“Titanfall” refreshes the FPS genre with a polished multiplayer experience

For some time now, the first person shooter genre has been dominated by juggernaut franchises like “Call of Duty” and “Battlefield.” While these hit series continue to be met with success, some have grown weary of what they offer. New to the field is “Titanfall,” a first person shooter developed by “Respawn Entertainment.”
Available for PC and Xbox One, “Titanfall” certainly does not disappoint.

“Titanfall” is a refreshing take on the first person shooter. While it does not do anything revolutionary, what “Titanfall” does do, it does incredibly well. The game itself is incredibly polished, and it is full of smart design choices that add to the overall experience.

The main hook of the game is the eponymous Titans: giant robots armed with futuristic weaponry that add a fresh level of strategy to a worn out formula. Titans are not just a gameplay gimmick; they are an integral part of the game, and also a blast to control. Players are able to customize their Titans to their liking, choosing to carry a variety of weapons ranging from a giant machine gun for close range gunfights or an electromagnetic rail gun for long range sniping.

Titans are not the only part of “Titanfall.” The other half of the game revolves around the humans responsible for controlling these killer robots, the Pilots. Pilots are the Special Forces of “Titanfall,” and the ways they play are totally different from the Titans. While Titans are slow moving and massive, Pilots are fast and deadly.

To survive as a Pilot, players must use their increased speed and maneuverability to avoid Titans while hunting other players. On top of carrying a primary and secondary weapon, Pilots also carry an anti-Titan weapon. These specialized weapons are designed to give the incredibly vulnerable Pilot a way to fight back against Titans and even the playing field. “Respawn Entertainment” clearly put a lot of effort into balancing the gameplay differences between Titans and Pilots, and it shows. Each has their own pros and cons, resulting in a gameplay experience that never seems unfair or one-sided.

There are a few things you should know before purchasing “Titanfall”. This is a strictly multiplayer game. Those looking for a strong single player campaign should look elsewhere.

What “Titanfall” does offer in terms of a campaign doesn’t do much. “Titanfall’s” campaign is nothing more than a traditional multiplayer match with a few cut scenes during the gameplay. The story is a run-of-the-mill sci-fi adventure that never really pans out. The universe is never fully realized, which is a shame because there are a lot of interesting elements that never really get completely explored. Another thing to note is that as of the time of writing, “Titanfall” does not have a private match option. However, “Respawn Entertainment” has said that they plan on adding this in the near future.

“Titanfall” is a great multiplayer game. Anyone looking for a strong multiplayer focused first person shooter should definitely give it a try. However, I would not recommend this game to those who like a strong single player offering.

“Titanfall” makes no qualms about being a multiplayer focused game, and fans of the genre that are not turned off by this should certainly give “Titanfall” a try.