TITANFALL ON XBOX ONE REVIEW

Fresh from Electronic Arts and new studio Respawn Entertainment comes the hotly anticipated sci-fi first person multiplayer shooter currently available for Xbox One and PC.  While the online-only outlook might seem like a step back in terms of pushing this much populated genre to a new level, its ideas on gameplay and action cannot be questioned, making it the current must have title for Microsoft's new hardware.
TF is played on the One exclusively over Xbox LIVE , making use of Microsoft's Azure cloud gaming platform.  To this point, the hosting structure has done a great job for the One community of players .  

There are two factions at war over a portion of space called the Frontier.  This primitive nook of the universe is rich in resources.  Resources that the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation, ( IMC), stand to gain power and influence.  Led by Vice Admiral Graves, with support from a war brain trust of AI construct Spyglass planning to root the planetary system for all its worth.  That is, unless, the Militia forces have anything to say about it!  Comprised of a civilian band of rebels, the Militia are spearheaded by their own trio: "leader" MacAllen, engineer Cheng "Bish" Lorck, and Marauder Corps matriarch Sarah.  To be fair, I'm not solid on the entirety of the story lines.  I understand the Militia are like freedom fighters and the IMC are the proposed evil corporation, but in terms of individual character contributions or a smooth narrative arc, TF is a bit vague on story other than what I have already detailed, to be fair. While it may seem counter-intuitive considering the "all online everything" mentality, I think a few more cut scenes would have done wonders for clarifying what is going on a bit better.

When you first spawn into a match and literally hit the ground running, you're known as a Pilot.  A foot soldier that is waiting for your huge Battlebot-esque mech to be built and made available.  For what could take three minutes, survival is key.  So be sure to arm yourself well.  The chief tool for this effort is the primary weapon.  Despite the sci-fi setting, expect guns that you could very well see from one of the popular annual FPS releases.  There are no alien "energy" weapons, or gravity manipulators, or any of that sort of thing.  While classes aren't clearly defined, you can think about divisions in terms of range: short, medium, and long.  And most of them have to be unlocked by reaching a new progression level.  There are no "points" that can be used for early unlocking, either.  You want something on that list?  You'll have to grind to get it.

Battles between Pilots and Titans is incredibly balanced and is one of the great design achievements of TF.  On paper, it seems like a huge mismatch: big, hulking mech of iron and scale against a puny human made of flesh and bone.  The nimbleness of Pilots, coupled with awesome level design principles, creates an ecosystem where a good Pilot can seriously hinder, if not single handedly, take down an average Titan player. Although I don't think there is a clean comparison for TF  to any other FPS currently being played, Respawn can't help but use some of their past creations.  Burn Cards are a prime example.  Pretty much, these stand in for Perks, with a twist.  Upon completing challenges in matches, these Cards become available.  After reaching a certain level, up to three can be loaded up before the next bout.  You'll select them one at a time either before the match starts or between respawns.  

Their categories vary.  Some shave off Titan build time, others extend radar functionality, some increase movement speed, a group of them offer "Amped" version of guns with increased payload, and so on.  Whatever the positive is, they're only good for that spawn.  If you plan on using an Amped version of an Anti-Titan weapon, you best know there are enemy Titans to shoot at and stay alive long enough to use the Card.  Otherwise, it'll be wasted.  I really like this system.  I'm still forgetting to load one up before I rage spawn after a death, which is a problem, since the "pack" has limited space, and any earned after reached capacity aren't allotted.  So use them often, and ditch those you know you'll never use.

The game modes are few, but effective.  Attrition is the basic Team Deathmatch option that takes the first team to 250 points as the winner. Hardpoint is like Domination, with three control points on the map.  The TF spin is that it doesn't take a lot of time to neutralize and take over points.  This turns the matches into enjoyable mad scrambles.  Capture the Flag follows CTF classic rules, as your flag must be present at your base to score the enemy flag.  The flavor here is that a Pilot can disembark from his/her suit, grab the flag, then hop back aboard and carry the object from inside the safety of the mech.  Pilot Hunter is much like Attrition, except only Pilot frags count towards the scoreboard.  And lastly is Last Titan Standing.  Best-of-seven series with no respawns.  Everyone starts the round as a Titan and the last team with at least one suit still ticking wins.  If you go critical, but can eject cleanly, you can finish it out as a Pilot.

In terms of the raw gameplay, like how the game "feels" to play, it's amazing.  Again, the balance between Titans and Pilots could have been this release's downfall, and instead is one of its most dependable features.  Controlling the Pilot has that "easy to do, hard to master" thing going for it.  Running and leaping is as easy as gesturing the left thumbstick and tapping the jump button.  Scaling buildings to earn top position, however, takes concentration and knowing how to effectively utilize the double jump.   In some cases, there's something to be said about simplicity.  TF makes it simple.  

My personal favorite aspect about the gameplay is that you can be the type of troop you want to be, and still be very helpful to the team no matter what you choose.  Of course, going after enemy Pilots in the onset to keep them from reaching their preferred destination and calling in your Titan early is a huge deal.  But if you would rather just target NPCs, that's a big assist, as well.  A massive group of Spectres seriously eat away at Titans.  If their population goes unchecked, the results can be disastrous.  With a designated Minion slayer, that potential predicament goes away.  And what about folks that don't like being in their Titan?  Those that might find the in-suit action too slow?  No problem.  Drop your Titan into auto-mode and fight to keep yourself in good Anti-Titan weapon position.  All of these scenarios, or a mix of them, do much to increase the likelihood of victory.  That, in itself, makes Titanfall work on a level that other shooters currently just don't.  Choice.  It's a powerful thing.

In summary then
It's exactly the game we all wanted it to be. As long as the Azure server infrastructure can keep up with demand, Respawn's idea will continue to work perfectly. Pilot v. Pilot, Pilot v. Titan, Titan v. Titan. All of the possible gameplay scenarios are compelling, fair, and epic.

Everything about playing this game is the epitome of fun, everything. In large part to the aforementioned balance of gameplay aspects. The only question is will we be playing this in six months time? With some quality dlc and introducing some more game modes I don't see why not!
9/10