Despite all its qualities, Titanfall first of the name had quickly shown its limits, the fault of a content much too light to rise to the rank of FPS that we buy every year with our eyes closed. A defect reinforced by the absence of a solo mode or even a real background around the universe. Result: the game failed to maintain the interest of players who quickly abandoned the title in favor of more “classic” FPS. Faced with all these criticisms, the developers of Respawn Entertainment were keen not to repeat the same mistakes of youth. And to properly relaunch the license, EA has decided to release this episode on Xbox One, PC and PS4, which means that Microsoft no longer has the exclusivity of the license. A blessing in disguise since the PS4 fleet is significantly higher than that of the Xbox One, which could give a boost to sales of Titanfall 2. Finally, to take advantage of it, it will be necessary to convince the players but above all stand out from competition. With Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty around, releasing Titanfall 2 at the same time doesn't seem like the best idea, and it's going to take a tough fight to get out of the game. To do this, the developers have decided to set up a solo worthy of the name and which will finally bring some consistency to the franchise. Composed largely of former members of Infinity Ward (Call of Duty Modern Warfare...), Respawn wanted to create a solo close to a Half-Life, while delivering a world capable of making you use the maximum potential of your pilot. In addition to the gunfights and fights aboard your Titan, the game has its eye on platform games and very often, you will have to deal with the elements of the terrain to advance in your adventure. But this solo adventure is above all an opportunity to create a whole background around the title and give players the feeling of evolving in a world where such a conflict is justified.
LA BROMANCE BT-7274 / JACK COOPER
Thus, you play as Jack Cooper, a young rifleman engaged in the border militia. After a quick training allowing you to discover the basic movements, you will have to pass an aptitude test in order to have an idea of your level. The more stubborn among you should also waste a little time trying to beat the high scores which seem totally out of reach (the developers assured us that the scores are very real). Once the basics are acquired, your training is interrupted by a general alert. The IMC, an industrial conglomerate, travels to a planet to exploit a powerful but extremely polluting resource. Faced with the threat, your unit is dispatched to the planet to repel the forces of the IMC. Following the crash of your landing capsule, you find yourself on a planet, with the false airs of Pandora in Avatar, in the heart of the shootings. That's when your adventure begins and right from the start you'll have to heat up the gunpowder to take down hordes of robot soldiers before coming face to face with two enemy titans and falling in awe. When you wake up, an allied Titan is on its side with its pilot lying on the ground. The latter asks you to take his helmet in order to carry out his mission. You are then propelled as the pilot of BT-7274, a remarkable Titan that has proven itself on the battlefield. From then on, your mission will be to prevent the IMC from carrying out its plans and the following events will reveal the true intentions of the coalition.
To vary the phases of the game, the developers have decided to alternate between foot passages and others at the controls of the Titan. An excellent idea that avoids the monotony of missions where you just move forward with your mecha without ever getting off.
Besides the conflict between the Militia and the IMC, Titanfall 2's single-player campaign mostly highlights the almost human relationship between your pilot, Jack Cooper, and the Titan BT-7274. With well-felt jokes and permanent dialogues between the two protagonists, the duo works perfectly and very quickly, we become attached to this very special relationship. BT-7274 and his naivety, induced by his robotic thinking, humanizes the Titan to the point that we almost forget the hero who is supposed to be Jack Cooper. But if the relationship between our two protagonists plays an important role throughout the story, the pilot is not systematically aboard the Titan. To vary the phases of the game, the developers have decided to alternate between foot passages and others at the controls of the Titan. An excellent idea that avoids the monotony of missions where you just move forward with your mecha without ever getting off. Very often, you will have to separate yourself from your machine in order to collect information or even unlock the passage for BT-7274. During these phases of exploration on foot, all the movements of your pilot give a new platform dimension to the game. The levels are built to push you to think and you will have to alternate between double jumps and runwalls to go from one point A to point B. A style of gameplay reinforced by the presence of collectible helmets, which will push you to explore the levels in their every corner.
THE ATTACK OF THE TITANS
To spice things up a bit, the developers have even included weapons and other objects allowing you to modify the terrain on which you evolve, like a bracelet allowing you to return to the past. Thus, you will have to juggle skillfully between the two temporalities to unlock certain doors or even slip behind the enemies without being detected. The use of these objects brings real added value to the single player campaign which always manages to surprise thanks to various gameplay mechanics. In addition, this is an opportunity for players to discover step by step the different Titans that can be used in the game. Indeed, with each new mission, you will have to face a Titan in order to recover his equipment and use it by the following. At any time in the adventure, you can choose to change your robot's equipment and choose the one that seems most effective to you in relation to the situation. Of the six Titans available, each has its own abilities responding to various forms of combat, like the Ronin, a huge Titan fighting with a katana or the Tone, a Titan specializing in remote elimination thanks to his sniper.
Finally, the solo serves as the perfect training before going to the multiplayer and players who have not had the chance to play the first episode will be able to get their hands on the different Titans, while learning to master the movements of its pilot. Add to that a pleasant story to follow and a Hollywood setting, with explosions galore and you have an explosive solo that fulfills its contract without batting an eyelid. The only bad note could come from the enemies, who are sorely lacking in charisma, the fault of a scenario that ignores their story a little. In fact, we know they are bad guys because we are told so in the game, but nothing lets us feel it.
A MORE COMPLETE MULTI
Despite its quality, the solo is only a small part of Respawn Entertainment's title since it should keep you busy for 7 hours on normal difficulty. Once the adventure is over, players should quickly fall back on multiplayer. While many elements of the first Titanfall are still present, the developers have brought a whole host of new features to create a multiplayer capable of satisfying fans over time. On the game mode side, the Respawn teams have kept almost all the modes present on the first episode and have added new modes to satisfy the players. Thus, in addition to the classic modes such as Capture the Flags, Pilot vs Pilot, Deathmatch without Titan, we discover the Bounty Hunt mode, a real novelty of this episode. Here players compete 5 against 5 in teams completed by bots that appear randomly on the map. During waves of bots, players on each side must eliminate as many enemies as possible in order to collect money which must then be deposited in banks at the end of each round. However, be careful not to die since each death will result in the loss of 50% of the money raised during a round. Of course, the Titans are usable and they will prove to be major assets in the conservation of your points but also to chain the kills and collect a maximum of money quickly.
As you will have understood, overall, the multiplayer offers very good sensations. The confrontations are very nervous and the action is intensely felt.
Well thought out, the "Bounty Hunt" mode offers very good sensations thanks to parts where the action is omnipresent. The need to be careful with your money completely changes the physiognomy of the games and the players who chain the kills during the waves will become the priority targets of those who have not been able to recover any money before. The "Amped Hardpoint" mode also stands out from the other modes thanks to an innovative approach to taking positions. In this 5 versus 5 mode, you have to capture three areas while staying close. Each captured area earns you points, and the first team to reach the required number of points wins the battle. Also, if you stay close to a captured point, your score increases faster. So it's up to you to choose between conquering other areas or staying in the one captured to maximize the points you earn. The "Last Titan Standing" mode should also gain favor with players. Here, it is mainly a question of confronting each other with Titans in 5 against 5 games taking on the appearance of MOBA. In addition to your skills, it will be important to compose homogeneous teams, being careful to choose a Titan according to its strengths and weaknesses. If the fights take place in closed places with little space, it will be smart to favor Titans capable of doing great damage in close combat and vice versa in an area with a lot of space.
Finally, veteran players will be delighted to see the "Returning Attrition" mode. Fan-claimed, the mode sees two teams of six players go head-to-head with bots on each team. The goal here is to collect 400 points by killing enemies. Of course, Titans and Pilots are worth a lot more points than Minions, but you can also focus on killing bots to get a consistent score. And if you really don't find a mode more sympathetic than another, know that you also have access to the Variety Pack mode which allows players to compete in various game modes chosen randomly. As you will have understood, overall, the multiplayer offers very good sensations. The confrontations are very nervous and the action is intensely felt. To the point that sometimes she gets a little too messy and it's not uncommon to lose track of a fight because of everything that's going on around. The maps are varied and allow players to easily opt for close combat or ranged combat. Unfortunately, the maps do not change from one mode to another and quite often on modes where there are no bots, the game areas will look a bit empty and it is not uncommon to see the fights concentrate on a very small part of the map. Therefore, it often happens that players walk a long time before crossing an enemy, which can become frustrating. Apart from that, the different game modes are quite balanced overall and each of them offers pleasant gaming sensations.
A TITAN'S APPETITE
On the sidelines of the clashes, it is above all a question of developing your character to later unlock weapons as well as various bonuses allowing you to improve your equipment as well as your abilities. Indeed, in addition to being able to choose your arsenal, you will have at your disposal several cards that will give you various bonuses during the games. In addition to weapon damage or armor reinforcement improvements, these cards also allow you to amplify your skills, like the clone trooper. After passing a required number of levels, you can create a clone to mislead enemies. A very practical talent that can be boosted with cards. Thus, players will be able to deploy three clones instead of just one. The cards also give access to the smart gun, a pistol with automatic aiming that allows you to chain the frags, while running on the walls like a savage. All these improvements add spice to the games and depth in the creation of its driver. And with over 2 weapons (handguns and anti-Titan included), players will be spoiled for choice. Of course, the Titans are not left out and each of them is customizable. It is impossible to change weapons but you can however modify the different attributes of your iron giant to make it self-destructing for example. You can also choose a defense system to protect yourself from pilots who seek to remove your Titan's batteries to weaken it. As you will have understood, Titanfall XNUMX is not stingy with equipment and you will have to continue to level up to unlock the parts that interest you the most.
Fortunately, each game earns you credits that can later be spent to unlock weapons or powers without having to reach the required level. Players should have a particular fondness for the grappling hook, a great new feature in multiplayer, which allows you to cling to all surfaces to propel you there. In addition to adding greater freedom of movement to players, the grappling hook turns out to be a formidable weapon that allows you to pull enemies towards you to finish them off with your fists. Finally, the developers have implemented a new networking system that allows you to create multiple networks of players. Thus, you can have a network for your team, another for your friends and can of course join the various networks, such as French or global networks. Easy to learn, the networking system is very useful for joining games with friends. To do this, you just have to choose “Invite friends” as well as a game mode and everyone in your network will be able to join the game.
