Review: Titanfall

G'day there guys and gals!

Reviews and opinions have been popping up for quite some time over this massive release, one the first major releases for Xbox One. And with that, many people sung the praise of the game for weeks. Trust me when I say, I do indeed enjoy this game and there is much to enjoy, but much like every other game, there are faults that cannot be ignored. 

First off, let me start writing about the most controversial piece of this game, the campaign. While it's a good way to learn the ropes of the game in fixed, map set games like campaign, I would highly advice new players to simply start out in multiplayer before even trying the campaign. Extremely short, the "nontraditional" (And that's putting it lightly) campaign is simply a multiplayer mode with a weak and dull storyline from the two different sides of the war. This war (Which boils down to territorial war over a new world's resources/technology via militia VS military) is barely explained and holds utterly no lore, no explanation of why humanity expanded past Earth, how the war began or never fully explains why they fight at all. While there are a fair number of campaign missions, each one can be completed in about 10-15 minutes, cutting out the dialogue and cutscenes. At the end of the day, finishing one side of the campaign will take just under 2 hours. Since the opposite side holds barely any difference (Other than unlockables and different dialogue/cutscenes) each campaign plays out the same and despite the winning side, the script wins overall. In short, even if your team wins by a landslide, if the story says you lose, you lose. While the audio, soundtrack and voice acting is fairly good and entertaining, other than the gameplay itself and option to unlock the two extra Titan skins, there isn't much point to the campaign at all. The game will try to make you care about your fellow teammates and the characters in pivot points in the story but it fails utterly. You may experience some empathy but no point bringing your handkerchiefs on this ride.

The multiplayer, while the most entertaining part of this game, keeps to the multiplicities of every standard FPS but simply with different titles,even down to the multiplayer labeled as "Classic". The names are: Team Deathmatch AKA "Attrition", Last Man Standing AKA "Last Titan Standing", King of the Hill AKA "Hardpoint", Free For All AKA "Pilot Hunter (which is basically the same as Attrition but bots give less points), with the only standard name being Capture the Flag and lastly a Variety Pack of all the game modes mentioned. Either way, classic or newcomers will find much fun in Titanfall, in that is where the biggest strength lies within the game. Gameplay is by far one of the smoothest, simple and smooth experiences I have ever had. The Titan to Pilot strength is balanced (In the exception of Quad Rockets on Titans and Smart Pistol which have recently been patched to reduce effectiveness), the game still rewards those who cannot beat Pilots or those with slow connections and gives an equal and fair experience to any gamer, regardless of experience, Burn Cards (bonuses picked up during gameplay) or weapon use. While customisation is limited to a relatively small amount (I'm still really disappointed that Titans/Pilots aren't customisable) such as weapons and gender, they won't deter you too much from the gameplay or matches.

While in campaign, you can see some truly beautiful cutscenes, such as soldiers sorting out dropzone locations, a massive ship battle raging outside their windows and the planet below set in flames. Watching that scene is beautiful and truly shows the ability that Next Gen (Pretty much Now Gen) consoles have to offer, it was almost a shame to set in that drop pod and rush myself into battle. With Titanfall 2 already confirmed and in the works, I really do hope for more lore, a deeper storyline and improved multiplayer and campaign, making many gamers hoping for the Mass Effect Remake rumours to be true.
While many companies and reviewers have been giving this game perfect scores, in this gamer's opinion, Titanfall is a great game, a definite must buy and possibly worthy for GOTY, but while single player campaign games exist, a good multiplayer still cannot compare to a well told story.

Out of 10, I give Titanfall an 8/10

+Utterly fantastic gameplay
+Smooth multiplayer
+Great use of Burn Cards, balanced fighting
+Each finished fight leaves you wanting more
+Fun for newbies or veterans alike
-Campaign was pointless/waste of 4 hours for two unlocks
-Customisation lacked significantly
-Voice acting was sub-par

Titanfall is out now for the standard price of $80