Review: Titanfall

Titanfall is the latest first-person shooter born from the partnership between Electronic Arts and Respawn Entertainment. The game arrives as one of the first titles on the Xbox One, in addition to receiving versions for Xbox 360 and PC. Can Titanfall really stand out as an FPS? Find out here!

Titanfall begins its own “revolution” right from the start by foregoing a traditional campaign mode—a feature that had already been implemented in other games, such as Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare. Instead, all the game’s shine is focused exclusively on the multiplayer mode, where the true action awaits discovery.

When you start the game, you are introduced to an extremely detailed tutorial that explains every new feature—from the basic double-jump and wall-running to controlling Titans and using their abilities. For newcomers, there couldn’t be a better way to get accustomed to the controls; however, those who participated in the Beta phase will have to go through these tasks again.

Next, you will need to select one of the pre-established game modes to begin. Although the multiplayer mode includes a few brief cutscenes to avoid completely discarding a narrative, it swaps any complex, detailed story for multiplayer matches, where, regardless of the final score, you always progress.

In total, there are 18 stages that take place on maps which are considerably large and typical for the game. The absence of a deep story doesn’t really become a problem—especially in a game focused on online play. In fact, the experience can even serve as a good preparation for the challenges that appear, as they are also found in the traditional modes.

After selecting your desired map, players are taken to a Lobby where teams and customization options are displayed. Despite some issues on launch day, the well-known “matchmaking” works quite swiftly—especially in the Attrition mode, where the sheer mass of players accumulates, quite literally.

In Titanfall, teams are limited to up to six players. However, the maps are filled with a wide variety of enemies, serving as “easy prey” for real players. Any score obtained reduces the countdown by a few seconds, rewarding players for their performance with the early arrival of their gigantic machines.

Playing Titanfall, you’ll notice that the “Titans” move very naturally, close to real-life physics. For instance, their jumps create openings for charges that can be used for faster movement and/or to ram smaller enemies. Additionally, the Titan models have distinct characteristics—for example, unique abilities and weight—that greatly influence their control and performance.

As in many major FPS games, matches generate experience that results in new unlocks—for both Titans and the soldier characters in the game. Throughout each match, players will have access to an increasing variety of weapons, equipment, and abilities. In this way, it’s hard to find yourself with nothing to do because the options offered are vast.

Titanfall also features an “intelligent” card system that can be used during a match to activate certain abilities or special items for the players. An interesting aspect, for example, is being able to obtain a high-precision rifle or have your character run a bit faster during certain moments.

Visually, Titanfall rises another step in this category without falling short. More importantly, despite the numerous enemies, explosions, light effects, and huge robots, the game does not suffer from any stuttering or significant drops in the frames per second (FPS).

The sound effects in Titanfall are a show in themselves, especially when played with a headset or quality headphones. Moreover, you can easily hear the “impacts” from the battles between the robots from a distance. The sound design for both the weapons and the environments is meticulously crafted, which is very noticeable and beneficial for the “Titan” player.