Titanfall and Titanfall 2

[NokkonWud]

Yep. Nice to see Microsoft actually have an exclusive that makes its competitors genuinely jealous. Been too long in that regard.

[InsrtCoins]

I really don't want this to come off as snarky at all, but could someone please explain to me why people are so excited for this game? From the first trailer, I always dismissed it as being a bit too much like things I have already seen before. It never really gripped me. What is the hook? What am I missing? I just want to understand.

[ratsoalbion]

I guess it depends if the idea of a fast-paced shooter with mechs that can do parkour appeals or not. I'm quite keen to give it a whirl, partly because a lot of people who have been hands-on with it have said they thought it was brilliant fun. Also the fact that it's from the same guys as who revolutionised the online multiplayer shooter probably has a lot to do with it. Oh, and big mechs that can do parkour

[NokkonWud]

I really don't want this to come off as snarky at all, but could someone please explain to me why people are so excited for this game? From the first trailer, I always dismissed it as being a bit too much like things I have already seen before. It never really gripped me. What is the hook? What am I missing? I just want to understand.

Because the team behind it were behind one of, if not the most important game of the generation in terms of its influence.

And Mechs.

[Sean]

How many people from the CoD4 team are on Titanfall? I know a couple of the Infinity Ward guys went over.

[AndyKurosaki]

Have to say I'm not devestated that this is forever a Xbox exclusive. Partly because I've not seen any videos of it so no idea what it's like. But partly because somewhere in the future I'll get a One anyway.

[Sean]

Vince Zampella seemed pretty certain the sequels would come to PS4. Seems like Mass Effect all over again.

[NokkonWud]

Vince Zampella seemed pretty certain the sequels would come to PS4. Seems like Mass Effect all over again.

He seemed sure Titanfall (1) was coming until EA did a deal with Microsoft, a deal which Respawn allowed to happen in the first place, obviously, and also a deal which will have made Zampella and Co. very wealthy.
I'd hazard a guess that based on the success, Microsoft may pay to make Titanfall an exclusive franchise. If so I'd expect Respawn to make a different title altogether.

Either way it's a shame that a game so many were psyched for won't get to play it. On the other side of that coin however it's good that there's a 'must have' exclusive out there on one of the machines in the first six-months (I'd argue Forza Motorsport 5 is arguably another if you're into racers.)

[JaySevenZero]

Exclusive "for the life of the title"

This struck me as a very deliberate choice of words when discussing exclusivity. What is the life of a title these days? 9-12 months seems to be the case for most games before, say, they can be offered up as part of a subscription package.

In the longterm, I don't see EA opting to limit a potentially popular franchise to only half of it's possible audience with platform exclusivity in much the way they didn't with Mass Effect.

However, regardless of platform, I'm really curious to see what Respawn have come up with this title as they did make my second most played FPS back in 2007, which kept me occupied almost every evening for the best part of two years.

[NokkonWud]

In the longterm, I don't see EA opting to limit a potentially popular franchise to only half of it's possible audience with platform exclusivity in much the way they didn't with Mass Effect.

Microsoft Game Studios published Mass Effect originally, which is why it was exclusive until EA got the license.

[JaySevenZero]

Microsoft Game Studios published Mass Effect originally, which is why it was exclusive until EA got the license.

I know this but my point was that, as a publisher, EA is not in the business in limiting possible profits by keeping potentially important franchises exclusive to a single platform.

I actually think a window of exclusivity is a good thing for EA as much as it is for Microsoft as they've taken a hit with the likes of both the Medal of Honor and Deadspace franchises under-performing and this allows them to see how well the new IP performs before committing it to other platforms. Even with all the excitement surrounding it at this point, it's still an unknown quantity as to how well it's gonna perform in regards to sales come March and I think hedging their bets along with whatever Microsoft have undoubtedly paid them for the deal makes sense.

[arry_g]

I played a bit of the PC version on my lunch break today. This games does a really good job of making you feel awesome, even if you're mediocre at best.

[ratsoalbion]

I've just got home with a copy for me Xbox One. Looking forward to it very much!

Edit: First session complete. Overwhelming sensation: FUN.

Not sure if the game shows its entire hand too early; it feels like this could burn bright but die young, though time will tell. Also the XO version suffers with a bit of screen-tearing. Not enough to bother me unduly but it will irk some people. V-sync would be nice but presumably reduce the frame rate. I know Respawn are working on upgrading the console version's visuals via forthcoming patches, though I hope they continue to prioritise frames over resolution.

I may well pick up a cheap PC code further down the line, if the game has legs.

[arry_g]

Overwhelming sensation: FUN.

Not sure if the game shows its entire hand too early; it feels like this could burn bright but die young

I 100% agree, I hope that Respawn rectify this with their DLC packs. Will be interesting to see what they announce exactly. I've enjoyed my time with the game tonight though and hopefully, it can hold my interest more than just a few evenings and a couple of weekends.

[ratsoalbion]

The Digital Foundry face-off between the PC and XO versions is pretty harsh on the console game:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digit ... n-face-off

I had the choice and I went for the XO version even though I knew the PC version would look better, mainly for reasons of Live integration over Origin - and I've no regrets despite the lower resolution, tearing and frame-rate issues.

As I've said before though, if the game gets its hooks into me I can see me double-dipping.

[Lego Solo]

I can see myself playing this for quiet some time. It feels like the XO in that it has a lot to come, I can see them adding more and more content that makes the experience better. This is how I feel the XO is all about now, it's not what it currently is but what it can be. It's a growing platform.

[Flabyo]

They've already said the XO version will most likely get a resolution bump in the first update.

Get used to games getting lots of patches post release now, it'll make the level of patching we had on the 360 and PS3 seem like nothing...

[ratsoalbion]

The concern is though that increased resolution will cause further frame-rate/tearing issues. It does seem as though the XO might be a little under-powered, although perhaps there's more devs can do to get the best out of it, especially once they've been given improved tools and whatever.

As I'm lucky enough to have decent broadband I welcome every title update with open arms (or pipes).

[Lego Solo]

Can't say that I have noticed Any major tearing or frame rate issues, none that take away from the over all experience anyhow. It feels to me like they have released a very fun and enjoyable game that will be added to over time. And like all new systems it will take the devs a little while to get the most out of the hardware. But I will say that visually it doesn't blow me away, and I don't think that's to do with the XO just the fact it's not that sort of game.

[Flabyo]

Expect general XO performance to increase in the coming months. It will always be a little behind the PS4, but the current sizeable gap is partly to do with artificial constraints that newer dev tools will sort out.

There's talk that developers are going to be allowed to reclaim the CPU and GPU time from the Kinect if they're not using it (Titanfall doesn't). The libraries currently don't allow it, but it has been promised.

There's also DX12 coming, and it sounds like the XO will perform a lot better running that than it currently does running DX11.

Some launch titles probably aren't worth the developers committing the time and money to patching in better performance, but Titanfall is meant to be a long tail title so I can see pretty frequent updates coming.

Anyway, as to how it plays...

It seems people are finally starting to understand that the game is all about vertical movement. The Titans have none, but the pilots on foot have silly amounts of it. Players who are traversing the levels in a CoD or Battlefield way (i.e., staying low and in cover) are easy pickings for Pilots being controlled by players who've nailed the double jumping and wall running, who know that the game is really about 'death from above'.

Also, killing another Titan by dropping yours onto it never gets old.