Why do we keep playing online shooters? How many times can we kill gun-toting maniacs in urban environments before we go crazy? The answer is different for every gamer - some enjoy the rush of combat while others like the team-orientated moments more thrilling than any scripted sequence. In online shooters, no two matches are the same and repetition is a medium that fosters improvement. Our persistence with shooters also depends on the game in question. Battlefield fans chase that moment where you knock a fully-loaded helicopter from the sky and Call of Duty players are looking for those 20 seconds of rapid domination. Titanfall creates its own situations to keep you playing.
Titanfall is the product of Respawn Entertainment, a team formed when half of Infinity Ward broke from Activision after the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Their previous work in securing the Call of Duty franchise as a powerhouse is not to be understated. Titanfall does share many mechanics with that mammoth franchise – such as a lunging melee attack - but it’s not just Call of Duty with robots. Titanfall is parkour multiplayer shooter, with AI bots, that significantly changes with the presence of walking mechs called Titans. Every player can pilot a Titan, unlike the familiar care package setup in Call of Duty, but performing specific actions will see you receive your Titan sooner.
TItanfall contains no single player component except for a brief tutorial, so Respawn has chosen to bring story elements into the online battlefield via a multiplayer “campaign”. This inappropriate term describes multiplayer matches that include: audio debriefs, intro cut scenes and characters talking while you fight through hectic battles. Small videos of poorly animated characters are easy to ignore in the throes of battle. The online campaign is wasted potential because it lacks control over story delivery and pacing. The online campaign is a series of multiplayer matches with an impersonal narrative.
Unfortunately the campaign is the only way you can unlock two, of three, custom Titan Chassis – making it a necessity. The “campaign” also restricts you to 9 maps (out of 15) and 2 modes (out of 5) which further minimizes the desire to replay it. The only reason you might undertake such an endeavour is when you realise those playing campaign are less proficient than players who have moved on. What’s less appetising about this is that the campaign is not restricted to new players and fractures the player-base into two groups that are both hunting for the same multiplayer matches. If you were expecting an interesting campaign, look elsewhere because Titanfall is all about multiplayer.
The multiplayer structure will be familiar if you have played any shooter in the last 5 years. Teams of six players compete with automatic weapons, kits and perks. Kits can render you near invisible for a short time or grant you pulsing x-ray vision. Weapon selection is minimal and this includes a low number of attachments. All the standard weapon types are available though, including sub-machine guns and sniper rifles. The dubious extended magazine unlock has no downside, giving higher ranked players a clear advantage over fresh meat. Fortunately getting unlocks for each weapon requires relatively few kills.
Perks come in the form of regularly-awarded, single-use Burn cards that stay active for just one life. These Burn cards might help you earn a Titan quicker or gift you a weapon with more punch than the standard version. Burn cards can be equipped pre-match to deal with specific situations or discarded if not suited to your play style. Using a Burn card can be risky if you happen to die before it proves useful, but you’ll earn them regularly by performing challenges. Burn cards are aptly named given they provide players with something unique up their sleeves.
Maps are varied in scale and locale with design that pays careful attention to the size disparity between ground units and Titans. You’ll notice how the main thoroughfares are built for Titans when you steer one through the streets of Angel City. In Lagoon, one of the more open maps, it wasn’t obvious that the play area extended into shallow waters behind the large spaceship until a game of Last Titan Standing. The open maps create isolated hotspots and level design prevents Titans from dominating the entire play area. Sadly there is no visual destruction which means trees, electric poles and cars remain intact after Titans trample over them. Titanfall has a good collection of detailed maps and the best allow unimpeded Titan navigation and fluent Pilot movement.
Pilots, the name of human-controlled soldiers, foray into the central areas of maps amongst futuristic shelters. As a Pilot you can run along walls, perform double-jumps, use zip-lines or climb rooftops. It is possible to transition from one side of the map to the other without touching the ground. This parkour movement adds another layer that rewards map knowledge and quick transitions. The slick, contextual movement can be finicky at times - occasionally forcing you to wall-run when you wanted to climb over an obstacle. Chaining efficient parkour routes is not dissimilar from optimal flag runs in Tribes, and this includes moments of frustration as you fail to reach a ledge. The speed of movement and rapid combat makes the action on foot similar to Call of Duty but with the added layer of height. After two minutes of action on foot, Pilots can call in a Titan.
Titans come in three forms, from the weak and agile Stryder to the slow and tough Ogre. But it’s not just the chassis types that are customisable, players can choose from several strong weapons and defensive abilities. The triple-threat weapon propels large cannonball-sized explosives that pummel ground units into oblivion. The vortex shield sucks up bullets and propels them much like the telekensis power in BioShock. Titans get perks too, like being able to go nuclear after ejection or reducing the charge time for their chassis ability. The various loadout options make the Titan confrontations the most interesting in the entire game. It’s just a matter of surviving long enough to savour the experience. Titans are powerful when used correctly, but fragile enough when under attack from multiple sources. The drive to use your Titan effectively is the main motivation to keep playing.
Titans and Pilots are on the same battlefield, so encounters are common. Every Pilot has an anti-titan weapon that is best used from an elevated position. Pilots can jump on the back of an enemy Titan and directly reduce its health. New players will have their Titan crippled using this technique, but experienced Pilots can deploy electric smoke or missiles to kill their rodeo ride without leaving the safety of the driver’s seat. Once you receive your Titan, there is no rule that requires you to assume control. You can have the Titan follow you around and protect you from basic threats. These guard-dog Titans make good distractions as you melee unsuspecting enemies from behind. As a Pilot, taking down a Titan is thrilling but it’s safer to wait until they are distracted or wounded.
Occasionally Titanfall drowns the player in a frenetic pace. While there is good contrast between playing as a Titan and Pilot, both are frenzied. Pilots leap quickly through complex levels and Titans can be attacked from all directions. At every corner you are surrounded by Titans, players, turrets or AI bots. After the initial two minutes of each round, you’ll encounter Titans constantly. It’s possible to suffer fatigue and this might be why matches are short. As you get better, you can manage the pace more efficiently and absorb the anarchy. This might mean retreating to recharge your Titan’s shield or take the lesser-known routes as a Pilot. Titanfall frequently bombards you with action and pushes you into combat, but the desire to keep you entertained can also thrust you away like a child screaming for attention.
Titanfall differs from other multiplayer games by including a large number of AI bots in competitive matches. Plenty of shooters have done AI bots before, but they are typically employed to fill the gaps before players join or provide an offline challenge. Titanfall uses bots for several reasons, but none of them are typical. The bots are rarely a threat to players in direct confrontations, but in large numbers they tip the scale of human battles and create decoys. One important skill is being able to differentiate between rigid bots and erratic humans.
The main purpose of the bots is to create a chaotic environment, something not possible with 12 real players on the large maps. Adding more human players would have broken the Titan-Pilot balance. The AI bots are brought into battle via drop pods or choppers, much like a scripted single player campaign. Friendly bots thank you for your assistance and voice fear when they spot a nearby Pilot. Killing enemy bots helps players earn their Titans quicker, encouraging attacking play. In Attrition, dispatching enemy bots is just as crucial as eliminating opposing Pilots, so it’s likely you will kill five times more bots than players.
The relative infrequency of human opponents, compared to these bots, can have you wishing for a multiplayer experience without padding. The bots create a merger of horde mode and competitive action with strengths and weaknesses from both. AI bots bring slices of empowerment as you crush half a dozen with a Titan or realise you just killed a Pilot instead. So you can scurry along the ground and eliminate bots for easy points, or you could scale a wall and take on dangerous enemies directly. In simple terms, the bots are an active objective present in all modes that promote chaos, and hasten Titan acquisition.
Notable balance issues persist in public matches because of the unique mechanics. Titans are powerful units that are difficult to eliminate as a lone Pilot, yet their power is generally offset by the recurrence of opposing Titans. When one team controls several Titans unchecked, the rupture in balance is noticeable. The killstreak problem from Call of Duty, where the best players are rewarded with exceptional killing devices, translates into march-of-the-titans that can remain until match end. An experienced Titan can survive for minutes thanks to a recharging shield and defensive abilities. This balance divide occurs if just one player fails to utilize their Titan quickly or effectively. Perhaps it’s fortunate that the losing team can save their Titans for the Evacuation chopper – a fun mechanic that offers the weaker team a consolation prize and the stronger team a chance at complete domination.
Titanfall is able to remind us, in its own unique way, why we continue to play online shooters and why we can tire of them. The parkour mechanics reward map knowledge and bring moments where you dominate opponents and the geometry. The rapid action keeps players on their toes but allows skilled players to think ahead. Titans bring real power to the battlefield and present a different play-style to juxtapose the agile Pilots. AI bots provide easy kills and increase the chaos while retaining relative intimacy with human opponents. The repetition of Titan and Pilot combat is countered by the depth of combat and movement. The specific gameplay mechanics do result in some lopsided battles which can prevent you from returning to duty. Despite some issues, Titanfall is a refined multiplayer shooter that brings moments of superiority and maintains a frantic pace.