Can you feel that? That’s the sound of the Titanfall hype train rolling around again, its unrelenting momentum nearly pushing its wheels right off of the tracks as it continues towards it destination: March. The month that will see the launch of Titanfall, and we’ll all discover whether or not it lived up to our lofty expectations.
As its release date nears, there’s still a lot of mystery surrounding certain aspects of the game, but in our handy little guide below we’ve detailed the concrete facts we know about it. Flick through to see what you’ve got to look forward to.
Titanfall: What We Know
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It features monsters
Since eagle-eyed fans spotted huge monsters roaming in the background of a Titanfall trailer, IGN went on to confirm their existence via a preview of the game's artbook, which featured a wide array of extra-terrestrial nasties.
While developer Respawn has not yet revealed what role these monsters will play in the game, with some speculating that the warring IMC and Militia factions will be forced to team up to take them down, whereas others believe they'll just be featured in the background of the game's maps, they still look mighty intimidating and stand to add to Titanfall's mysterious lore.
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15 maps are included
Titanfall will feature 15 maps. They are as follows:
- Airbase - IMC Airbase Sierra is defended against local wildlife by the latest generation of repulsor tower technology.
- Angel City - When the IMC instituted martial law in Angel City, massive walls were built to divide the city into smaller districts.
- Boneyard - Extensive IMC research on wildlife repulsor technology was once conducted at this facility.
- Corporate - Applied Robotics labs on the Frontier such as this one, developed the IMC's Spectre automated infantry unit.
- Colony - IMC and Militia forces clash in the close-quarters of an uncharted rural colony.
- Demeter - Demeter is a critical fuelling station for IMC forces making the jump into the Frontier.
- Fracture - Years of aggressive fuel extraction have taken their toll on this former colony for the privileged.
- Lagoon - An IMC carrier makes an emergency landing on a small fishing village in the Freeport system.
- Nexus - IMC forces move in to pacify a backwater agricultural outpost suspected of harboring Militia personnel.
- Outpost 207 - Orbital defense cannons stationed at high altitude defend against the incursion of hostile capital ships.
- Overlook - At a converted IMC prisoner waystation, the Militia attempt a daring prisoner rescue.
- Relic - Parts salvaged from this old IMC shipwreck are sent into the valley below for further processing.
- Rise - Militia special forces set up a Long-Range Desert Patrol outpost in an abandoned IMC reservoir.
- Smuggler's Cove - Part arms-bazaar and part pirate enclave, Smuggler's Cove is famous for its selection of mercenaries and black-market kits.
- Training Ground - IMC Pilot training programs conducted here have a 98 percent fatality rate. Only the strong survive.
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It is developed by the minds behind the Call of Duty series
Jason West and Vince Zampella were once the men behind the Call of Duty series' rise to prominence during their time at Infinity Ward, with both men leaving the Activision-owned company followed by 38 other former Infinity Ward staffers, who joined West and Zampella's then-independent game company Respawn Entertainment.before it was picked up by publishers EA.
Having a majority of the minds behind Modern Warfare's revitalisation of the FPS genre is no bad thing, and while West may have left Respawn in 2013, Zampella and his team still have plenty of experience in the field and it looks likely that they'll mirror the success of their previous creation with Titanfall.
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It uses Valve's Source Engine
Titanfall is not the most visually impressive of games, but judging from the beta, it runs as smoothly as you could hope for. This is thanks to Valve's accomplished Source Engine, which was used to developer both the Portal and Left 4 Dead series, which Titanfall implements with a number of modifications to improve its graphical fidelity.
The Source Engine is notoriously difficult to develop with, but Respawn has taken on the challenge in order bring us a shooter with the same degree of polish as Valve's numerous FPS classics.
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It's a multiplayer-only game... but with a story
People are divided when it comes to Respawn's decision to make Titanfall a multiplayer-only game. Some suggest that its retail price should be lowered to reflect its perceived lack of content, while others think it's a good idea that Respawn hasn't added a tacked-on single-player campaign simply to add another bulletpoint to the back of its box.
However, despite it not featuring a campaign mode, Titanfall still aims to tell its story within the confines of its multiplayer experience. The game's bots, or 'Minions' as they are known, will discuss the finer details of the war between the Militia and the IMC while you're fighting alongside them, and each map brings along with it further details and a greater insight into just what in the blue hell is going on in the world of Titanfall.
While the two games are completely contrasting, the lack of in-your-face storytelling reminds me greatly of Dark Souls and its lore, with Respawn seemingly playing its cards close to its chest and letting players fill in the blanks. If Respawn pulls it off correctly, Titanfall could feature the most heavily discussed lore featured in an FPS since Halo.
