Stand by for Titanfall...2!

CptMackey

Anybody else nor able to get online tonight? Was connected to psn but couldn't get on titan fall mp

MJohnston

Have to second all the praise of the campaign of this. I was *not* expecting much at all, I thought I'd plough through it and forget about it straight away and then onto the multiplayer. But jebus, such creativity and fantastic level design packed into that. It reminded me very much of a Mario game - uniquely designed levels, some sort of unique 'power' that doesn't outlive its welcome, and a core of really solid gameplay to fallback on (the gunplay is so perfectly tuned and satisfying, the parkour has a superb balance between challenging and forgiving). And then throw in the tone of Half Life 2 in parts. The interactions between JC and BT are really fun too, and BT turns out to be a rather deep character.

As a side thought, I thought they could have significantly deepened the plot and the player's character significantly in simple and easy ways. At the risk of fan-fic'ing:
1. Give the player character a barrier to becoming a Pilot initially, so that that moment becomes much more important. I was thinking some kind of disability that rules him out of the Pilot program even though that's been his life-long dream.
2. Give a reason to really hate the IMC beyond "big corporation bad". Maybe JC's father was killed by mercenaries while protecting him, in the same incident that caused his disability?
3. Connect the player more to the side characters. Maybe the mercenaries were Blisk's, maybe JC's father was old friends with Lastimosa, etc.
4. Let me customise my character look and gender. I'm white and male, but fed up of playing games as generic white guy.

billybonkers

Has anyone played coliseum mode yet? Do it require a code or in game currency to unlock and play?

Thanks

johnny_ultimate

Copy arrived this morning, only had a chance to play a few quick multiplayer games. Definite improvement over the beta, although still get the sense there's too much going on compared to the first in terms of visual feedback, systems etc... Hopefully that improves when I get used to the new changes a bit more.

Looking forward to giving the campaign a go over the next few days given the positive feedback.

smokingman

I'm up to level 22 now and loving it.
Granted, there are a few matches here and there where my team is woefully overwhelmed but I blame my friends that are fighting on my team

There is that canyon level as well where, if you start at the bottom of the hill, you're sitting in a murder trap.

Saw a good few of the new "Red Baron" titan paint jobs last night - look pretty nice but I wouldn't get another game just for a paintjob.
My brother has battlefield one though so might borrow that just to get it.

Everyone else having fun?

Canis Lupus

smokingman wrote: »

I'm up to level 22 now and loving it.
Granted, there are a few matches here and there where my team is woefully overwhelmed but I blame my friends that are fighting on my team

There is that canyon level as well where, if you start at the bottom of the hill, you're sitting in a murder trap.

Saw a good few of the new "Red Baron" titan paint jobs last night - look pretty nice but I wouldn't get another game just for a paintjob.
My brother has battlefield one though so might borrow that just to get it.

Everyone else having fun?

I'm a bit annoyed it's just on Ion as I play Tone the most. I want my BF1 skin on any Titan I feel like playing goddammit.

billybonkers

Really enjoying this, much more so then BF1.

The mechanics are perfect, the maps are great, gunplay is spot on.

Really not much to moan about at all, the progression system is so much better than the original.

The best developers really did leave Infinity Ward it seems if the Infinite Warfare reviews are anything to go by......

IvoryTower

billybonkers wrote: »

The best developers really did leave Infinity Ward it seems if the Infinite Warfare reviews are anything to go by......

it has 80 on metacritic so far?

Stone Deaf 4evr

got to play a good bit of the multiplayer last night and check out a few of the games systems, have to say , in many ways it's a great throwback to how things used to be, camos unlock by completing challenges - headshots, kills etc, and there are several tiers of levelling - weapon levels, titan, pilot.
gameplay is very similar to tf1, but there's more of a difference between the individual titans, compared to the first game which was essentially just the same weapons on a fast / medium / heavy robot. - its also worth watching the in game titan movies - i didnt realise ion had a tripwire attack until i saw the video.

the 'networks' segment at the mutiplayer menu screen is a great idea thats sure to be copied by other games, its essentially an in game 'group' with an open voice chat section that you can invite to play - theres also a happy hour where you earn more merits for playing during that time - think of it as a limited double xp period.

If anyone was put off by the betas, I'd recommend giving it another look.

johnny_ultimate

Wasn't seeing what the big appeal about the campaign was during the first hour.

Then I got to the assembly line level. Witty, exciting and dynamic design ftw.

DeSelby83

Is there any must have bits of equipment that people would suggest for multiplayer. I built up around 120 credits at this stage and am wondering is there anything that I should buy

Retr0gamer

Pretty sure buying something just unlocks it early so if you like the sound of something go for it. I usually go for Titan gear myself.

smokingman

I used credits to unlock the devotion lmg early and was very happy I did...that and an a-wall is all you need to take out titans. Saving up for something else now but not decided yet.

Played more of the single player last night and absolutely loving it. Hooked up with the fleet and about to kick some a$$. Becoming addicted to looking for those glowing helmets on each level too.

Shiminay

I wish this game was out either 6 months ago or 6 months from now cause I've got way too much other stuff to be playing (along with the entire world). However, they've done really, really well with the campaign and the additions to the multiplayer are working for me so far. Top job once again Respawn.

Stone Deaf 4evr

DeSelby83 wrote: »

Is there any must have bits of equipment that people would suggest for multiplayer. I built up around 120 credits at this stage and am wondering is there anything that I should buy

I couldn't get on with the starting assault rifle, on a whim I unlocked the LCar lmg and having good success with it . It runs off a charge and children so no reloading.

Canis Lupus

Don't need to use any gun other than the CAR really... Maybe the Alternator if you want.

smokingman

Decided to try the Mozambique pistol shotgun and having a fair bit of success with it and stim equipped. Fast and fun load out with the 201 assault as primary, electric grenade and that shoot from the hip gun perk.

notahappycamper

I must say I'm really enjoying this game. There's an "old school" addictiveness to it. Playing it on the PS4.

Recommended.

Shiminay

I got a good few hours of multiplayer in this afternoon and I'm really enjoying it. Finally got my 40mm semi-auto Titan weapon, was my favourite in the first game. They've made its link with the cluster rocket secondary weapon quite fun to use. Spent a bit of time with the Ronin Titan too, lots of sword swinging fun and games in a cluster of 3 enemy titans with a nuclear ejection takings 2 out after I got a sword melee animation on the first

Played a good bit of the capture points game mode which was a nicer way to spend some of the time than just the more sometimes random madness of Attrition.

I miss being able to customise your Titan. There was a certain enjoyment in mixing and matching chassis and weapons to find interesting working combinations.

1v1 against Reapers can fk right off mind you! :P

All said and done, I'm loving this game. I can't recommend it enough.

Osmosis Jones

Gonna buy this I think as I want a reason to use the ps4 and hate Origin on the PC. I've seen a load of gifs on reddit and it looks like a lot of fun.

_CreeD_

Never played the first but another big thumbs up here. The campaign was great and I've been playing Bounty Hunt all day...and I usually hate basic deathmatch. Graphics are excellent, sound and performance likewise. I've tried a little of each Titan at this stage, spending most of the time on Tone. I think learning that side of the game will be the biggest learning curve, the movement takes work but it's fairly intuitive and just a matter of practice and muscle memory it's just jarring going from that to fairly slow tactical play inside a Titan.

Stone Deaf 4evr

_CreeD_ wrote: »

Never played the first but another big thumbs up here. The campaign was great and I've been playing Bounty Hunt all day...and I usually hate basic deathmatch. Graphics are excellent, sound and performance likewise. I've tried a little of each Titan at this stage, spending most of the time on Tone. I think learning that side of the game will be the biggest learning curve, the movement takes work but it's fairly intuitive and just a matter of practice and muscle memory it's just jarring going from that to fairly slow tactical play inside a Titan.

Tone seems to be the titan of choice for most people, havent played with it at all yet, but I assume it must be a bit OP? I have my ION at level 9 and am sticking with it a little longer to try and suss out its tactics. I havent been able to find much use for its tripwires but I'm sure a bit more practice will show up a use for it.

super_furry

I really like playing with the Scorch, but you have to be sneaky about it. Rather than going toe-to-toe with enemy Titans, you're better off flanking and getting behind them before laying down your melty fire stuff.

Some good games with stone yesterday, forgot about the main mode attrition until then

Sabre0001

Really enjoying the single player. Just messing around with

time travel

at the moment.

Struggled with the Ash fight - that sword packs quite the punch!

Online has been mixed for me. Being told that my ping is good, but then the in-game action gets a bit slideshow-like at times. Really frustrating when pilots move so quickly and fluidly (though I've even had a titan just disappear out of sight). When I get a smooth game in it's great though!

johnny_ultimate

Much preferring the single player campaign to DOOM. Whereas the latter expended its ideas early on and just offered up variations on a theme, this has instead continued to surprise and experiment. I was definitely critical of the need to introduce single player at all, but this is far from tacked on and more than justifies its inclusion.

Also warming to the multiplayer as I continue to play. Once you get into the flow of things it's a joy. Plenty of little issues - rodeo-ing feels far less impactful than it was in the first game, even with the addition of batteries - but the core is intact with just enough changes and additions to keep things fresh.

Kiith

Started the campaign last night, and am really enjoying it. Looking forward to getting stuck in again tonight.

I really like the MP, but god damn i suck at it. I know i'll get better once i get more familiar with the maps and find a loadout i like, but it's really frustrating at times. Still enjoying it though, and look forward to playing it some more.

Retr0gamer

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Much preferring the single player campaign to DOOM. Whereas the latter expended its ideas early on and just offered up variations on a theme, this has instead continued to surprise and experiment. I was definitely critical of the need to introduce single player at all, but this is far from tacked on and more than justifies its inclusion.

I much prefer Doom. Doom felt like a Platinum game as a FPS with encounters that were so much fun to replay. Of course that was as long as you played on ultra violence or above, the game really doesn't flow as well on lower difficulty levels since you aren't forced to utilise the health and ammo recovery mechanics. If you didn't play on ultra violence you might feel that way though. I had to restart the game at a higher difficulty level because I noticed it just being way too much of a breeze. Like a Platinum game you should be having trouble in most areas and working out how best to get through them.

The level design in this is very varied and the dialogue surprisingly witty but I feel fatigued after just one level and need to give it a rest, it feels a little too Call of Duty. Doom on the other hand I could play for hours, hell I could even replay areas for hours trying to perfect them.

_CreeD_

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

... rodeo-ing feels far less impactful than it was in the first game, even with the addition of batteries...

Agreed, it looks cool but the risk vs. the damage done is usually not worth it imho unless you're trying to distract the pilot, having much more infantry/anti-titan success with the MG launcher.

Canis Lupus

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

Tone seems to be the titan of choice for most people, havent played with it at all yet, but I assume it must be a bit OP? I have my ION at level 9 and am sticking with it a little longer to try and suss out its tactics. I havent been able to find much use for its tripwires but I'm sure a bit more practice will show up a use for it.

Tone is just easy. Drop shield, pop pop pop rockets pop pop pop rockets. Legion seems to get off lots of damage when you don't pay attention to it. I tried it but didn't have much success.

_CreeD_ wrote: »

Agreed, it looks cool but the risk vs. the damage done is usually not worth it imho unless you're trying to distract the pilot, having much more infantry/anti-titan success with the MG launcher.

Dissappointed with the anti titan weps. Seems like it's MG launcher or nothing really although I haven't got the missile launcher yet.

Stone Deaf 4evr

A quick question on batteries - If i steal one, then get killed - does it just drop to the ground for picking up again?
I've seen a battery icon on the map, but when I get there, theres nothing to be seen and the icon still remains.

also - if a battery is dropped, and you're in your titan, do you have to exit the titan to pick it up or can you just walk over it?

johnny_ultimate

Yeah it drops alright, have picked up a few dotted around maps. And do you need to get out to pick one up!

johnny_ultimate

Well finished the campaign and while it is by no means perfect it's probably my favourite AAA campaign mode in a good few years. I know others won't feel the same way, but **** it: it's so wonderfully, thrillingly short. It is simply a very well judged series of well designed levels, setpieces and ideas. At no point did I feel like the game was recycling ideas or just putting combat corridors in the way to prolong the experience. For its blockbuster production values, it does hark back to the PS2 and early 360/PS3 era before bloat, open worlds and mediocrity consumed so many AAA games. I raised an eyebrow when I heard comparisons to Valve, but they're largely justified - several of the best moments in this reminded me of the sort of design rigour we saw in Half-Life 2.

It's only a few hours long, but frankly I cannot celebrate that fact enough. The story is dirt, the art design is a strange mix of impressive and generic, and yes the whole thing is basically just a big silly action movie about a man and his giant robot. But who cares: it's a blast.

Retr0gamer

Well it's not that I don't like it. I'm really enjoying it. It's just no where near as good as Doom but that's a pretty high bar to get over.

As for the Art design I think it's mostly excellent except for the main character. Not sure why he's in the promo material so much and there's a bust or some **** of him in the special edition because he looks like space protagonist 101.

Dcully

I'm seeing lots of reviewers,streamers,youtubers and general gamers saying they haven't played BF1 since getting TF2.
Top reviews all round for both single and multiplayer.

johnny_ultimate

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Well finished the campaign and while it is by no means perfect it's probably my favourite AAA campaign mode in a good few years. I know others won't feel the same way, but **** it: it's so wonderfully, thrillingly short. It is simply a very well judged series of well designed levels, setpieces and ideas. At no point did I feel like the game was recycling ideas or just putting combat corridors in the way to prolong the experience. For its blockbuster production values, it does hark back to the PS2 and early 360/PS3 era before bloat, open worlds and mediocrity consumed so many AAA games. I raised an eyebrow when I heard comparisons to Valve, but they're largely justified - several of the best moments in this reminded me of the sort of design rigour we saw in Half-Life 2.

It's only a few hours long, but frankly I cannot celebrate that fact enough. The story is dirt, the art design is a strange mix of impressive and generic, and yes the whole thing is basically just a big silly action movie about a man and his giant robot. But who cares: it's a blast.

I dont agree with this bit.
I like the relationship between the pilot and BT and think it's very well done.
The story in essence was handled well too. I like that fact that each boss had an individual personality.

_CreeD_

Hmmm. Finally getting the hang of legion. He's long-range area control. Set the gun to accurate and move to a perimeter (ideally a corner with a good view down 2 main approach avenues or a high point, primarily focus on backing up other Titans. It really does need the extra-dash perk since it doesn't have one to begin with, shocks a lot of other players when you zip behind something to reload. That and extra-ammo so far have been most effective for me.

johnny_ultimate

M!Ck^ wrote: »

I dont agree with this bit.
I like the relationship between the pilot and BT and think it's very well done.
The story in essence was handled well too. I like that fact that each boss had an individual personality.

Ah the BT and Jack relationship is just cookie-cutter 'buddy movie' guff. The best thing about it is that it doesn't get in the way, thankfully. The actual plot is a load of bogstandard sci-fi McGuffin nonsense and the mercenary characters don't have the time to become anything beyond crude archetypes or at worst just a different accent.

And yet! It doesn't matter. That's all just bubbling away to provide some vague context and unlike other similar games doesn't drag down the game in any significant way.

Brendan Keogh's notes on the game address this succinctly: https://brkeogh.com/2016/11/04/notes-on-titanfall-2/

Titanfall 2’s story is schlock. It is ‘not good’. Every character is ultimately forgettable. Each of the mercenaries is a cardboard cutout archetype with a different bad guy accent. The overall story is about some sort of timetravelling Halo-Forerunner technology being used to create a Star Wars-Death Star to wipe out the rebels. It’s not that the story is ‘bad’ but that it is all it has to be for Titanfall 2 to do what it wants to do, which is to put the player in situations where they can do some cool **** with their giant robot friend. The story, here, is thought about just enough to give context to your actions, and that is all it has to be. It does what it needs to do, then it gets out of the way.

Stone Deaf 4evr

Played some great rounds of this tonight, it's very addictive. I've been sticking pretty much exclusively with ion and feel like I'm really getting the nuances of it, shot a good few pilots out of the sky with the shoulder cannon as well. The tripmines don't seem to be overly useful though.

It's funny. It has all the run and gun action of a call of duty, but the frustration / rage just isnt there. I can see myself spending a lot of time with this one....

johnny_ultimate

I've found it slightly less forgiving than the first - I often played entire matches with only one or two deaths there - but it definitely still isn't frustrating. Even when you're killed you're back into the game so quickly the flow doesn't feel interrupted.

My survival times are improving though. I played a game earlier where I took down a Titan and a few other pilots/grunts with a nuclear blast (basically snuck up on them and blasted off while
I watched the chaos below). That instantly refreshed my Titanfall. Then I took out more characters when that self-destructed - which again instantly gave me a new Titan :pac:

FAILSAFE 00

Is there a last Titan standing game mode?

FAILSAFE 00

FAILSAFE 00 wrote: »

Is there a last Titan standing game mode?

Yes, oh hell yes

Stone Deaf 4evr

FAILSAFE 00 wrote: »

Is there a last Titan standing game mode?

yup, havent played it yet though as its not a gametype for playing with randoms. :rolleyes:

Retr0gamer

Finished the campaign last night. My only complaint is that it's way too short. Also the story is garbage but when has that ever mattered.

EoinHef

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

Ah the BT and Jack relationship is just cookie-cutter 'buddy movie' guff. The best thing about it is that it doesn't get in the way, thankfully. The actual plot is a load of bogstandard sci-fi McGuffin nonsense and the mercenary characters don't have the time to become anything beyond crude archetypes or at worst just a different accent.

And yet! It doesn't matter. That's all just bubbling away to provide some vague context and unlike other similar games doesn't drag down the game in any significant way.

Brendan Keogh's notes on the game address this succinctly: https://brkeogh.com/2016/11/04/notes-on-titanfall-2/

You could probably have spoilered those story details johnny...games not that long out.

johnny_ultimate

EoinHef wrote: »

You could probably have spoilered those story details johnny...games not that long out.

What spoilers Nothing's mentioned there that in any way gives away anything significant beyond very broad plot points. And it's not like this is an easily spoiled game anyway. The story is generic muck: there is pretty much nothing surprising, it's merely a backdrop for the much meatier gameplay and level design.

Stone Deaf 4evr

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

What spoilers Nothing's mentioned there that in any way gives away anything significant beyond very broad plot points. And it's not like this is an easily spoiled game anyway. The story is generic muck: there is pretty much nothing surprising, it's merely a backdrop for the much meatier gameplay and level design.

I'm genuinely curious - when you say the story is generic muck - what would it take to impress you? what games do you feel the story stands on its own? I find that you can boil anything down to its most basic essence of 'lowly weakling rises to save kingdom / overcome oppression' or whatever. granted you'll have outliers like The last of us, but its very hard to find anything thats truly original in its own right.

The way I'd look at it is in terms of action films, you have classics like John wick, point break, terminator and then you've the direct to dvd trash, they're both essentially telling the same type of story, but one does it in a far superior fashion.

Retr0gamer

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

I'm genuinely curious - when you say the story is generic muck - what would it take to impress you? what games do you feel the story stands on its own? I find that you can boil anything down to its most basic essence of 'lowly weakling rises to save kingdom / overcome oppression' or whatever. granted you'll have outliers like The last of us, but its very hard to find anything thats truly original in its own right.

The way I'd look at it is in terms of action films, you have classics like John wick, point break, terminator and then you've the direct to dvd trash, they're both essentially telling the same type of story, but one does it in a far superior fashion.

Titanfall is a special case. If you don't know exactly how the plot will play out 5 minutes in then you should visit the doctor.

EoinHef

johnny_ultimate wrote: »

What spoilers Nothing's mentioned there that in any way gives away anything significant beyond very broad plot points. And it's not like this is an easily spoiled game anyway. The story is generic muck: there is pretty much nothing surprising, it's merely a backdrop for the much meatier gameplay and level design.

The quote you used from the article you linked in your OP,i didnt requote it in case others felt it was spoilery.

johnny_ultimate

Stone Deaf 4evr wrote: »

I'm genuinely curious - when you say the story is generic muck - what would it take to impress you? what games do you feel the story stands on its own?

Plenty of games have strong narratives that absolutely stand on their own. To take this year alone: Quadrilateral Cowboy, Kentucky Route Zero Act 4, Inside, Uncharted 4, Hyper Light Drifter, Dark Souls 3, Zero Time Dilemma, Firewatch, Oxenfree, 1979 Revolution: Black Friday...

Some of these stories are fundamentally generic too, but manage to overcome that through their delivery. Uncharted 4 is probably the closest comparison in this case - that is pure action movie pulp, but manages to be something more due to its sharp thematic focus, extremely well realised characters, and just its overall confidence of delivery.

Let me stress once again that I don't think Titanfall's 2 campaign is anywhere near bad enough to distract, and there's one or two moments of wit or warmth here and there. But overall it's absolutely forgettable and ignorable - at best just a backdrop for the many things the game does exceedingly right.

EoinHef wrote: »

The quote you used from the article you linked in your OP,i didnt requote it in case others felt it was spoilery.

Ah, seriously you have nothing to be concerned about, it's a very mild detail that IMO would in no way detract from a blind playthrough. In fact I'd say you'd be much more hard done by if you heard about some of the gameplay twists in advance - the most worthwhile surprises by far in this game are baked into the design itself