Games that receive this ⭐ star have a score of 95% or above. This is purely from a game design perspective and is not in any way related to our morality evaluation.
Of all the first person shooters I’ve ever played, there is one I will never hold in a bad light. Titanfall 2 was released in 2016 from Respawn Entertainment, and has since set the bar extremely high for modern shooters. Its signature features are fluid and fast movement and giant mechs, which make for a fun and engaging experience.
The single-player campaign was the most surprising thing about Titanfall 2 when it first released. The player assumes the role of Jack Cooper, a rifleman fighting to defend his home from the IMC, which is stealing natural resources from planets. The introductory mission sees Cooper’s team get destroyed by a mechanical Titan and Cooper himself unexpectedly assigned to pilot a Titan of his own. From here, we reconnect with our old boss and fight to stop the IMC once and for all.The highlight of the story is the dynamic between Cooper and his Titan, BT. The two grow as partners and even friends over the course of the game, and it’s heartwarming to see them develop and have their moments. The ending is also really satisfying, in more ways than one.
The story itself is held together by the glue of gameplay, and it goes to show how gameplay can set the tone. Pilots, as they’re called, are equipped with certain abilities to allow them to traverse the battlefield with more ease. Your tools are a double-jump and a wallrun, and these two simple tools can be used to be everywhere at once. The levels in Titanfall 2 are cleverly structured to give the player hard-to-reach secrets and multiple ways of getting to your objective. Of course, the name “Titanfall” would be hard to justify if there were no Titans, and you’re allowed to enter and exit your giant mech at will throughout the game. Piloting your Titan is much different from freerunning. Depending on your loadout, you’ll have a couple of different abilities, but these are much more offensively-oriented. Rather than wallrunning, you might have a deployable tripwire, or a set of micro-missiles or a shoulder-mounted laser. You’ll collect more loadouts as you play the campaign, so you’ll get to try out all the different playstyles as you battle enemy Titans.
The first Titanfall game from 2014 was a multiplayer-only game, so it was to be expected for the sequel to have some form of multiplayer. The multiplayer modes are absolutely fantastically designed. Each match pits two teams of six pilots against each other, with classic map objectives like Capture the Flag, Team Deathmatch, and Amped Hardpoint. Each team will also get squads of grunt soldiers to populate the battlefield and provide the pilots with something to shoot at and earn points for. So even if you can’t hit enemy pilots, you can farm grunts and call in your Titan. All of the weapons and Titans from the campaign reappear in multiplayer, and you can customize your loadout mid-match to adapt to your opponents. Another thing I absolutely love about multiplayer is the epilogue. If your team is defeated, you have a chance to accomplish something if you escape the map. When the match is over, a short timer will begin and a dropship will come to evacuate you and your teammates. You have a chance to escape, and the enemy can also shoot down the ship. It’s a fun way to end the match and provide a victory to the losing team.
Respawn Entertainment is to be commended for their approach to player customization. There is of course, in-game currency for the multiplayer that you earn by completing matches. This currency can be used to unlock new weapons, perks, tacticals, Titans, and skins. You can also complete challenges for your weapons to earn skins and credits. You earn experience towards ranking up by completing weapon challenges, matches, winning, scoring, and completing other objectives during matches. You can earn something by doing anything in the game, and there’s always something new to be unlocked. You could buy cosmetics with real money, but you have every incentive to just keep playing the game, and there’s nothing that you can buy that affects your stats, so no one will be stomping on you because they broke the bank.
Overall, Titanfall 2 is an incredibly fun and rewarding experience. The campaign is one of the best shooter campaigns out there, and the multiplayer is well-crafted and skillful. The lobbies are still active and the queue times are short, even four years after its initial launch. The game was recently re-released on Steam, and is absolutely worth the purchase.
Scoring: 96% ⭐️ (EXCELLENT FIRST-PERSON SHOOTER GAME)
Gameplay: 5/5
Story: 5/5
Graphics: 5/5
Controls: 5/5
Replayability: 4/5
Morality/Parental Warnings
Language: Some foul language in boss fights and story moments
Sex/nudity: Some player banners may feature women in inappropriate outfits.
Violence: It’s a first person shooter. Some story moments are violent, either explicitly with exploding enemies and blood or via implication. There are pilot and titan execution animations that can be a bit overkill at times.
