April Edition Live Magazine - April 2014 Issue. | Page 66

hurl them back at the enemy) and
rail gun. There are also three different types of titans - the Atlas (which
has a balance between armor and
speed), the Stryder (which is nimble,
but has less armor) and the Ogre
(a tank on legs). Learning these will
mean the differences between successful games of Capture the Flag
and Last Titan Standing, though the
standard Atlas is capable of every
game mode.
S ome players might find the lack of
options disappointing, but it helps

ful for enemy pilots and Titans, the
afore-mentioned Vortex Shield, and
the Particle Wall, which is a shield
that blocks incoming enemy projectiles and rounds, but allows for your
shots to pass through.
Pilots can use the Cloak ability,
which almost completely conceal
their appearance from enemy pilots
and Titans (which is cancelled if you
fire a weapon) for a limited time, the
Stim ability, which allows players to
move quicker and have enhanced
regenerative health abilities for a

“THERE ARE A TOTAL OF 15 MAPS IN TITANFALL, AND EACH ONE DEFINITELY
HAS ITS OWN IDENTITY WHILE COMPLEMENTING THE OTHERS.”
level the playing field knowing that
everyone else has the same carbine
or shotgun, and it also takes out that
annoying “weapon learning period”
that comes with a new FPS.
Being a game from the Call of Duty
perfectors, you might expect a little
something extra to help customise
your pilot, and you’d be right. These
aren’t perks though, these are tactical abilities and burn cards. Tactical
abilities are equipped by Titans and
pilots are can help in a variety of situations. Your Titan can unleash an
electrically-charged cloud of smoke
(Electric Smoke), which is harm-

limited time, and the Active Radar
Pulse ability, which allows pilots to
see enemies through walls for a limited time.
Burn Cards are one-use, one-life
perks which are earned throughout
the game. Some of these are pretty
simple, such as “amped” weapons
(weapons with enhanced damage,
rate of fire or other unique perks),
or enhanced speed, and others are
more rare and have greater effects,
such as unlimited grenades (which
need to recharge) or a permanent
tactical ability. I almost spent an entire game being able to see through

walls, but I died and lost the burn
card’s effect. You can take up to
three into a battle, but you can only
use one at a time (no invisible Xray vision grenade spamming, I’m
afraid!). Once again, the burn cards
are fun without providing too much
of an advantage to players. Proof
that Respawn have learnt what
makes a great, balanced shooter.
Visually, Titanfall looks great. As I
said earlier, some of the art direction is very reminiscent of a Ridley
Scott film. The weapons, vehicles,
maps and characters all blend
seamlessy to create the best atmosphere I’ve seen in a shooter

in years. Respawn have said that
their influences include Ghost in the
Shell, Bladerunner, Star Wars and
the classic Sega title, Abrams Battle Tank. While I can’t see any Star
Wars influences (maybe the ‘Boneyard’ map) I can see where the
other influences have blended with
Respawn’s vision. Even the tutorial
is impressive.
Titanfall is easily the best shooter
I’ve played in years. I’m eagerly
awaiting the announcement of DLC
and am keen to see what direction
Respawn will take the game and its
inevitable sequels. The unique features such as burn cards, Titans,
free-running, tactical abilities and
the maps all blend to create one
of the most original and fun online
games in recent memory.

9/10
PROS
•
•
•

A refreshing take on the FPS
genre
Extremely fun, but also
extremely accessible
Tons of replayability

CONS
•
•

Odd execution of campaign
Lack of weapon variety

Written by Nick Getley

www.stickytriggerentertainment.com