Titanfall Beta Impressions: Prepare For The Drop

Watching your three-story tall mech fall from the sky and slam into the ground is astonishing, but it’s just a small sampling of the many awe inspiring moments that Titanfall offers. Now that the open beta is officially over, gamers are desperate to know everything that Respawn Entertainment has locked behind closed doors. If what we’ve played is any indication of the final product, then expect to find a bold new vision for the first person shooter experience that will thrust you into gaming bliss.

Traversing across rooftops, linking wall runs to clear the map and landing on a Titan for a good old fashioned rodeo are all common occurrences in Titanfall, which has been designed to optimize the entertainment value by immersing you in the thrill of combat. It captures your attention by striking a harmonious balance between gameplay, player accessibility and pure action. This fine juggling act allows the game to appeal to a wider audience by ensuring that there is something for everyone, while embracing a level of skill that can be quickly adapted to, but not mastered.

Players take on the role of parkour enabled Pilots that are equipped with jet packs in order to enhance your movement across the battlefield. The new dynamics of movement prove to be game-changing in regards to how you approach your conquest of the rival team. What’s most impressive though is how easily players can engage in parkour. Jumping towards a wall at a slight angle automatically thrusts you into a wall run that can easily be linked together thanks to a double jump mechanic. As I found myself freerunning across the beta’s two maps, Fracture and Angel City, I was impressed by how strong the sense of flow remained even as I traversed all forms of obstacles in the environment.

The freedom of movement that’s offered strongly recalls the best that Mirror’s Edge had to offer, but make no mistake, Titanfall is a game that will also test your twitch reactions. It’s Call of Duty on steroids, injected with a healthy dose of science-fiction that serves as a refreshing breath of air in the stale first person shooter genre.

Yes, firefights feel familiar for anyone that has ever shot off a few rounds in the insanely hyped environment of the CoD series before, but combined with the new freedom of movement, gameplay manages to overcome what many may believe could have easily been another disposable clone of the successful shooter formula. Grenades, secondary weapons, and a range of weapon customization options make everything feel comfortable for traditional shooter fans. This makes it incredibly easy to begin exploring the game’s mechanics without making you feel like a complete failure. Additionally, each match brings in endless streams of NPC characters that allow you to farm points, or simply exist as a perfect training dummy for newcomers.