Two years passed, and finally the sequel from Titanfall was released. Titanfall 2 is still carrying the FPS mechanism with acrobatic movement and supported by the presence of robust Titan robots. But will the same formula on Titanfall 2 last longer in the minds of its players?
I can not promise that Titanfall 2 will still be played a lot of people in the next few months. However, this game clearly provides a very memorable experience for all players.
Essential essentials
The most striking new thing in the Titanfall sequel is the presence of a single player campaign. Yes, you can enjoy a piece of the story from Titanfall's unique world through that mode.
You will play as Jake Cooper in the Titanfall 2 campaign. He is a fighter of the Militia faction who is trying to become a Titan pilot for the liberation of his native land.
In the midst of a battle against the IMC camp on the planet Typhon, Jake gets authorization to board the BT-7274 which is the Titan of the late Captain Lastimosa. Together with his new Titan, Jake must complete the Special Operations 217 mission to thwart the IMC's plan.
Man and machine
Although the plot sounds ordinary, the story in Titanfall 2 has a unique element that makes it very memorable. The relationship between Jake and BT feels very deep, not just between the pilot and the AI.
The relationship of trust between Jake and BT grows with the challenges they face, similar to a pair of comrades in a war. The development of the story with the focus of the relationship between humans and machines seems quite rare in an FPS, and I must admit the theme is quite interesting.
Unfortunately, it feels less satisfactory because the story presented is very short. In just six hours, you can complete the single player campaign in Titanfall 2.
The dialog selections also appear when the campaign takes place. Although making the story more interesting, I feel not too satisfied with the feature. The choice of dialog only gives different answers, but does not change the story line in the game.
Jake also sounds like a soldier who tries too hard to appear as a casual man. Dialog that he catapulted sometimes feels too artificial and seem unnatural. BT, on the other hand, looks like a machine without expression. But the plain dialogue BT often makes me laugh to myself.
Freedom of movement
Titanfall 2 carries a non-generic FPS game. The battles happen quickly and you can perform various acrobatics moves quite easily. Movements such as wall runs, double jumps, and slides allow you to be free of the restrained maneuvers that exist in regular FPS games.
The full action of adrenaline that you do while firing while performing various acrobatic movements can be executed very smoothly. However, these actions still feel realistic because you seem to still have weight when maneuvering.
Challenges vary
The enemy that you will face in Titanfall 2 is not limited to IMC campers only. You will also be faced with robotic android robots, wild alien creatures, and certainly the Titan robots.
The enemy's variations obviously make you have to take different actions depending on the type you are facing. The game becomes more challenging when several types of enemies appear in one level.
War between giants
Speaking of Titan, you will be much more often faced with Titan when Jake was driving BT. As a Titan, BT equipped several types of heavy weapons that have high destructive power. The game screen will be filled with big explosions once you drive BT and destroy all the enemies.
The transition from the first person's perspective and into the Titan's cockpit is a long-awaited experience. The game feels refreshed when the viewing angle changes. Animation into Titan's body also looks cool.
Even more cool, Respawn as the developer also adds a variety of small details when you're in the Titan cockpit. One of the things I like best is the appearance of enemy pilots when delivering ad-lib in the corner of the screen.
Heard they try to intimidate or express fear when his Titan is destroyed making the battle arena livelier. It reminds me of various battle scenes in popular mecha anime.
Titanfall 2 single player mode also presents a battle against a fairly intense boss. Not only face Titan enemies who have dangerous weapons, you also have to pay attention to the battle area.
An intense battle forces you to think strategically and not come forward attacking. If you make a mistake, not infrequently the bullet and missiles ready to hit freely. In fact, you can be unknowingly cornered at the edge of the battle area if you do not think carefully.
Creative level design
Speaking of the game area, the level in single player mode Titanfall 2 is very well designed. Variation of the area provided looks diverse. You will find wild woods full of cliffs to the inner area of the facility with futuristic design.
Each level has a portion of platforming that is quite exciting and challenging. Thanks to the maneuvering ability that you can do, the jumping section of the chasm or the altitude move feels great fun and does not feel like a routine.
There is also one level that I think is very impressive in Titanfall 2 until I hope can be brought by Respawn to the next iteration. In that level, you are given the ability to move into the past to solve puzzles and avoid danger.
For example, if a door can not open because it is broken in the present, then you have to move to the past first when the door is still working. Another example, you will use the ability to move time to run from one wall in the present to another wall in the past.
Not only for platformers, the ability to move time can even be useful to face the enemy. With that ability, you will disappear from the enemy's view and reappear behind them to strike back.
Old tools, excellent results
Although Titanfall 2 worked on using the Source engine that can be spelled out a bit old-fashioned, visual in this game still looks fantastic. The game runs in 60 fps with a level of detail that looks quite astonishing.
The design of the environment displayed is quite diverse. Each level has a contrasting theme from one place to another. The area will be filled with lush vegetation in one place and a rigid futuristic building elsewhere.
The design of weapons and character equipment is also made very interesting. The shape is futuristic, but still recognizable and associated with technology that exist in today.
Fight together more exciting
For multiplayer affairs, Titanfall 2 presents a much more game mode. One of the most popular new modes is Bounty Hunt.
In Bounty Hunt mode, each camp must not only kill the enemy, but also defeat a certain NPC to earn money. The money will have to be deposited to the nearest bank machine that is open at certain times. At that moment the game becomes more tense, because both camps will fight each other to deposit money or steal money from other camps.
Outside of Bounty Hunt, other modes like Attrition, Team Deathmatch, and so on still feel standard like the previous iteration. Although the number of players in each game is very limited, it actually proved to make the game feel balanced.
Wider customization
You can also customize the pilot and Titan. Weapons, equipment, to Titan's camouflage colors can be changed and adjusted. The available Titan also increases with the unique weapon capabilities of each.
You can choose a particular class in Titanfall 2 to determine what specific equipment you can use. Skill can also be changed as your character level increases.
More balanced
Regarding the battle in multiplayer mode, Respawn made some adjustments in Titanfall 2 rather than its predecessor. Titan now has the equipment to drive out enemy pilots who try to drive it by using paralyzing gas.
For the pilots, they now simply board the enemy Titan and take the battery that is attached to the robot's body to be able to defeat it. This adjustment made the Titan and pilot actions feel more supple than the previous series.
Conclusion
Is Titanfall 2 a better sequel to the first Titanfall? I think so. With more content, maintained gameplay, and the existence of a single player campaign that left a mark on your memory, Titanfall 2 is an FPS game you must play this year.
