The Tragic Timing of Titanfall 2
Respawn Entertainment missed a big opportunity
Just recently I picked up a year’s subscription to EA Play on Steam and began playing some Titanfall 2 among other EA titles available with the service. My interest in the game was piqued because of my previous history with the Titanfall series. I still remember my mate buying the first Titanfall game and watching him play it for the first time with a sense of awe. It just felt different. Let’s be honest, what isn’t awesome about running around shooting at people in giant mech suits?
While it of course nodded to the many fast-twitch first-person shooters that came before it, there was an aura around Titanfall that made it feel special somehow. Above all else, the original Titanfall suffered from just being a little too thin on content. It didn’t quite stack up against all the anticipation which had been built for it in 2014. The core gameplay was there — but all of the systems around the specific gaming experience were a bit, well, lacklustre. You could also make the argument that Titanfall was simply too far ahead of its time.
Titanfall 2 was supposed to offer the perfect antidote to that. It had a proper campaign. More of the systems were better fleshed out. There were more extensive gameplay modes and better community features. A mate bought me Titanfall 2 on PS4 around its release and I remember playing it a little bit. I never quite got into it, but it was certainly fun. Never having finished the campaign, I probably only logged around 5–10 hours. It wasn’t that I didn’t like Titanfall 2, it just kind of fell through the cracks. Newer games came out and took my attention. Eventually, I also transitioned to almost solely gaming on my PC, rarely playing multiplayer games on my PS4.
Since I’ve been playing Titanfall 2 the last couple of months though, I’ve come to realise that all of its struggles were and are almost a cause of one, single thing: timing. The game was originally released in 2016 between the launches of Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, both highly anticipated releases. These were also expected releases in the respective conveyor belts of games those franchises pump out. I, for one, remember being super excited for Battlefield 1. Going back to WWI and fighting in some of the iconic battles was extremely attractive. Especially as an Aussie myself, I couldn’t wait to hit the shores of Gallipoli and try put myself in the shoes of all those brave soliders who stormed those beaches in Turkey.
Titanfall 2 however, was, unfortunately, fighting a long uphill battle of its own from the moment it decided to release at the same time as those Battlefield and Call of Duty games. I don’t know who made that final call, but it made their lives a lot more difficult. Because let’s be honest, gamers can be a bit like a dog chasing a car: they’re always ready to start chasing after that next shiny thing. As gamers, we only have so much attention available, as well as time, to spend on all the different games being released. If you were an Indie filmmaker, you would hardly want to release your film into cinemas the same day as an Avengers film came out. Now, of course, Respawn Entertainment is a bit bigger than an Indie filmmaker, but it demonstrates the point that their timing was kind of tragic.
And that’s because Titanfall 2 is a hell of a game. Its fast-paced and kinetic action is addictive. Nothing quite beats wall-running halfway across the map and then meleeing an enemy in mid-air, or watching your Titan soar down from the skies and land before sliding into it and one-tapping an enemy who got a little too close to your hulking behemoth of a Titan. These moments are unique to Titanfall 2 and are so very exhilarating.
The campaign in Titanfall 2 is arguably borderline perfect for an FPS game. It’s short, sweet, and damn entertaining. It doesn’t rely on an over-complicated story or extensive character development. Instead, it takes its cues from epic set pieces, smart level design, and compelling gameplay. While maybe not requiring problem-solving on the level of say the Portal games, some of the missions in Titanfall 2 also require you to think strategically about the best way to traverse a certain area. It isn’t solely about taking you from point A to point B, while killing every possible enemy along the way.
Usually, these kinds of navigational puzzles are just about identifying where to wallrun, and figuring out the optimal timing for when to jump. You might think it’s simply empty content being added to the game to drag it out that little bit more, but I think it’s smart. It helps to break up the action and dialogue, allowing a little more time for the chemistry to develop between your character, Jack Cooper, and BT, your Titan.
They develop this chemistry wonderfully, turning BT into one of the more memorable campaign characters I’ve encountered over the years. His quips and one-liners — usually delivered with a lack of human tone and intonation— add a lot more value to the campaign and the story. It’s important they developed the chemistry as for the most part these two are the only significant characters in the entire campaign. They carry it all on their shoulders. The way they execute it so well shows the difference between a story that feels sparse and spread too thin and one that’s intentional, thoughtful, and special.
Even though I’ve probably spent more time playing and replaying the Titanfall 2 campaign, there’s obviously much to be said about the multiplayer as well. Even though you’ll probably be waiting longer to find a game of Titanfall 2 compared to the latest Call of Duty, I can assure it is well worth it. And if you think that Call of Duty is fast-paced, well, I’ve got something to tell you. Titanfall 2 is just, better. Jumping into an online game when you’re inexperienced with the gameplay dynamics is comparable to getting onto a bus and it starting to take off before you’ve got a seat. You go flying and are trying to grab something to steady yourself to avoid falling over. A multiplayer game of Titanfall 2 is an absolute whirlwind of an experience. I can tell you right that you will probably get completely destroyed the first few times.
Players fly around everywhere, jumping off walls and roaming around in their Titans. It can be a lot at first. And while the time-to-kill might be very short, and comparable to the Call of Duty games, there are so many nuances to Titanfall 2’s multiplayer that you have to consider. Not to mention that if it’s a game mode with Titans as well, there’s a whole other set of principles and tactics you have to be aware of in order to succeed. When you’re a pilot there are three types of weapons you’ll be able to use. These can be broken down into primary, secondary, and special weapons. The first two categories are self-explanatory, but you also have a third special weapon that’s designed specifically for being used against Titans. They pack a big punch indeed, but if you’re not careful about when you take potshots at enemy Titans, they will evaporate you instantly.
Multiplayer games in Titanfall 2 also feature PvE as well as the expected PvP. There’s a few different AI enemy types that will appear during a normal game. It’s unlikely that they will kill you during a game. They’re mostly there for cannon fodder — but you still score points by taking them out. Their presence really helps to add to the epic scale of the game. On a multiplayer level, there’s a broad rotation of different maps that are each unique and provide various types of terrain while offering plenty of verticality to play with. I don’t want to go and provide a full breakdown of all the multiplayer systems in Titanfall 2, but hopefully, I’ve demonstrated to you that the game still possesses immense value, even for new players today.
I really hope to see a Titanfall 3 one day. We all know that the massive success of Apex Legends has potentially put that in doubt though. It’s hard to gauge if there’s enough demand for a third Titanfall game, but I personally would love to see it. Likewise, it’s hard to know if there’s even any financial incentive for Respawn Entertainment to bother making a Titanfall 3. The F2P model of Apex Legends has proven a reliable cash cow for any of the games that manage to make it to the big stage. I’ve played plenty of Apex Legends myself, and even though the games occupy the same universe, ultimate I prefer the gunplay and movement in Titanfall 2. There’s just something about Apex Legends I could never fully get into.
Titanfall 2 is a great game — it’s hard to argue. Its staying power is admirable, with games still fairly easy to find on PC, probably partially due to the game’s later release on Steam. Considering that most Call of Duty or Battlefield games are dead within a year, this is a laudable achievement. If it wasn’t released right in the middle of the two most popular FPS franchises, Titanfall 2 could have been a romping success. Of course, it isn’t like the game was a failure, but Respawn Entertainment certainly missed out on something important by stuffing up the release date.
I am going to continue enjoying myself in Titanfall 2. Even if there’s never a following game in the series, in my mind it has solidified itself as a unicorn of an FPS. It provides to this day a reliable change-up of experience compared to the incumbent franchises of Battlefield and Call of Duty that have dominated the multiplayer FPS landscape for decades now. If you haven’t tried Titanfall 2 before or were weighing up whether it’s worth dipping your toes in, please accept my advice: do it. I’ll see you out there, pilot.
