Titanfall Frontier’s Edge – Maps Reviewed

Titanfall is already getting rave reviews, and with the spate of expansion packs, it is only a matter of time till the game becomes number one.

The planned map expansions are out, and with Frontier’s Edge – the second pack, the game is ready to reach new heights. The map pack adds three brand new maps and your Titan Vs. Pilot experience is going to get all the more exciting. Here’s what you can expect from the expansion. The three new maps in this expansion pack are some of the finest. Titled Export, Dig Site, and Haven, each of the maps has a number of both strengths and weaknesses. You will find a lot of different locales as well as environments here and the game mechanics may have some twists too.

Dig Site

This is the first map in the trio of maps and it places you in a gloomy looking giant cave. The environment is dark and the developers have used a lot of muted colors to drive their point home. You will certainly feel confined, even though the sky is visible all through. There are a lot of buildings and large structures everywhere around you. Since you are in a confined space, the combat occurs at close quarters and the combat style is very different from what you are used to in the game. The giant rock-saw is one of the stand out features in the game. You will have to reach out to this formation and climb on to it to reach the highest point on the map. There is a lot of cover and pilots will be able to sneak up to you rather easily. Small portions of the map are ideal for brawls between titans.

Export

This is a very small arena, which has varying terrain. The terrain is divided into multiple levels and this gives a lot of ground for pilots to sneak, hide, and run and zipline from. Therefore, pilots will have a great edge because they can cover a lot of ground very quickly. The map is designed for quick movements. There is an upper area, which can be used to get a great good shot of the area down below. However, there is a turbine at the bottom, which could be used to send a surge of electricity upwards and kill anyone on the top. This is a great map for hard point battles and close combat. One team can easily dominate the other, so it is all about who controls the map with much more ease.

Haven

This is a great map, unlike most other maps in the game. This map takes you to a beach resort that is still untouched – completely unlike the other war torn maps in the game. This map adds a nice touch of diversity to the game. The massive hotels are covered in bright light, which makes it a more cheerful place to be. The map brings about a change in the game’s pace. The gameplay is also extremely interesting. The interior sections of the resort are ideal for pilot vs. pilot combat. There are a lot of buildings with varying heights that make for excellent bases for parkour. The outer areas are ideal for titan vs. titan combat.

Will this topple the titans?

It’s hard to judge a game like Titanfall – it’s got almost everything you want and need in a First Person Shooter (FPS) game. Released for Xbox One, among other platforms, you know that the graphics are going to be stellar. Moreover, the fact that this game comes from the same guys who delivered Call of Duty: Modern Warfare raises your hopes even more. But what makes Titanfall so hyped – is it the fact that it has been the most fast-paced multiplayer FPS, or that it has graphics that will make even Halo loyalists turn their heads?

It is one thing to create a sense of familiarity, but it’s totally another to slot things into well-worn niches. The environment is painfully familiar – so is most of the tech. You look around and you find the same combination of weapons, battered down industrial setups and gloomy villages with wild overgrowth. That being said, Titanfall sets itself apart from the amount of mobility it gives to the gamer.

Whether you’re on foot, as part of the infantry, or fused with a gigantic piece of tech called a Titan (hence, the name), you have a surprisingly large number of movement options. Sure, the difference between battling on foot and aboard a titan is huge – as infantry you get extremely light-footed action that would make the best parkour specialists shy away, and inside a titan you stomp around with decisive authority. But that’s the contrast that makes the game feel very special. And, the extreme mobility lets you use the familiar weapons in many different ways.

The campaigns have rather feeble narratives, but fun to play nonetheless, thanks to the gorgeous graphic layout (and also because elements are destructible). There are some traditional modes, such as Team Deathmatch and Control Point modes, and then there’s the Last Titan Standing that’s a pretty hardcore mode.

But at the end of the day when you get into the multiplayer modes you see where this game excels. It’s a fast-paced, challenging gameplay – a pace that we haven’t seen before. It requires you to be imaginative, and aggressive. You lose focus for a moment and well, you find yourself being run over.

With just five main modes, and overly familiar scenarios and weapons, it does seem that the Respawn guys should have used a bit more of their imaginations. Nonetheless, Titanfall is the multiplayer lover’s giant-stomping, gun-running paradise.

₹3,499 onwards

Platforms – PC, Xbox One, Xbox 360

Developer – Respawn Entertainment

Publisher – Electronic Arts