooper. This militia rifleman of 3rd class has only one dream: to become a great pilot ... We are limited in f Top Gun . In short, it is under the command of Captain Tai Lastimosa, the most respected veteran of the Militia, that we will have to prove ourselves.
The lost World
It all starts as the Militia embarks on the exploration of the Typhoon planet to intervene in a research complex controlled by the IMC. Unfortunately, during the mission, a tragedy occurs. In order not to spoil the surprise, just know that Jack will reap the proceeds of this tragedy and will soon become the pilot he so wanted to be. He will indeed become the partner of BT-7274, a barbaric appellation to designate a mecha. The latter is not like the others, since it is the very first Titan designed by the Militia. He not only has the possibility to embark the equipments of other Titans, but also and especially it has this little something human ... Anyway, welcome to the wild planet Typhoon, on which you and your Titan will have to fight against BMI.
The task will not be easy. The first mission is to treat your steel partner who lacks two batteries, which will be an opportunity to visit the place on foot and get a better idea. If the graphic slap is not at the rendezvous, the title nevertheless offers a very satisfactory overall rendering where the games of shades and lights make the job and sublimate a graceful painting based on wild nature. Typhoon is a planet on which vegetation is lush, offering greenery, rock and water. The atmosphere is mysterious, a tad heavy. From the first minutes of play, I contemplate this landscape that makes me instantly think of that of Avatar , or Jurassic Parkespecially when prehistoric monsters start to attack me ... Some machine gun fire, a good punch and you're done. But as I said above, the atmosphere here is oppressive. Only the sound of a watercourse breaks the silence and we guess that anything can happen on this lost land. As much to say that I love the idea!
Jack and the Titan
Once BT is back on its feet, the adventure begins and the cinematic in which the Titan catches the soldier to install it under his steel armor leaves me dreamy. What elegance, and above all here finally a story to live with his mecha, with a brilliant writing and dialogues where the humor of the Titan punctuates the tone regularly. From the first moments, I attach myself to him. We feel the willingness of developers to play copiously on the sensitive line of the player with this relationship between the driver and his Titan. It is impossible for the player not to enter this friendship story, to feel concerned. While Jack explores the surroundings in places where BT can not go, the latter offers him his comments, but also some information, advice on the current goal. All this gives depth to the mission, but it creates especially a real link between the two protagonists, "humanizing" the giant robot.
Note that Jack finds himself alone many times throughout the adventure, which allows for a diversified gameplay depending on whether you play with the Titan or the driver. BT is obviously more resistant than his driver, but above all, as pointed out above, he will have the opportunity to pick up all the loadoutsdefeated Titans, seven in total, each with an arsenal and special attacks of its own. On the menu: submachine guns, grenade launchers, shotguns and other hilarious toys such as the multiple target missile, the heat shield or the classic vortex shield, which blocks and sends back enemy fire. I'm still quite a fan of the special "Burst Core" attack, available with the basic equipment of BT, which triggers an amplified flow of balls extremely effective against the Titans ... In short each equipment offers a different approach and the range of choice and varied and pleasant. Ordering the Titan offers heavier sensations of course, but a delicious feeling of power escapes. Only downside: to change loadoutYou have to put the game on hold, which can get you out of the game. Having said that, the choice of the arsenal being strategic, you have to take your time in the given situations, this may explain this decision.
A brilliant campaign
Regarding Jack, he made me a wall-run leader! This mechanic is at the heart of the game, as are the double-jumps and other dash that offer dynamic and attractive gameplay. And if you think that everything is acquired, think again: the design of the field will play tricks and put your skills of "parkoueur" to the test. You may need to think for a few minutes before finding where to start and how to move forward. Note that after a few seconds, a "Ghost Wall-Runner" appears to scan the area and show you the way. An interesting idea to learn to master the sequences and become familiar with the environment.
Finally, good ideas are not lacking in this solo well-crafted scenario. To cite just one example, in one of the chapters, the player must walk through a burning complex in which an element of playing with time must be used. Thus, by switching period, Jack can go through doors or open passages in the past but not in the present, and vice versa. From one second to the next, the scenery changes around him, going from the current chaos to a radiant complex where the light once reigned, to return again to chaos ... Later, in the same place, it is necessary switch from past to present in full jump to use the walls of both eras in "wall-runner". An exercise that requires an excellent mastery of his character. From my point of view, the idea is quite awesome and it offers a real richness to the gameplay, pushing the player to perform a real gymnastics fingers, to think his shot. Bravo.
To finish with the solo part, the scenario will ask you to face not less than 6 bosses in their respective Titan, and if some of these meetings are in the end quite classic, others propose amazing configurations and offer some epic moments. Yes, the link between BT and Jack, the fast pace and the many good ideas give this solo campaign a very good density and a strong identity, which make it the strong point of Titanfall 2.
Mecha & mutli
Let's be clear: the multiplayer Titanfall 2 remains classic. But it has the merit of having expanded and bring some significant new features, including 6 new Titans who arrive in joy and joy, with each a main weapon and multiple capabilities of its own:
Ion, who skilfully uses energy with his Splitter Rifle , offers powerful laser attacks and laser-trigger explosive mines.
Scorch, the king of incendiary attacks, heavily armed with his grenade launcher and his ideal gas cylinders to trap the other players.
Northstar, the sniper of the band, is equipped with a very effective plasma electric gun , but it is also the lightest and offers beautiful displays with its anti-Titan traps.
Ronin , armed with his Wall of Leads , a powerful rifle, is the fastest of the Titans and the expert in close combat. He has many tricks in his bag since he can dematerialize for a few seconds ...
Tone, very effective with its stony rockets and barrage of guided rockets.
Legion , the most powerful of all and the best armed with his Canon Predator , a powerful machine gun. He is the last Titan you unlock in the single player campaign and the most classy from my point of view. As they say, the best for the end!
Note that each of the giants offers customizations and will be upgradable. If you change the progress meter, you can unlock other weapons to vary the pleasures. Then you will quickly realize that they unlock faster than the first part, but not necessarily more easily ... Indeed, the Mecha unlock system is now based on the score (even if the chrono continues to turn in the background), forcing them to go for kills. And even if the bots working in some modes make it a bit easier (the Skirmish, Pilots vs Pilots, Last Titan Standing and Amped hardpoint modes do not include bots and evacuate this aspect), I find this arrangement interesting.
And for good reason: it brings a real challenge, and their release brings a real reward to the best. In Titanfall's first name, the least aggressive (and least gifted) players could wait patiently for the gauge to do the job ... a little easy. Finally, note that the Titans are less powerful than before, and this is still a good point in my opinion because the game is better balanced.
Finally, the nine maps proposed are generally medium in size and offer varied landscapes, playing on both verticality and horizontality. But what about the proposed modes? It's time to review this new version of multiplayer..
In the radius of group activities, a lot of freshness: if we find basic with Attrition (team match to death with your Titans), Capture The flag , Pilots vs Pilots (MS without Titans) and Last Titan Standing , the menu is more hearty than in Titanfall because we also find novelty. There is notably Amped Hardpoint , which adds subtlety to the classic Hardpoint fashion , already present in the first opus. Here, the player will be able to score double points by staying on the captured area to take a second time. We also note the arrival of Skirmish , or Bounty Hunt and Coliseum.Obviously, there is also the possibility to let yourself be chosen by choosing Variety Pack or T-Day , which offer a melting pot of the main modes.
If Coliseum is a fairly fast experience, one would have however liked more dense, it has the merit of being nervous, since it proposes a duel in 1 Vs. 1 taking place on a reduced zone. The player must win two sets of three and thus unlock gifts or items. Everything is going very fast, and if this mode has a strong addictive potential, it turns out very quickly in circles. Note also that to launch this mode it will pay in Coliseum Tickets (they can be unlocked by playing multi or buy real money).
As for Bounty Hunt, it represents the best surprise of the multi. In this mode, you must eliminate a maximum of players (and bots, who complete the teams) in 8 Vs 8 games, all for the purpose of making money. This money must then be deposited in banks arranged here and there on the battlefield, knowing that the latter are only open for a certain period of time, once the waves are over ... If the player is killed before Park his money, he loses half of the money. The team with the most cash at the end of the match obviously wins. These basic but damn rules bring a strategic aspect to this new mode, which is the one that will have seduced me the most.
Finally, be aware that the matchmaking system has been clearly redesigned, plus a new network service makes it easier to play with friends in private parties. A good bonus for the Respawn Titans.
Me and my pilot
There's not only the Titans in life, there's the drivers too! Several classes of pilots with their own characteristics are on the program. It will include the class Front Rifleman , which remains fairly classic, or Closer , more gifted in close combat. A new class of Sniper is also appearing.
However, what will really define your way of playing will be your choice in terms of equipment, as each class is customizable. It is therefore possible to grant any weapon and special ability to your soldier. We also note the arrival of the Grapple in the tactical options. This one will allow to reach places hitherto inaccessible, of course, but also to attract the enemies to oneself to complete them, or to cling to the opposing Titans to remove the battery ... You will be able to do the same with the giants of your own team, this time to recharge their battery. Besides, I emphasized above that mechaswere less powerful than before, so it's a good tip to keep them up. In short: real teamwork in perspective. For my part, I found it fun to climb on one of them, just to have a better vision of the ground and snipe some soldiers on the ground..
Always on the side of the special abilities of the soldiers, I can quote in addition to the Pulsed Sword Grapple , which detects the enemies thanks to its sonar, the Stimulants which offer a speed bonus during a short period of time, or - and c My favorite is the Holo-Pilot , who reproduces your last moves to deceive the enemy.
(Also note the arrival of 12 "Boosts" to unlock as you progress, which more or less replace the "Burn cards". These Boosts are actually Killstreaks that offer valuable advantages on the battlefield, such as the "Ticks" boost , which allows you to deploy two spider drones that will search for enemies before exploding. Practical enough, even if I had the bad experience to see them being knocked out before they could do their work..
In the end, these novelties and attributes bring excitement to the parties. The multi experience is cooler than Titanfall's first name. Indeed, if the first episode already offered a muscular gameplay, it gains in nervousness in this new opus. The Titans are swifter, the movements more fluid, the touch of weapons more realistic, and you have to be clipped to not leave his skin. It moves in all directions, the rhythm is dynamic, the action frantic, and it never seems to stop. The big show in this FPS which clearly has nothing to envy to other big names of the genre...
Titanfall 2 finally has a real solo campaign, and moreover successful! Offering a mastered scenario and great ideas, it completes an already solid gaming experience with a multiplayer gameplay nervous, denser and even more effective than in the first Titanfall . Bet raised therefore, for this second opus which does not reproduce the same errors as its elder and becomes an accomplished competitor for the other titles of the kind. Attention, Titan approaching!
| WE LIKE | WE DO NOT LIKE |
|---|---|
| * A successful solo campaign. | * It's still a bit classic. |
| * Nice life. | |
| * Gameplay still so nervous. | |
| * A solid and solid content. |
1-6 IMAGECREDIT
THANKS FOR READING, ALSO CHECK OUT MY PREVIOUS TEST ON Watch Dogs 2 TEST: The King of Hacking? (Update)
That was a REALLY good writeup. I think I'll buy this game now :)
Please do, it is worth it @raymondspeaks