Titanfall (PC) review

After many months of speculation and hype, Respawn Entertainment’s highly anticipated Titanfall is finally out. The multiplayer based shooter has a lot of expectations to live up to, as it is created by a team that contributed to the success of the Call of Duty series.

There are similarities between Titanfall and Call of Duty, particularly the focus on a high frame rate and well balanced multiplayer. Besides those commonalities, Titanfall is a vastly different gaming experience and better for it.

Split second decisions

Titanfall aims to do something different by infusing parkour and giant robots into the first person shooter experience. The wall running mechanic is a standout addition, which leads to environment based strategies and manoeuvres seen in games such as Starsiege: Tribes.

There is a single player campaign for players to complete, though it is not like the story based ones found in Call of Duty or Battlefield. The single player mode in Titanfall acts as a way to prepare the player for the real action online, much in the same way as the one in Quake III Arena.

There are two separate campaigns spanning nine levels each, featuring a simple story of two factions fighting against each other. The campaign is split between team deathmatch and domination modes, with voice overs providing the narrative during gameplay.

Waiting for the fall

The single player campaign is mostly forgettable, but it is a good way to familiarise yourself with the controls and the new gameplay mechanics, such as controlling the Titan robot. Every player has access to a Titan during a match regardless of experience or skill, which is useful to raise the rank of your human character.

The Titan is a great way to get a feel for levels and work on strategies, while levelled-up players will be busy running around and taking down targets with their upgraded weapons. The indiscriminate nature of the Titans ensures a level playing field for players, yet there is enough room for casual and expert players to grow.

Where Titanfall really shines is when you go head-to-head with other players around the world outside of the campaign mode. You are free to traverse the environments in your own way, whether it is while running up walls or inside a Titan.