Until this week, the veteran industry crew at Respawn Entertainment have kept the lid on their first project Titanfall. The first-person infantry/mech shooter had really only been mentioned by name, slated for the cover of this month’s Game Informer, but now it’s out there in the wild, and goodness is it beautiful.
Respawn Entertainment is no stranger to blockbusters titles. It could be argued that when Jason Ward, Vince Zampella, and many of the other key artists left Infinity Ward after an ugly contractural dispute that the soul of the lauded developer passed into Respawn. The key talents that made the Call of Duty franchise what it was before what it’s become have brought us a brand new intellectual property in Titanfall, and it’s every bit as exciting as we had hoped.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goe6IB1DLZU[/youtube]
Sporting a slick aesthetic and liquid gun-play that splits the difference between Halo and Killzone, Titanfall is obviously gunning for the other major players in the next generation of first-person shooters with an effortless blend of campaign, co-op, and multi-player action. Throw 30-foot-tall mechs into the equation, and you’ve got the attention of your entire audience.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5sqPxbLmIU[/youtube]
The game-play formula looks to be a complete ball, and the only concern I can see cropping up is just how balance will be managed between puny mortals and 20-ton killing machines. That’s a question I’m willing to wait for an answer on.
Respawn Entertainment’s Titanfall launches this fall, exclusively on the Xbox ONE. Check out the full release packet right here.