Review: Titanfall 2

G'day there guys and gals!

Titanfall was open to much scrutiny when it was first released a few years ago, most noticeably the lack of a proper campaign for players to escape the multiplayer onslaught. In the world today where games are patched on release day, it takes a lot of courage for a developer to stand up and admit to flaws and issues within their work, and Respawn Entertainment have listened to their fans and responded with Titanfall 2, and I'm happy to say their changes absolutely refresh the series.

First and foremost, the gameplay; While it hasn't been reworked, it has definitely been polished finely. Moving from walking to a sprint has been improved (and the option to remove it completely is there), and maneuvering is arguably even smoother than before. Firing each weapon has a different feel and sound, which really helps with the immersion of the game as well.
This brings me to the campaign itself, which is surprisingly good for what's there. Players take control of Rifleman Jack Cooper, a Pilot in Training, who is injured in the midst of an invasion and who is given control of a titan named BT-7274, and together they must uphold the mission and travel together to stop a great evil the IMC is cooking up. The story itself is well paced out, but I will admit it is much shorter than expected; the story itself is great, and what's there does absolutely open the lore of the series up more than before. We see different climates and planets, fauna, life, weather and a ton of different varitables that weren't seen in the Titanfall world before (which I will not spoil). But the campaign does total out at around 5-6 hours, even shorter if you're playing on a lower set level.
Voice acting is very well done, especially by the supporting staff. Matthew Mercer (Jack Cooper) was great at times as well, but for a veteran voice actor, his work did seem a tad off at times, even sounding a little bored while doing some of the puns in the dialogue, but BT does make up for this, as he will be talking for a large majority of the gameplay other than the character you are playing as. 
Musical score and sound effects were very well done as well, with a great sound from each weapon and ability. The original score does make its mark here and there, but the large strings of the orchestra add a great dynamic to the incredibly powerful moments in both the campaign and the multiplayer. There are moments when the music swells and missions in the campaign where you feel powerful and strong, and these moments do shine tremendously.

Onto multiplayer, where the game was originally focused on in the previous title, and I'm happy to report the addictiveness of the game has returned. Private modes has become available, and the classic modes of Last Titan Standing and PilotVPilot make a return, which bring in plenty of hours on their own. Customisation is also a huge plus this time around, as players can actively customise their pilot and titan to their suiting, but they haven't taken it far enough. Titans are limited to classes, and players will be unable to mix and match to their playing ability. This may be due to balancing, but if you wish to use the Lazer core, you'll have to stick with the weapon and abilities assigned. The same goes for Pilots as well; choosing an ability locks your character model; if you want to play as a Spectre with invisibility perk, you won't be able to unless you choose that class. The customisation options, while expansive, can also produce duplicates of the same picture or colour with incredibly small details (zig-zags instead of lines, colour swap from blue to green etc), which is a tad disappointing. Burn Cards have also been replaced for the Core abilities; players can choose their main core ability (which is tied to one class), and model their secondary abilities to unlocks (Ticks - robotic creatures, Arc grenades, etc), which you can unlock via coins you gain by gameplay. While I do wish Titan bodies can be customised and players could choose their character model, the amount of customisation here is still incredible (although the Titan voice option is surprisingly missing).

In saying all of this, I haven't experienced a single glitch or crash in two playthroughs of the campaign or all my time in the multiplayer, which goes to show the high amount of love and time Respawn has spent working on the game, and the fact that it has been overshadowed in the last few weeks is shocking. This review took a lot longer than expected because I've been playing it, over and over, to see both how the game holds up and if its worth multiple playthroughs. For its asking price, Titanfall 2 is absolutely worth your time and money.
If you're on the fence about this game, let me be the convincing argument; Titanfall 2 has a lot of heart and soul this time around, and you cannot do any wrong by adding it into your library, and I cannot wait to see how big Respawn can go next time around.

Titanfall 2 - 8/10