Retrospective of a Gamer #6: Attack on Titan 2

Approaching on the third season, Attack on Titan has already stood out as one of the most popular Japanese animation series of recent years. If they do not know, the action happens in a world in which the humanity is near the extinction, fault of mysterious titans who eat people. The series eventually made the leap to video games, but the first game did not surprise us at all. It was repetitive, had technical problems, and the story seemed a more basic version of Anime. Two years later, here is the sequel, better, but little.

Gameplay

In this story, they will join the Scout Regiment, a military division that aims to identify the presence of the Titans and eliminate them. Unlike what happened in the first game, here you will be able to create a root character using an editor with a reasonable range of options. After that, the training is followed, designed to become accustomed to the great mobility of combat. The story starts when you finish training, and although it is mostly based on the second season of the animation, it includes some elements of the first season to allow for a smoother transition.

Equipped with the Omni-Directional Mobility Gear (ODM), they'll be able to navigate the map as a kind of Spider-Man, looking for the right time to attack the Titans. The character's crunch is crucial to being able to effectively attack the huge enemies and to cut off their limbs. It is a violent game, like the series, full of blood and with impressive images, like the enemies that try to react without legs or arms. The action has a high tempo, which is accentuated with all the violent and even grotesque images it presents to the player.

I had some difficulty adapting to the controls, and it is not always easy to balance speed and accuracy in attacks. They can target specific limbs, and with the help of a hook, they can reach that limb. If they have fuel, they can give a boost at speed, which hinders accuracy, but increases impact capacity. This was already available in the previous game, but Attack on Titan 2 will have access to stealth attacks and further distance.

Advantages and Disadvantages

These titans are not easy, and to get them down they will need help. With a button, they can ask for help up to four allies, and with the directional ones can send them to the encounter of the enemy. After doing so, they will have to wait some time to be able to use the help of their colleagues. As well as being very useful, it's also fun to see the partners in action and the way they attack the Titans together. During the game, they will have the opportunity to improve relationships with these characters, and if they do, they will receive permanent improvements to the attributes. This is possible between missions, where there are options for dialogue.

As the battles unfold the fuel and the blades begin to wear out, which means they will have to create bases where they can recover. Throughout the campaign, they can unlock various types of bases, some with cannons they can use, others with mines from which they can collect resources. To build the bases they need signaling rockets, to tell the group where they want to build the base. These rockets are obtained when they meet secondary goals, optional challenges that in essence boil down to killing more titans.

This is the biggest problem of A.O.T. 2 - repetition. There are few types of missions, which divide themselves between killing all titans, escorting survivors, and protecting buildings, which are repeated over and over again. Walking around the villages and chatting with other characters offers some variety, but also this is not very interesting or elaborate. The little variety that comes later, in the form of new bases and means of transport, like horses, does little to improve the situation. Even killing titans can become annoying, especially if they use sneak attacks to eliminate enemies with a single shot.

Conclusion

An interesting new feature is the alternative mode of play dedicated to multiplayer, both competitive and cooperative. In this mode, they can embody 37 playable characters from the two seasons of the series, and unlocked as they play story mode. Here, our favorite game type was Annihilation 4v4, where the goal is to kill more titans than the opposing team. There are also regular missions, with the difference that they can play cooperatively with a friend. It remains more of the same, but at least there is this distinction of sharing the experience with a friend.

I also liked the graphics work that the Omega Force implemented, able to perfectly recreate the style of the series. The studio managed to capture with great effectiveness the frightening aspect of the Titans and their expressions lifeless, but unfortunately, there are technical problems. There are times when the fluidity of the game cannot be kept stable, and this has an impact on the player's accuracy, especially in times of greater speed. I also watched moments when the Titans were stuck in the scene, which immediately broke the immersion. Hopefully, Omega Force can remedy these issues with an update.

A.O.T. 2 is a competent sequel, keeping what the original did of good and added some news, although it is not the evolution that would like, and that the series needed. Many of the flaws of the original are also present here, and the biggest sin of the game is actually becoming repetitive and sometimes boring. As a fan of the series, I enjoyed my time with A.O.T. 2, and there are enough good points here to recommend the game, although we would rather recommend a good game than a reasonable game.

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