1. Titanfall Review
As a fan of most FPS games in general and an avid competitor within the Call of Duty
and Halo multiplayers, it takes a lot for a shooter to impress me these days. The game has to
do something so groundbreaking and innovative that it would revitalize an otherwise saturated
market. Despite this predisposition Titanfall is one of those experiences that shook up my firm
held beliefs about the video game industry and made me truly enjoy a gaming session more
than I have in years. Titanfall is just one of those games that to a certain degree is indescribably
fun. I can sit here and outline its mechanics, visuals, audio, story, level architecture etc. but
these combined don’t do justice to the experience of sitting down with friends, whether on the
Xbox One or PC, and actually playing Titanfall. Navigating your way through the futuristic
parkour shooting action that is Titanfall is so addicting in fact that to a certain degree it could
be considered unhealthy. No, seriously. If you have a busy week planned with important
meetings, relationships obligations, dogs to walk or other mundane tasks to take care of you
should hold off on playing Titanfall until you save up enough sick days to be M.I.A for roughly a
72 hour period. However, if you’re like me and couldn’t wait to get your hands on debatably
the most anticipated game of the year, come along with me as I explain and analyze the
majestic, gratifying, addictive fun that is Titanfall.
It seems that in general with a shooter you know what to expect. Franchises like Call of
Duty, Halo, and Battlefield have attuned this generation of gamers to a certain pacing, a certain
movement speed, specific ways of interacting with and maneuvering around a map, and certain
ways of leveling up or unlocking new features in game. Respawn and EA, the developers and
publishers (respectively) behind Titanfall seemed to have looked at these well-established

2. formulas and said, “Okay, how can we push the envelope for a space that has been so clearly
defined previously?” For this venture Respawn took all of the best elements from the most
successful and innovative FPS games ever created in order to mold something truly “next gen.”
Instead of being confined to the ground, players in Titanfall (called Pilots) are given the ability
to double jump, use a quickly replenishing jet pack, wall run, cloak, ledge grab, and board
enemy mechs known as Titans. So immediately, within the first five minutes of playing the
game the player is made aware of the influences on the game by other AAA titles like Halo
(boarding vehicles), Crysis (ledge grappling, power jumping, cloaking), Call of Duty (Prestige
elements, weapon and load out customization), and Brink (parkour elements).
In addition to a drastically enhanced movement system Respawn added another
feature, Titans. Now mechs are nothing new to the video game industry but pitting them
against the incredibly agile Pilots is. The result is a sort of high speed game of Cat and Mouse
with both sides having their advantages. Titans, as the mechs are called, come in three main
forms, (though Respawn promises to deliver more in upcoming DLC). Players can choose from
the Atlas, Stryder, and Ogre chassis. The three are basically the same conceptually except the
Ogre has more shields with the sacrifice of some of its mobility, the Stryder is the inverse of this
same idea and the Atlas falls right in the middle. It’s helpful to think of the three classes in this
way. Atlas Titans play the role of support, Stryders play the role of ADC or assassin, and Ogre’s
play the role of tanks. Each of the three classes has a choice of roughly 7 primary weapons in
addition to a slew of secondary fire options which range from a missile barrage to a homing
cluster missile. Furthermore, like the Pilots, Titans have two perk slots that are customizable

3. and a recharging shield. While these behemoths may sound over powered they are in fact
easily dealt with by Pilots who know the right tricks of the trade.
Pilots carry with them at all times three main weapons. A primary weapon, a side arm,
and an anti-Titan weapon. As you level up by killing other players, AI controlled bots, Titans,
and completing game mode challenges, more and more options unlock within these sets
resulting in a fairly impressive and expansive arsenal. Normal rifles, snipers, shotguns, pistols,
and sub-machine guns are great for killing other Pilots and all have fairly short kill times but
these weapons do little to nothing against the shields of a Titan. To truly damage a Titan a Pilot
need only perform a double jump and land near the top of an enemy Titan to initiate a “rodeo”
sequence. During this event the pilot removes the hull plating that covers the Titans core and
fires directly into it with whatever weapon they have equipped dealing massive damage to the
Titans health and completely bypassing its shields. If that sounds too risky for you Pilots also
have the ability to fire at Titans with their anti-Titan weapons which will quickly remove the
Titans shield for a team mates Titan to finish off. Be warned though, a wrong move or a
misstep and a Titan will quickly end your fanciful schemes as literally one to two bullets from a
Titan weapon will kill a pilot as well as a step or melee attack.
Already it should be abundantly clear that one of the areas that Titanfall excels is in in-
game balance. Truth be told every single weapon, tactical ability, grenade type, and perk has a
place within the game and can be perfect for differing scenarios. Trying to hide from enemy
pilots while infiltrating their base in Capture the Flag? Use the cloak to get the jump on them.
Or, in a fast paced game of hardpoint/ domination, use the “Stim” ability to greatly enhance
your movement speed and capture more objectives. All of the weapons are also on a level

4. playing field which is something that can’t be said of other shooters. Attempting to fight a long
range gun battle against an enemy pilot wielding an assault rifle while you hold an SMG or LMG
will nine times out of ten result in your death which is exactly how it should be. This creates an
enormous amount of potential for players to pick guns and tactical abilities that fit both their
play style and specific game modes.
The 15 maps in Titanfall are quite large and with only 6 vs. 6 matches one would assume
the action would be few and far between, this is not the case. Respawn solves this problem by
inserting AI bots into every map in the form of grunts, (a typical marine soldier), and spectres (a
mechanical warrior with slightly more health and fire power). Killing these bots grants the Pilot
points in certain game modes like Attrition, a variation of slayer, though considerably less than
killing Pilots or other Mechs (1 point for a grunt or spectre, 4 for a pilot, and 5 for a Titan).
More importantly these bots make the maps feel full and chaotic by always giving the player
something to shoot at and be shot by. Spectres and auto-turrets can also be hacked by pilots
which converts them to your team. There are six playlists so far in Titanfall, Attrition, Capture
the Flag, Hardpoint/Domination, Last Titan Standing (LTS), Pilot Hunter, and Variety Pack which
is a mix of all of the previous five. Aside from Attrition all of the game modes are exactly what
they sound like with the most notable in my opinion being Last Titan Standing. In this mode
each player starts with a Titan which would normally take some two minutes of game time to
acquire. The teams then battle it out until one team’s Titans are completely eliminated. This
game type requires a lot of teamwork as players decide which of the three Titans they will play
as and how best to complement their teams chemistry.

5. The visuals and audio in Titanfall are remarkable and contain very few to no noticeable
glitches. Players who take the time to stop from the constant action and enjoy the sandboxes
that Respawn created will truly be impressed and inspired by the worlds and lore. One map for
instance takes place in a desert graveyard with dragon like flying beasts constantly looming
over head. However, for all of the praise that I give Titanfall there are a few issues that need to
be addressed. The first and probably the most significant of these issues is the fact that there is
no option to create a custom lobby where players can invite their friends and play the game
types they want on the maps they desire. Along this same vein, there is no ability to vote for
which map you want to play next in any of the playlists. While Respawn has promised to
deliver these things in a free update coming soon it still would have been nice to have them out
of the box. Another issue with Titanfall is that while players have the ability to create five
custom pilot classes and five customTitan classes, there is no ability to rename them other
than “Custom Class 1” etc. This can be incredibly confusing mid game when trying to switch
load outs and often ends up in picking the wrong class periodically. One final issue area that
may be a greater issue with me personally is that there is no ranking systemor competitive
playlist. I understand the game is meant to be about having fun but this philosophy suffers on
both ends when extremely skilled players get matched up against less skilled players over and
over. Additionally, the lack of a ranking systemmeans players are less enticed to actually win
games by performing objectives rather than simply running around aimlessly looking for kills.
Titanfall even bearing its flaws is undoubtedly the most fun I have had playing video
games in some time. I find myself coming home from school, or work, or being out with friends
and just itching to hop back online and play more. The visuals, audio, and lucrative combat all

6. combine to create a polished, addicting, fast paced shooter that is unlike anything you’ve ever
played before. Titanfall has set the bar for the next gen shooter and has earned its self a place
in my top five shooters of all time. I give it a 10/10. For more reviews and news, stay tuned to
Eyewave Games.
Colin K