Written and Media by Tyler Lamb.
[clear]
Between the dates of February 14th and 19th around 2million people came together to do one thing – play the beta for Titanfall. If you don’t know what Titanfall is, then you really need to catch up on your entertainment news. Created by the same minds that brought us Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Call of Duty 1, 2, 4, and Modern Warfare 2, comes the next innovative first person shooter. Combining the gun battle mechanics of the Call of Duty franchise with things like double jumps and wall running, this game is amazingly fun to play. Oh, did I mention it has giant mechs? Oh yea, they’re called Titans, and they are the core of the game.
[clear]
[clear]
The game itself is simply amazing. The hype that has surrounded it for months and months is well deserved. I found myself playing it any chance I could get while the beta was available. For those who are unaware of what a beta is, it is essentially a version of the game that is close to the finished product, but looking for things to improve. Some companies allow open betas for their games to get the public to play them, build more hype around the game, and find more things they can fix before release. With Titanfall, there really wasn’t much that needed to be fixed so it was really a glorified demo.
[clear]
[clear]
Now to the game mechanics, which with a foot soldier at first seem just like any Call of Duty game. Then you jump, and jump again while still in the air. Soon you realize you can run on a wall and jump even higher, bouncing between walls. After spending a few levels doing all this you unlock burn cards. Burn cards are simply abilities you can activate once per life, but they only last as long as you are alive. Once you die, the burn card is gone forever until you luck out and unlock the same one again. Also, you can only hold 3 in your inventory at a time. This itself adds an interesting element of strategy and somewhat luck into the game, hoping your burn card gets used before you get killed and it’s gone for good. The gameplay is constantly face-paced, and even though it is only 6v6 there are constantly enemy AI units running around to kill and who try to kill you.
[clear]
[clear]
Then, there are the Titans. Piloting the Titans may be one of the most fun things I’ve ever experienced in a video game. Whenever you’re in a Titan, the main priority is fighting the other Titans. It almost feels like they are almost two separate battles, the foot soldiers and Titans. Of course, they cross at times due to Titans attacking foot soldiers and vice-versa, but for the most part it seems separate and not in a bad way. Getting into Titan fights is so much fun, and it’s easy to get the hang of. One of my favorite things in the game, which I did multiple times, was grabbing pilots out of their Titan and throwing them. Doing this is so much fun, it can’t be explained unless you do it yourself.
Video from EA GAMES
In the end, the game well deserves all the hype. Microsoft is relying on this game heavily to sell their Xbox One, and if I didn’t already have one I would buy it for the game hands down. Especially with the new bundle they announced, which is essentially the Xbox One with a free copy of Titanfall and year subscription of Xbox Live. Now that’s a deal that I recommend to anyone on the fence about an Xbox One. I would not be surprised if console sales spike after March 11th. Yes, I know it is also coming out for the PC and Xbox 360, but it seems as though it is specifically optimized for the Xbox One. For me, I will be grabbing this slice of fried gold on release day. If you want to play, just add me on Xbox Live, my gamertag is Flying Seel. Here are a few clips I recorded while playing. Enjoy and I hope to see you in the game!
Video by Tyler Lamb
