On 28 October 2016, millions of Pilots will “Become One” with their Titans. Many are highly tuned veterans, however, there will be a large crowd of Pilots linking to a Titan for the first time, pretty much like Militia Rifleman Jack Cooper, the Pilot you become in the Solo Campaign of Titanfall 2.

Campaign Overview

When Titanfall 1 was released in 2014, South Africa was pretty much “left outside looking in” while the world was laying waste to mechanical Titans in the Multiplayer Only title. Eventually, people made a plan and got it to work in South Africa, less than ideal, and against the licences that were in place. I do however believe that this is one of the reasons that Titanfall 2 became viable for South Africa! …thank you naughty gamers!

Titanfall 2 comes rolled with a seriously captivating Single Player Campaign, where you start off with a Tutorial, introducing you to your avatar, Jack Cooper, a Rifleman that voluntarily joined up with the Militia against the IMC oppression. Jack’s goal is to become a Titan Pilot, but according to his mentor, is still quite a far way off from being granted that honor. Right after you finish off your tutorial and fine-tune your skills in a timed trial scenario you get thrown right into the war, as the IMC ambush and pummel the Militia Space Fleet over the planet Typhon.

You are forced to launch a emergency pod down to the planet surface to join the front-line of survivors, but get badly wounded by an IMC Titan. A few things happen and you eventually get thrust into taking on the title of “Acting Pilot” of the Militia Vanguard Class Titan, BT-7274, the first Militia designed Titan. As you and BT start attuning to one another though the link between Pilot and Titan, you watch a very dynamic bond form as you both face huge struggles and massive battles together and on your own. I must add that there is so much humour that breaks the intense battle sequences and you truly come to understand what happens when a Pilot and Titan Become One.

I could carry on about Campaign Mode, and the boss fights, because I probably spent about 5 glorious adrenalin filled hours playing it yesterday and loved every second of it, but then I would be robbing you of experiencing the thrills yourself. We would not want that, Bro. Do notice though, the similarity of the IMC Automated Testing Facility and the Boss named Ash. This clever combo tugs at the memory strings of a very popular title most gamers have played and love dearly.

The Technical Stuff

The graphics are INCREDIBLE! (Yes, it deserved CAPS) Environments and lighting are nothing short of spectacular. Explosions and particle effects are “oh-so” satisfying. The AI system on NPC characters and creatures really makes for challenging engagements and flanking opportunities, especially when combining a timed grenade, with your cloaking ability and finishing off with a melee strike… Like. A. Boss. The soundtrack is bad ass, and the sound effects are soothing to the ear (Oxymoron anyone?) in this complex mesh of organised chaos. In a nutshell, when breaking down the game mechanics to the battle and movement controls for “Pilot Mode” and “Titan Mode”, you would agree that they are really easy to master and use effectively in becoming a deadly force in the Campaign Mode as well as dominating in the Multiplayer Mode.

Multiplayer Mayhem

With Titanfall 1 racking up loads of experience as a purely Multiplayer title, Respawn Entertainment (Developers) and Electronic Arts (Publishers) had the perfect opportunity to get a feel for what the requirements would be to make this epic sequel match the mayhem and server strain of Titanfall 1, but improve on it to allow for the addition of the new regions getting access to the game, like South Africa.

It feels silly comparing Titanfall 2’s 6v6 Multiplayer Mode with that of the first Titanfall, mainly because South Africa was not on the list of roll-out, but instead, I will say that improvements have been made, which we can just enjoy straight off the cuff. There is a new load-out of 6 wicked Titans to choose from and with the set of Pilot abilities at your disposal and almost endless weapon choices, you will very quickly find your niche. The modes are similar to that of Titanfall 1, but there are also a few new modes which are supremely fun and exhilarating to sink your trigger-fingers into. These modes include, but are not limited to old favorites like “Capture The Flag”, “Free For All”, “Domination” (called Amped Hardpoint), Pilot vs Pilot (no Titans involved) and Bounty Mode (My Personal Fave!).

There is also a Network System (the Launch-Pad for Multiplayer Mode), which really brings the Social Interaction value of the game to the fore, where you can either engage with hordes of Pilots around the world to form a team of like minded players, link together and form a strike force, or you can build your network around your PSN friends that own the game. When you finish a match in Titanfall 2, you receive merits based on your performance. You automatically get one merit for completing the match, another merit for winning and then various merits for your performance and any weapons or Titans you might have leveled up during the course of playing the match. A fun mechanic that has been introduced is the “Happy Hour” feature, where daily, your Network will have a “Happy Hour” and if you play a match during that time, you earn a bonus of 5 extra merits. A clever little incentive to keep you in your Pilot Seat.

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Conclusion

I have been looking forward to getting stuck into Titanfall 2 since the official announcement was made about a year and a half ago (I stand under correction) and I am not one bit disappointed in what I have experienced thus far. It is well rounded, and from what I have seen and heard, I am not the only gamer that feels this way. The retail price for the PlayStation 4 version at BT Games is R1,025.00 and the digital version through the PSN Store is R1,149.00 for the Standard Edition and R1,399.00 for the Delux Edition. Is it worth all that coin? I believe it is. If you have the money to spend now, go grab it. If not, save up and spoil yourself this Christmas.

Titanfall 2 is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows.