Titanfall Beta Review

Several games in the past have gotten our hopes up for first person shooters that have a parkour element.  Most notable (and disappointingly) was Brink.  Which, promised a dynamic and fast paced shooter that few would be able to resist.  Unfortunately for gamers everywhere this game fell flat and didn’t really impress anyone.  Titanfall aims to succeed where others have failed.

Titanfall delivers on all accounts.  The game is fast, frantic and most of all loads of fun.  From the moment that you “drop” into the multi-player maps from your drop ship, the world around you explodes in a feast for the senses.  Scenery flies by you as you leap from building to building.  The sounds of battle fill your ears as you attempt to concentrate to line up your shots.  All the while your teammates are barking enemy positions and movements at you.

The beta’s multiplayer is already far more balanced than other games in the first person shooter genre.  Every loadout has it’s own strengths and weaknesses none of which are overpowering.  Even more impressive is the spawn point balancing.  You will rarely respawn with your back to an enemy.  In fact in my time with the beta I only experienced a poor spawn once.  Indeed, even the Titans have a role to play in this balancing.  Titans as you might expect are incredibly powerful machines. However, They aren’t unbeatable even for a pilot on the ground.  Every loadout comes with an “anti-titan” weapon that can be used to devastating effect if utilized properly.

All that said the beta isn’t quite perfect, even though it comes mighty close.  While trying to party up with friends to play we experienced massive issues with the party system and the Titanfall network.   Often we couldn’t get into games together and when we managed to find a game we rarely survived as a full party, usually losing one or two players while connecting to the game.  What’s the silver lining we can find in these flaws?  Well, it’s mostly that Respawn Entertainment has a couple of weeks to beef up their servers to combat these issues.

After an extensive amount of time with the beta for Titanfall, I can say with confidence that if the networking issues are worked out that Titanfall will be a powerful contender for a Game of the Year award.