Discussing about the modes available for simply online-multiplayer, there are five available: Attrition, Last Titan Standing, Capture the Flag, Pilot Hunter and Hardpoint. The sixth available mode called Variety is an option gamers can pick to cycle different modes in a match. Those who are hoping to host a private match will be disappointed as it’s not possible in the game. In terms of the connection issues, it seems that Respawn has fixed whatever was the connection issue that was found at launch. At the time of writing, I’ve never encountered any disconnection or problems connecting to a match.
The five modes available cater to all types of gamers who love online multiplayer. In Attrition mode, each team will have to reach a certain amount of score to win a battle. Those who love to be the only one character alive in battle, they can do Last Titan Standing in which you will be given one life as a Titan and it’s up to you to survive and be the last Titan alive. For objective based modes, there are Hardpoint mode which is similar to Domination and the fan-favorite Capture the Flag mode. Hate the whole aspect of being able to use a Titan? Then go play Pilot Hunter where all you do is to hunt other Pilots and kill them.
If there is one thing that disappoints it’s the customization options available for matches. As mentioned earlier, there is no way to do private matches. Not only that, there is no way to vote for a map that you want. If you are connected to a match and don’t want the map that is set up, all you have to do is quit and hopefully the next one that you can connect to will be that map that you want. I am hoping in the near future, Respawn will add the ability to customize matches as it will give players the freedom of what they want in a game.
Sure, Titanfall may just be an online game but what’s the point of playing it continuously? Well, just like in Call of Duty games where you have ranks and levels that you can get by participating in matches and earning experience points, Titanfall has the same progression system in place. Since not all weapons, upgrades, and all sorts of customization for the Titan are available at the start of the game, you will have to rank up and get all sorts of experience points to unlock them. Those who want to have all the best possible weapons, and items that you can equip to your Pilot and Titan, you will have to spend a lot of time with the game. Oh, don’t worry if you reach the max level, you can do the Prestige mode.
When it comes to visuals, I must say that they look phenomenal, despite not being able to do the full 1080p resolution. With that in mind, the frame rates are stable most of the time but I’ve encountered certain moments where it drops down. As for the map designs, I highly praise the way the maps are designed – they are big, great textures and have a lot of vantage points that you can go to. With the ability for the human Pilot to do all sorts of abilities like wall climbing and hovering around, it gives gamers a range of options to go wherever they want and kill opposing sides at sorts of locations. With that in mind, it’s imperative that you look the whole 360 degrees as you will not know where your enemy can come and attack you.
As alluded to throughout this review, Titanfall is an online only game, so those looking for any sort of offline single player experience will be greatly disappointed. This obviously means that the game is completely unplayable if your internet connection is out, or even if you don’t have internet at all. Looking further down the road, this game will be nothing but a paperweight when the servers are eventually shut down, a casualty of online-only play sadly.
With being essentially a multiplayer only experience, some people may have an issue with the $60 price tag on the game. However, this will honestly depend on your own experience with the game. If you buy it at this price and play a few online games for a few days and barely touch it again, it certainly would not be worth it, but if you plan on playing multiplayer a lot moving forward, you likely won’t feel you paid too much for the game.
Titanfall is a must-have shooter for anyone who has an Xbox One and is looking for an intense online multiplayer game. The amount of fun that you will have from playing this game, whether you’re a human pilot or Titan, is way better than what you will normally get in shooter games like Call of Duty. The vision of Respawn Entertainment to innovate the FPS genre worked really well with Titanfall and we can’t wait for the next game. While it’s a good game overall, there are flaws that are hard to overlook, including the inability to host private matches, vote for maps, and the occasional frame rate dips. The most glaring omission is a lack of a true single player campaign, which does make the $60 price tag seem a little steep. For those who can get past these issues, Titanfall will surely keep you busy until the next Xbox One game comes out. Is it worth getting the Xbox One for Titanfall? Definitely.
[Editor’s Note: Titanfall was reviewed on the Xbox One platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]