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What exactly is titanfall innovating on? Why is it so fun?

I

Ishan

Junior Member
So, I've been reading up on titanfall. And so far its gotten rave previews. I could put it down to the "press" being hyped. But frankly speaking no game would be so hyped without good reason. Also almost any gaf comment I've read from someone who has played it has been super positive.

My question is this? From what I read it seems like its bringing back fast paced combat double jumps . Versatility. But how is this any different from some of the old q3 and ut aspects? I am aware that respawn has said q3 is one of their inspirations.

So it is just a cycle back to the old super intense deathmatch versus the cod fatigue which has everyone so excited about this?

I'm basically a cs superfan. But I also loved quake. Never got into cod . To me the levelling system makes no sense. A match should be simple about that round thats all. But i guess its old school types. So is that it? Theyre combining the leveling system (which I've never got into but I'm told is actually pretty rewarding if you try it) with old school q3 type movement which has everyone enjoying this game so much?

I don't think thats a bad thing at all, I would be happy if it reintroduced everyone to all the mad dm17 style bounce off and rail someone across a map bouce back and locket launcher someone in the face. My question is , is this just a great mix of old school and new or is there something different which I'm missing out on from the impressions?

I've not been to any of the expos or tried this out. But I do like the buzz about the game. Am seriously considering picking it up on PC. If q3 is totally up my alley. But Cs is my fav game (clan, proper rules, de maps only) and I dont like cod. Would I like this?

EDIT: Guys im not downplaying this game's fun aspect at all. I just want to know what makes it fun for the people who have tried it. If its a q3 type movement back again thats what I like. If its cod thats not what I like . Just want to figure out if the read ive got off the impressions is right that is somehow combines them etc. Just trying to figure out if im missing out on something and if its for me.
 
Ishan said:
So, I've been reading up on titanfall. And so far its gotten rave previews. I could put it down to the "press" being hyped. But frankly speaking no game would be so hyped without good reason. Also almost any gaf comment I've read from someone who has played it has been super positive.

My question is this? From what I read it seems like its bringing back fast paced combat double jumps . Versatility. But how is this any different from some of the old q3 and ut aspects? I am aware that respawn has said q3 is one of their inspirations.

So it is just a cycle back to the old super intense deathmatch versus the cod fatigue which has everyone so excited about this?

I'm basically a cs superfan. But I also loved quake. Never got into cod . To me the levelling system makes no sense. A match should be simple about that round thats all. But i guess its old school types. So is that it? Theyre combining the leveling system (which I've never got into but I'm told is actually pretty rewarding if you try it) with old school q3 type movement which has everyone enjoying this game so much?

I don't think thats a bad thing at all, I would be happy if it reintroduced everyone to all the mad dm17 style bounce off and rail someone across a map bouce back and locket launcher someone in the face. My question is , is this just a great mix of old school and new or is there something different which I'm missing out on from the impressions?

I've not been to any of the expos or tried this out. But I do like the buzz about the game. Am seriously considering picking it up on PC. If q3 is totally up my alley. But Cs is my fav game (clan, proper rules, de maps only) and I dont like cod. Would I like this?
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People love cod and this is made by the same people technically. At least that's what I think it is, I haven't played it but just from the gameplay videos it seems like a basic shooter with some mech playtime and parkour. I doubt it will pull many q3/cs players into it but who knows.
 
faster paced, better mobility (jetpack, walljumps, titans). Basically takes what makes cod fun to begin with and enhances it.
 
The fact that the core team from the old IW is working on it, alone is worth the hype. They just make the most fun games (and yes, mw2 was bloody awesome)
 
Well the Respawn guys gave us cod (despite what it has turned into) and there hasn't been much on the console market that can replicate what it did. So I'm assuming Titanfall is the closest to feeling something great as cod4 was
 
Good gunplay + advanced movement options that most games don't have + interesting map design due to that mobility + cool mech/infantry dynamic.

Though it may not be the "next big step" it's doing a lot of cool new things.
 
I dunno. I'm vaguely looking forward to it because I'm not totally burnt out on modern shooters and I think the mechs and more free-flowing movement might be enough to break it out of the CoD mold.

Ishan said:
I'm basically a cs superfan. But I also loved quake. Never got into cod . To me the levelling system makes no sense. A match should be simple about that round thats all. But i guess its old school types. So is that it? Theyre combining the leveling system (which I've never got into but I'm told is actually pretty rewarding if you try it) with old school q3 type movement which has everyone enjoying this game so much?
Click to expand...

The movement in Titanfall looks more like an enhanced version of Brink than anything "oldschool."
 
Infekted said:
People love cod and this is made by the same people technically. At least that's what I think it is, I haven't played it but just from the gameplay videos it seems like a basic shooter with some mech playtime and parkour. I doubt it will pull many q3/cs players into it but who knows.
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lol Did you really just quote the OP as the first response?

But yeah, it's the whole cod thing and the connection to it. Not my thing but people love it.
 
Inorigo said:
And I think some people are having a really hard time accepting it might be as fun as the vast majority of people who've played it claim it is. For whatever reason.
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Yeah. A thread very very similar to this one pops up every 4 or 5 days. It's pretty odd.
 
Doctor_Thomas said:
I don't think it has to be innovative to be fun.
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Nailed it.

I always see a lot of people try to downplay Titanfall by saying it's not doing anything new or innovative.

Nobody is jumping into Titanfall hoping for something new and innovative. What people are wanting out of this game is an incredibly fun, polished and balanced multiplayer experience and judging by all the impressions from people who have played Titanfall it seems that Respawn has nailed it so far.
 
It's not just the press that has been wowed by Titan Fall, your average fan walked away from PAX raving about it as well.

There are a lot of reasons why people are excited for Titan Fall:

1) New IP. Sometimes a new look and a new setting in a genre that's become saturated with a certain look and feel. Remember how exciting it was when COD was FINALLY moving from WW2 to modern day when WW2 was just overrunning the genre? The move to modern day allowed for some new mechanics, sure, but most of that excitement was more of a 'FINALLY! Something different!'

2) Art style. The game just flat-out looks cool. A gritty future that looks lived in and fought in, with tech like mechs that actually look like they might work. That industrial design applies to the settings, the weapons, etc. It's got a strong, cohesive look that stands out.

3) Pedigree. Respawn are the guys who made Modern Warfare, and whatever we think of the franchise now after years of having it shoved down our throat, there's no denying the original Modern Warfare was not only a fantastic game, but needle-mover as far as multiplayer design (for better or worse? That's up for debate). These guys have a history of taking cool ideas and executing them well.

4) Titan Fall is bringing some new ideas to the table to that could shape shooters going forward. Granted, they fit within a 'theme' we're seeing across the industry as far as meshing singleplayer and multiplayer (NFS: Rivals, The Division, etc). But this is the only one on the radar that is meshing the frenetic MP of a straight-up arena shooter with campaign story-beats and objectives. So we could be seeing continuity and progression beyond EXP and unlocks, we could also be pushing forward a story while blasting away with and at our friends.

5) The balance and interplay between the big, powerful, lumbering mechs and the small, fast, fragile soldiers, combined with the verticality of jump-jets and wall-running looks to provide for new moment-to-moment thrills.
 
Seanspeed said:
Not every game needs to reinvent the wheel to be great.
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Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying it has to introduce some amazing new thing. q3 didn't introduce anything super revolutionary. It just felt right. But then I don't get whats so next gen about this and why it can't be achieved on old gen consoles equally well. To me its one or the other, next gen normally shows something new graphically/physics wise etc. And some games are legit just amazing fun to play. So especially with a cross gen title thats what is confusing me. With the press going like this is true next gen feeling. I can get its an amazing game but what is it pushing apart from "a great combination". That is perfectly fine with me. But its like saying tlou hd if it comes out for ps4 is something next gen compared to uncharted. Yes its perfected some aspects pushed story etc but whats not achievable and what makes it so extraordinary apart from the "fun feel" aspect
 
It is being made by the former infinity guys, it has nice graphics and it is an exclusive. Obviously, everybody should take these previews with a huge grain of salt because "video game journalism"
 
BananasWithGuns said:
Nailed it.

I always see a lot of people try to downplay Titanfall by saying it's not doing anything new or innovative.

Nobody is jumping into Titanfall hoping for something new and innovative. What people are wanting out of this game is an incredibly fun, polished and balanced multiplayer experience and judging by all the impressions from people who have played Titanfall it seems that Respawn has nailed it so far.
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Im not trying to downplay it at all. I'm actually saying I believe the hype cause of all the positive impressions Ive read on gaf and overall. All I want to know is (and this is because I havent played it myself) is this a game which has all the "feeling of a shooter" right like q3 did. Or is it something which is truly "next gen" like say gears was when it came out on xbox. (graphically doing something insane etc just felt next gen) ...
 
mullet2000 said:
Yeah. A thread very very similar to this one pops up every 4 or 5 days. It's pretty odd.
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again not saying its not fun. I believe it is. I just want to know what about it making it fun ... Thats why I asked if I like q3 but not cod would I like this?
 
Inorigo said:
And I think some people are having a really hard time accepting it might be as fun as the vast majority of people who've played it claim it is. For whatever reason.
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Gotta rage against the machine, man! Anything that gets a lot of hype tends to find its share of naysayers who are uncomfortable with agreeing with a majority, as it makes them 'like everyone else', which is so freakin awful for some people. Either that or they just don't feel the game looks all that fun and are incapable of understanding how others can possibly have different tastes than them.

Anyways, thinking about it, it *is* a mix of old and new school. It has the jumping around everywhere aspect of arena shooters, but a bit slower-paced and weighty like a modern FPS that is based a bit more on realistic movement speeds and physics. Are there really any games that have done that before? I mean, I'm not a fan of these arena/twitch shooters whatsoever, but slowed down and with some modern sensibilities and it could be right up my alley.
 
Ishan said:
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying it has to introduce some amazing new thing. q3 didn't introduce anything super revolutionary. It just felt right. But then I don't get whats so next gen about this and why it can't be achieved on old gen consoles equally well. To me its one or the other, next gen normally shows something new graphically/physics wise etc. And some games are legit just amazing fun to play. So especially with a cross gen title thats what is confusing me. With the press going like this is true next gen feeling. I can get its an amazing game but what is it pushing apart from "a great combination". That is perfectly fine with me. But its like saying tlou hd if it comes out for ps4 is something next gen compared to uncharted. Yes its perfected some aspects pushed story etc but whats not achievable and what makes it so extraordinary apart from the "fun feel" aspect
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I don't know what you're reading, but nobody is saying this is a 'true' next gen game or anything. All next-gen really means is more power, which 95% of the time goes into making the game look better.

This game will come out on the 360 and the PC as well. I'm really not following what your issue is with all this. It sounds like this is just a more elaborate 'manufactured hype' type of argument.
 
Seanspeed said:
Gotta rage against the machine, man! Anything that gets a lot of hype tends to find its share of naysayers who are uncomfortable with agreeing with a majority, as it makes them 'like everyone else', which is so freakin awful for some people. Either that or they just don't feel the game looks all that fun and are incapable of understanding how others can possibly have different tastes than them.

Anyways, thinking about it, it *is* a mix of old and new school. It has the jumping around everywhere aspect of arena shooters, but a bit slower-paced and weighty like a modern FPS that is based a bit more on realistic movement speeds and physics. Are there really any games that have done that before? I mean, I'm not a fan of these arena/twitch shooters whatsoever, but slowed down and with some modern sensibilities and it could be right up my alley.
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Okay, one as Ive said again and again even in my original post im just trying to understand what makes this game fun cause of what ive read and cause i havent had the chance to try it so far. And yes I'm perfectly fine with being in the minority, I dont like cod, I like q3, cs etc. I know im in the minority nowadays. Was in the majority earlier. Things change people have different opinions etc.

Second paragraph you wrote helps explain things better. Thanks for that. Just curious dude. Not all of us have been to expos and have played it etc and just want some input.
 
Ishan said:
Im not trying to downplay it at all. I'm actually saying I believe the hype cause of all the positive impressions Ive read on gaf and overall. All I want to know is (and this is because I havent played it myself) is this a game which has all the "feeling of a shooter" right like q3 did. Or is it something which is truly "next gen" like say gears was when it came out on xbox. (graphically doing something insane etc just felt next gen) ...
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I wasn't necessarily directing that toward you. Sorry if it came off that way. It was more in reference to some of the threads that have popped up over the past couple months or so.

Regardless, I don't think this is going to be another Gears of War where nearly the entire style of the game is completely new and somewhat revolutionizes the genre. I think Titanfall will end up being a game that feels incredibly familiar to fans of some of the classic FPS games while at the same time carving out it's own legacy by taking different aspects of what makes those FPS games great and crafting it into something special. That's pretty much how I look at Titanfall.
 
Seanspeed said:
I don't know what you're reading, but nobody is saying this is a 'true' next gen game or anything. All next-gen really means is more power, which 95% of the time goes into making the game look better.

This game will come out on the 360 and the PC as well. I'm really not following what your issue is with all this. It sounds like this is just a more elaborate 'manufactured hype' type of argument.
Click to expand...

For example some people have mentioned having a ton of ai controlled players which arent proper pilots/mechs ... I can't remember exactly what they are called, but they say having some fodder to kill on the side like that keeps the momentum up. So yeah there it makes sense in old consoles they wont be able to keep those numbers up so it would all be mech vs mech vs pilot vs pilot without these "additional" units which keep the flow up. Dude just cause im being curious doesnt mean I am hating on the game ... just read my posts ...
 
Ishan said:
Okay, one as Ive said again and again even in my original post im just trying to understand what makes this game fun cause of what ive read and cause i havent had the chance to try it so far. And yes I'm perfectly fine with being in the minority, I dont like cod, I like q3, cs etc. I know im in the minority nowadays. Was in the majority earlier. Things change people have different opinions etc.

Second paragraph you wrote helps explain things better. Thanks for that. Just curious dude. Not all of us have been to expos and have played it etc and just want some input.
Click to expand...
If you've watched the videos, you should have a general understanding of what the game is and whether or not it seems like fun to you. It seems pretty straightforward to me. Not as if its like watching a preview video of some JRPG and you cant really make out what's going on(game mechanic-wise), ya know?

The people who have played it just generally seem to be confirming that it indeed feels and plays as good as it looks like it does in the videos. They aren't really bringing new info to the table we didn't have any idea of before.

Dunno man. Check the game out. See if it interests you. If it looks fun, it looks fun. If it doesn't, then oh well?
 
I didn't know people on GAF liked cod all that much. Similarly, I couldn't give a crap about titanfall.
 
rouken said:
I really wanted to ask the same thing about Destiny.
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Agree. From what ive seen of destiny I don't see anything outlandishly next gen or super new. I feel mass effect story plus halo combat. Which can be amazingly fun. Just don't get what is super next gen about it either.
 
After the move to slower, more realistic military shooters this past gen, the movement stuff Titanfall is doing is really exciting. Console FPSs desperately need more mobility.
 
BananasWithGuns said:
I wasn't necessarily directing that toward you. Sorry if it came off that way. It was more in reference to some of the threads that have popped up over the past couple months or so.

Regardless, I don't think this is going to be another Gears of War where nearly the entire style of the game is completely new and somewhat revolutionizes the genre. I think Titanfall will end up being a game that feels incredibly familiar to fans of some of the classic FPS games while at the same time carving out it's own legacy by taking different aspects of what makes those FPS games great and crafting it into something special. That's pretty much how I look at Titanfall.
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Cool, yeah thats the idea I got. Was just looking for more input from ppl who've played it. I'm sure IW has got the feel down. Just like ID got the feel down much more on q3 even though ut was a far "fuller" more "fleshed out game" many ppl just like q3 cause it felt right.
 
Maybe there's nothing legitimately exciting about Titanfall or Destiny and all the supposed hype for those games is really just astroturfing.

What if? WHAT IF?
 
Dacvak said:
I didn't know people on GAF liked cod all that much. Similarly, I couldn't give a crap about titanfall.
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thats the thing half of gaf hates cod but it seems everyone on gaf whos tried this likes it .. so I was wondering ..
 
groundhog-day-2-o.gif


Many hands-on impressions mention how easy to pick up and play the game is. I think this ease of use is a big part of why everyone seems to be enjoying it, just like with COD. Except now in Titanfall people are jumping around all over the place, there are giant mechs everywhere, and the kind of cinematic events usually reserved for SP campaigns are playing out moment-to-moment in the MP experience.
 
The phrase arena shooter really does not need to be used in the same sentence or even paragraph as Titanfall unless that sentence is "Titanfall is not an arena shooter." It has none of the gameplay mechanics that make arena shooters what they are and movement wise is still roughly the same speed as every other CoD-esque shooter. It has wallrunning/jumping, but so did Brink.

Be excited for Titanfall for what it is instead of trying to make poor connections to what it is most definitely not.
 
Ishan said:
thats the thing half of gaf hates cod but it seems everyone on gaf whos tried this likes it .. so I was wondering ..
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I think its worth keeping in mind that a lot of people don't just inherently hate Call of Duty. Many people, including myself, *loved* the series but simply got worn out on the constant rehashing of the same formula.

TitanFall could finally be the refresher that brings a lot of people back to playing a 'CoD-ish' game, even if I think that is probably selling the premise of the game quite short.
 
Teknopathetic said:
The phrase arena shooter really does not need to be used in the same sentence or even paragraph as Titanfall unless that sentence is "Titanfall is not an arena shooter." It has none of the gameplay mechanics that make arena shooters what they are and movement wise is still roughly the same speed as every other CoD-esque shooter. It has wallrunning/jumping, but so did Brink.

Be excited for Titanfall for what it is instead of trying to make poor connections to what it is most definitely not.
Click to expand...

Well I dont know. Havent played it and "press reviews" i read hype up this whole fluidity of movement aspect which I associated with arena shooters. Plus respawn themselves said q3 was an inspiration ... thats why I thought hey maybe a new school q3 with mechs and some "leveling cod type stuff" which I can put up with.

EDIT no idea what brink is. I've basically ignored all shooters since q3 and cs ... tried cod to see what the fuss was about didnt like it ... and now this is the next big thing so was wondering if its up my alley.. as i said in op ... really liked q3 ... loved clan cs ... disliked everything since. ... ill look up brink a couple of people have mentioned it as similar. Also I dislike the whole class system. Guess its like weapon loadouts to some extent ... I just like being able to shift on the fly ... again sorry if im ignorant on this stuff ... just have totally been ignoring all fps development this past gen.
 
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