Tech Test player here, played a few matches and as a huge fan of the first one I'm disappointed so far. I'll just bullet point some initial impressions:
- Titan play is a lot slower and less satisfying. I don't think there were any shields on my Titan and couldn't tell to how they've adjusted the HUD. Titan dashing has been removed, Ion only has one and Scorch has none. Boosting feels a bit less effective. Scorch's primary weapon is a bit useless since it just fires one rocket before having to reload, but his abilities are very cool. Ion's are pretty standard.
- Pilot mobility doesn't feel any slower initially, however the map design has made me feel less mobile. The only map I've been able to play on in Bounty Hunter, Homestead, is much much much too open for Pilot play. Titans dominate you too easily and there are few areas for effective wall running. It doesn't feel too bad with the grappling hook, but otherwise it feels more boots on ground.
- Weapons feel fine, TTK feels a tad bit faster. The anti-Titan weapon is now a secondary alongside handguns, which is unfortunate. Weapons now have an optics slot and two weapon perk slots, which is alright. Apparently the Smart Pistol is now an ability, which helps balance it while keeping it in the game.
- General gameplay has become too complicated with this Titan Core element. You can not longer just ride and shoot a titan, but instead are immediately ejected off of it after removing their core. The core then can be placed in friendly Titans to boost their health. If a core is removed, then you can throw in a grenade to do some damage to it. These steps have made Pilot-Titan gameplay flow less and its more of an annoyance because all I want to do is shoot the thing.
- The only two game types in the Tech Test so far are disappointing. Pilot vs. Pilot - which I can't even find a game for yet - doesn't allow Titan usage, a core element of Titanfall. Them promoting this mode so quickly makes me fear they are trying to cater too much to the CoD fanbase and people who dislike Pilot-Titan gameplay. This catering is visible in the other mode, Bounty Hunter, because of how the map and gametype effect gameplay. Players need to kill AI in specific territories to gain currency, but all this does is kill the momentum and center gameplay around specific, often open, areas. Players become distracted by killing AI to help the team, which makes them easy targets for other players and Titans. It feels more like a griefing game type than anything else.
- HUD is a lot more messy than in the first game, with notifications popping up slightly off center of the screen. It's not visually appealing but it's functional so not a big deal.
- Sliding is a great addition to the player movement in the game and helps add to the player's momentum.
- The first game I played I approached like the first game and ended up dying a few times. I had to change my style of gameplay, which was fun and effective, to a more reserved, CoD-like one in order to get kills and play the objective effectively, which is a very bad sign.
I'll definitely be playing more and will hopefully warm up to some of the changes, but it's not looking too great as of now for a fan of the old.
