Respawn Entertainment crafted their debut game, “Titanfall,” in 2014 as an Xbox exclusive first-person multiplayer shooter game that was dreamed to be the killer application for the then recently released Xbox One gaming console. While well-received, it was simultaneously criticized for its lack of content and only having a multiplayer mode, even though it was priced at $60. The game slowly died away despite the initial praise, but Respawn knew they were not finished and still had much to show. So they announced a sequel, now on the PlayStation 4, with greater content and an actual story mode. Suffice it to say, this successor is every bit as entertaining and addicting as its predecessor, but it traverses to the next level with the greater amount of content available at launch.

Now with a proper story mode, the story follows Militia rifleman Jack Cooper (Matthew Mercer), a volunteer soldier who is also undergoing training to be a Pilot, a superior and agile form of elite soldier. He has the unique ability of fighting alongside a Titan, a towering force of destruction in the form of a mechanized robot. Cooper’s training is fast-tracked following the death of his mentor, Captain Tai Lastimosa (Fred Tatasciore), who assigns Cooper his own Titan, BT-7274 (Glenn Steinbaum), to escape from the planet they have crash landed on following a surprise run-in with the villainous Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation (IMC). Faced with completing Lastimosa’s last mission, Jack and BT traverse across the hostile world of Typhon, building a strong partnership along the way, for it is their means of survival.

Fluidity is what the controls, actions and effects on screen all feel like, never skipping a beat or a frame as the entire game is shown at a high quality 1,080 pixels with 60 frames per second, even during hectic action. The story mode—although it falls victim to brevity as most campaigns do these days—is still an entertaining and emotionally affecting journey, with its fair share of exhilarating romps throughout the six-hour campaign.  

The multiplayer mode is still the star of the show, but thankfully, as stated already, it is no longer the sole star. Multiplayer gameplay is just as sharp as can be, with the fast pace of the action and parkour movement being some of the best you can ask for in these types of “twitch shooters,” eclipsing what “Call of Duty” has been and doing it better than “Call of Duty” ever could. Weapons, Pilot and Titan Customization and Perks are all greatly expanded compared to the previous game. Additionally the modes, aside from the typical standard modes (Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, etc.) that are good to play,  include special modes like Attrition and Bounty Hunt, which have you playing against Artificial Intelligence enemies and allies alongside actual players. This replay value is further enhanced by the news that any and all additional downloadable content will be released for free, giving you one of the greatest incentives to go all out for this game.

Ultimately “Titanfall 2” is not just a vast improvement over its barebones predecessor, but it is quite possibly this year’s gaming dark horse.  A package worth its price, definitely ask for this game during the upcoming holiday season, or get it now if you can. You will not be disappointed whatsoever.

Game: “Titanfall 2”

Developer: Respawn Entertainment

Publisher: EA

Release Date: Oct. 28

Rating: 5 out of 5