Titanfall 2: EA's Overlooked Success

     

Now, I'm sure you've heard all about how awful of a company EA is, and honestly I agree. They have terrible customer service and have slaughtered beloved series left and right. There is far more to what makes them, well, not great but that isn't the point of this article. Today I want to talk about a great game, marred by release issues and the publisher name on its box. Titanfall 2 is really a fantastic game that has been widely overlooked by websites and reviewers. I'm here to talk about why I love it.

     Titanfall 2 was a notorious financial failure for EA upon release. This was largely due to it's bad release date. However it actually is a great example of how good of a game EA can make. As a multiplayer focused first person shooter, Titanfall 2 is an obvious game to feature heavy and deceptive monetization schemes. You also might not expect it to bother with a campaign, a la Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. So first off; the monetization actually is not extremely obvious and in your face. I'm not sure if this has always been the case, but as my play through of the game there is not an obvious push for me to pay real world money. While I absolutely can pay for certain things, I don't see it being shoved in my face. The game doesn't even feature loot boxes, as far as I can tell. That is huge for EA. The multiplayer in general is very fun, time to get into a match is relatively short, and the fights always seem balance. But where the game truly shines is the unique combat mechanics. Most modern shooters have enhanced movement such as wall running, special abilities and killstreak rewards, and much more. Titanfall has the unique mechanic of, well, Titanfalls. As you earn points by killing enemies and performing other feats in multiplayer, a gauge will build. When filled you can press down on your D-Pad to call down your personal Titan. Titans are giant robots with powerful weapons which can be controlled manually or fight alongside you as an gigantic AI partner. Of course everyone can call in these Titans, and so the battlefield can feel absolutely epic as you fight soldiers while avoiding the massive footsteps of iron giants surrounding you. To supplement this, the warzone is littered with AI footsoldiers and smaller robots, filling up the map and making it truly chaotic. It is unbelievably fun and seems generally quite balanced. EA really has the multiplayer down, and with a lack of loot boxes it just feels so right. 

     The next and final major thing in the game I want to go over is the Single Player Campaign. Goodness this campaign shines bright. Without giving too many spoilers, you play as a young soldier who dreams of being a Pilot (a special forces unit who can command a personal Titan). You are unexpectedly thrown into the position of a Pilot when your whole team is killed and only the you, a Titan called BT and BT's dying Pilot remain on the battlefield. You gain control of the powerful machine and quickly grow to love him. The story is very basic for an FPS (bad guys have superweapon, stop them) but they really make you love the main characters and also fit in some very fun gameplay and puzzles. Each level is different from one another, it's not just run here and shoot this. Often you are separated from BT and have to find your way back to him. One level you use a device the transports you between two different time periods. In another you get a gun that just activates special switches you have to trigger throughout the level. Mix that with the fast paced and 360 degree movement and it balances nicely into a well rounded campaign. BT may also be the best robot since Baymax of Big Hero 6. He is a robot with a big personality, one that grows as you play. while dialogue options are not super prevalent, what ones are there help grow him into a fully fledged person. I just love it and if the do Titanfall 3 the big guy BETTER BE IN THERE!!!!

     Long story short, Titanfall 2 may have released rife with controversy, but it now is an extremely enjoyable and unique game, and may be one of the best First Person Shooters out there as far as pure fun goes. If you don't like EA, I get that and I don't particularly love them either. Don't let that mar your view of a game as good as this. Titanfall is great, I enjoy it and will continue to play it probably until I get Kingdom Hearts 3.