“Can it be March 11th already?” is what I said after playing the Titanfall Beta. I’ve been a harsh critic of First Person Shooter games in the past for being, in my personal opinion, boring and lacking in any innovation. Titanfall on the other hand isn’t scared to change up the FPS genre, and with that it has managed to receive my absolute full attention. When Titanfall was first announced I was unsure what Titanfall could really do to change my mind on FPS games but now I am sold on the idea of Titanfall.
With Titanfall’s innovations it helps add more depth to matches, one of these features I enjoyed was the games free running mechanics. With FPS games like Call Of Duty, I’ve been used to just running around a map for most of the game but in Titanfall I was climbing up buildings, wallrunning and doing crazy double jumps which all just add to the fun and uniqueness that I think the developers was looking for.
Titanfall also introduces an “epilogue” after the official end of a game. Which ever team loses the game will be told to report back to their ship with an extraction point given on the map. The winners have the task of hunting down the other team who are trying to escape from the battle. It is a small but excellent addition to matches, I’ve always thought it never made sense that FPS matches just come to a standstill once you reach the point target, wouldn’t they want to leave the battlefield? Again it’s a small feature but it all adds to the fun of Titanfall.
I do have some problems with the game though, Titans (The big robots) are kind of the killstreak awards of the game. They are set at a time limit until you can get them but you can shorten the time by killing people from the other team. When I first got a Titan I was excited to use it but when you get like three during a game it takes the reward factor of the Titans from the game. It doesn’t help that A.I’s are really easy to kill meaning you could get a Titan in just one minute into the game. I want to feel like I’ve earned this Titan.
Another problem with the game would be the A.I opponents, trust me they are terrible. They hardly ever attack you, and are extremely easy to kill. One point during the game I found three A.I’s just stand in a group doing nothing as I shot all three of them with ease. I understand we need A.I’s to fill out the gaps in the small 6v6 games, and A.I’s don’t call Titans so there can only be 12 Titans at one time if it was 9v9 with human players in these maps it would become way too overcrowded, if 9v9 was to be done then bigger maps are a must. Until then 6v6 is fine but A.I’s need to be fixed because currently they are pretty terrible.
Titans are really fun to use, and what helps make them fun which I must praise the game developers for, is adding in features that stop anyone killing you while are entering the titan as there is a shield around the Titan that once you enter you can’t get shot. Titans you call are your own so that means that other players can’t steal your Titan that you called in. These features help make the game fair and friendly for all players.
My final thoughts are that I can’t wait until Titanfall releases next month. The Beta gave me a little taste of what is to come, and that taste has me craving for more Titanfall. Roll on March 11th!!
