Revisiting Titanfall 2: Exploring Hidden Depths in Blisk’s Philosophy and Reminiscing on the Start of a Journey to Japan Half at the Quinquennial Mark

“I’ve got other people with money to see.” –Kuben Blisk

On this day five years earlier, the sound of an alarm clock shakes me from my sleep. Blearily, I rub my eyes and prepare to start my day. However, it’s no ordinary day: on a typical day, I would wash up, get dressed, eat my breakfast and then drive to work. However, this day is different: I’m fulfilling a long-standing dream of flying out to Japan with the family. Although the itinerary states that this is a lightning tour, whisking us from Tokyo to Osaka up through Saitama, Yamanashi, Nagano, Gifu and Kyoto over the course of five days, before heading on over to Hong Kong to visit the other half of my family. Excitement for this particular vacation was enormous: this represented my first time travelling out of country since a pair of conferences a year earlier, and it was also the first vacation I’d taken since I began working. Having finished all of the preparations the night previously, this particular morning saw me drive to the airport for a direct flight from home to Narita. Upon touchdown, we found the shuttle bus that took us to the Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport, which overlooks the countryside and is elegantly appointed. After a hasty dinner, I was surprised to find that night had already fallen in full. Deciding against exploring the area nearby, I retired for the evening ahead of what would be a fantastic vacation. My vacation had come at a curious time: it had been booked for over a half year, and at this point in time, I’d been with my first job, a start-up, for just a shade over half a year, as well. The founder had bootstrapped said start-up, and six months into my work, I’d already delivered a rudimentary iOS app for a computational oncology firm based in the United States. Our founder, and the president of the American computational oncology firm, had spotted the potential in mobile apps, leading my start-up to pivot from a 3D visualisation tool, to a mobile platform intended to bring health data collection to users through smartphone apps. The concept was a revolutionary one, and at this point in time, our company had a number of brilliant and dedicated people looking after things, so I was able to go on vacation without worrying about the work that would pile up in my absence. In this way, I was able to enjoy what would become my favourite vacation in recent memory, and I came back to work refreshed and ready to go. Before I’d set off on this journey, I had spent the previous month playing through Titanfall 2, which had caught my eye when it first launched. Upon finishing Titanfall 2, I had been thoroughly impressed with the gameplay. More recently, nostalgia led me to play through Titanfall 2 again, and this time around, having already known how Jack Cooper’s journey concludes, I was able to appreciate other details within what was a superb narrative.

In particular, the presence of the Apex Predators, mercenaries led by one Kuben Blisk, and their role as Titanfall 2‘s primary antagonists, proved to drive the story and characterisation in ways that wouldn’t be possible had Cooper and the Militia directly fought against the IMC. The additional personality that each of Kane, Ash, Richter, Sloane and Blisk brought to the table indicates the size and scale of the IMC, but because the Apex Predators were mercenaries, Titanfall 2 had implicitly shown players that right from the start, the IMC were consigned to failure in their attempt to utilise the Fold Weapon against the Militia world of Harmony; after IMC’s fuel depot on Demeter had been destroyed, they were denied access to the Frontier, and in a bid to destroy the remnants of the Frontier’s Militia, the IMC have resorted to hiring mercenaries. Conversely, for pilots like Cooper, their motivation lies purely in protecting their home. The strength of their conviction rather outweighs the motivation the Apex Predators have for completing their assignment: mercenaries will fight on the behalf of anyone who offers a sufficiently large sum. Politics and ideology are irrelevant to groups like the Apex Predators, and it is not inconceivable that under different circumstances, Blisk and his crew may have fought the IMC instead. It is for this reason that Cooper and the Militia are able to have their victory in staving off the destruction of their home world. While Cooper’s achievements at the end of Titanfall 2 are doubtlessly impressive, the game also provides subtle cues to players that, while the IMC are doubtlessly a threat to freedom and the like, the Apex Predators themselves are not irredeemably evil, despite its members acting in dubious ways. In particular, Blisk is shown to have a sense of honour. He expresses a begrudging respect for Cooper and, after Cooper defeats Sloane, invites him to join the Apex Predators if he so chooses. In addition, Blisk is very precise and detail-oriented; he refuses to kill Cooper despite General Marder’s protests, stating that Cooper was never part of his original contract. That players never have the chance to fight Blisk directly suggests that the Apex Predator’s way of thinking is not intrinsically evil or macabre. Although it is respectable and honourable to demonstrate loyalty and fight for one’s way of living, the flipside is that there are cases where one must also consider fighting for themselves.

Screenshots and Commentary

• Titanfall 2‘s soundtrack was what ended up persuading me to give the game a go: I previously had played Titanfall during a trial period, and Stephon Barton’s compositions had captured the gritty nature of warfare between the IMC and Militia. In particular, MacAllen’s Endgame had been a particularly standout track: about forty-five seconds into the track, the iconic Titanfall motif can be heard, and there’s a sort of somber finality about the war being fought. The emotional tenour conveyed in this track evokes a feeling of departure, and thanks to the wonders of shuffle mode, I listened to this song while flying out of Taiwan’s Taoyuan Airport at the end of my journey there in December 2014.

• My vacation to Taiwan in December  2014 had been a first: traditionally, I travel during the summer months, but that year, I’d been busy with the Giant Walkthrough Brain. After arriving on December 24, we did a counterclockwise tour of the island, beginning in Taipei before heading over to the Xitou Yaoguai Village, a Japanese-style village that was constructed in 2011. This eccentric site features many Japanese features like torii and Japanese lanterns. Despite being a well-known attraction in the area, the fact that it was located in the deep forests of Taiwan’s central island gave it a bit of an eerie vibe, and that evening, I developed serious stomach problems while trying to turn in at the Leader Hotel, an old hotel surrounded by forest with a wing that clearly looked like it was not in use.

• These stomach problems went away after leaving the area, and I was able to enjoy the remainder of my trip without issue, including a delicious all-fish lunch in a restaurant under the Kao-Ping Hsi Bridge. In fact, the only thing I wish I was able to try was the grilled squid I’d seen at the night markets: although night markets are sanitary owing to government regulations, I decided to exercise caution to avoid unnecessarily putting strain on my constitution. As we moved from west to east, we travelled along a narrow, winding mountain road that took us through Daren Township. From here, we headed north towards Taitung.

• I remember that evening particularly well: we stopped at a vast jade warehouse on a remote country road under the mountain, and after hearing a pretty guide explain the details of jade production in Taiwan, we headed for dinner before retiring at the Yih Shuian resort. There were numerous sulfur hot springs here, but I decided against trying them out: unlike Japanese onsen, swimsuits were required. The next day, we travelled north towards Hualien for Taroko Gorge. The trip would conclude with a train ride to Yilan and a visit to Jiufen Old Street. This vacation proved remarkably fun even with my constitution troubles, although back then, I only had a Nokia Lumia phone with a weak camera and therefore, did not take very many photos.

• On a return trip to Taiwan, I’d love to explore the Taitung and Yilan side in greater detail: this mountainous side of Taiwan has stunning scenery. With this being said, spending time in larger cities like Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Taipei would allow me to sample the foods at night markets, as well. On my to-do list, Taiwan would be second after a trip to Japan: my desire to visit Takehara or a ryokan has not diminished. Such vacations remain in the planning stages for now, but since I did listen extensively to the Titanfall soundtrack, hearing the music brought back old memories of my Taiwan trip.

• Stephen Barton would return to score Titanfall 2‘s soundtrack: familiar motifs make a return, and this time around, Titanfall 2 would feature a full-fledged campaign set on the planet of Typhon. Here, the gorgeous mountain scenery and vast research labs, coupled with use of Traditional Chinese characters, gave the planet a distinctly Taiwan-like feeling. As I made my way through the campaign, I was thoroughly impressed with how the game handled. Movement was smooth and responsive. However, what stood out was the fact that every mission was unique in its own way, making use of a specific gameplay mechanic to challenge players and keep things fresh.

• My decision to pick up Titanfall 2 for myself came while I had been queued up for a late February meeting with my financial advisor to get my investments renewed: I received an email that had indicated that both Titanfall 2 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare had been going on discount. After my meeting ended, I hastened to get back in front of my computer and ended up buying both titles on sale: Titanfall 2 had been going for 60 percent off, and Infinite Warfare‘s Legacy Edition was going for a third off, allowing me to, in effect, pick up Infinite Warfare and Modern Warfare Remastered for the price of one game.

• I subsequently made my way through both campaigns and found enjoyment in both. Although Infinite Warfare had been widely criticised for being a knockoff of Titanfall 2, I ended up enjoying that game quite thoroughly. Titanfall 2, on the other hand, was universally acclaimed, and a large part of this was the fact that the campaign was so solid. The combination of novel gameplay in every level, coupled with the fact that the campaign’s missions slowly opened players up to what Pilots could do, and a companion that greatly served to ease the overwhelming sense of isolation on Typhon made it quite memorable.

• Although this isn’t usually discussed in great detail, Typhon itself proved to be a well-done location for Titanfall 2‘s events; the game opens in a verdant tropical valley with waterfalls and steep cliffs, and transitions over to a sewage processing facility. As Cooper and BT get closer to Major Anderson’s position, they pass through a vast underground complex that surpasses even the sewage processing facility in size. Once the pair reach Major Anderson (more appropriately, what’s left of him), Cooper explores a derelict IMC research facility, and then to get their findings back to the militia, they hit a communications site set in a karst landscape.

• The terrain and vegetation on Typhon brought back memories of Taiwan, and I remember during one lunch break at work, I decided to see if I could find the Xitou Yaoguai Village. Because I’d travelled Taiwan without a good set of offline maps, I had next to no idea of where precisely our destinations were. One of the search terms I’d put into Google was “Ghost village”, and while this approach did eventually lead me to Xitou Yaoguai Village, I also stumbled upon, purely by chance, a remarkably well-written travel blog by a web-developer and travel photographer named Alexander Synaptic.

• In this blog, Synaptic details various haikyo around Taiwan, and in one post, he writes about the Mingxiong Ghost House, a famous haunted house in Taiwan located just a ways outside of Chiayi in the Chianan plains. Although the precise story of how this once-gorgeous stone mansion fell into ruin is unknown, what is known is that the site is very famous, to the point where a café opened next door to provide visitors with refreshment after they’d finished visiting this landmark. At the bottom of the post, the related articles ended up sending me to Synaptic’s bike tours across Taiwan.

• By coincidence, Titanfall 2‘s soundtrack came onto my music rotation, and I listened to Burton’s majestic compositions while reading about Synaptic’s travels through Taiwan’s central ranges, an unforgiving region lined with narrow mountain roads and tough conditions, as well as down the sunbaked eastern coast. The striking scenery fit remarkably well with the Titanfall 2 soundtrack, and since then, I’ve felt an inexplicable connection between Titanfall 2 and Taiwan. Subtle hints, including hanzi characters, and a subtropical climate, reinforces this connection to me.

• I don’t mind admitting that I spent a little more time than I should have browsing through Synaptic’s blog; his writing style is precise and informative, and I absolutely love the pictures that are posted. In the months leading up to my Japan trip, and shortly after I purchased Titanfall 2, work had slowed down somewhat because the start-up I’d been with was mid-pivot: after I delivered my first-ever commercial iOS app to a computational oncology firm in the United States, our founder saw the potential for a genericised app for handling medical follow-up surveys.

• At this point in time, the details were still being hammered out, and I was asked to develop a functional mock-up of what the app would look like. At the time, I wasn’t particularly versed in things like UIKit or Autolayout (another developer handled that), and therefore, spent most of my time working with the JSON parsing code, as well as designing survey formats that could be stored to a backend and then parsed within the app to deliver questions for users. This was a realm I was a ways more familiar with, and because this had been more tedium than difficult, my days ended up being a ways slower as a result.

• As such, I did slack off during quieter moments, browsing through both Synaptic’s blog and Google Maps to see if I could find those same spots for myself. Through these virtual travels, I fell in love with Taiwan’s eastern side, especially the Huadong Valley extending from Taitung to Hualien. This valley consists of a vast plain surrounded on both sides by mountain. There’s a tranquility about this place found nowhere else in Taiwan, and I noticed a large number of bed and breakfasts located in this valley. In my mind’s eye, I saw myself waking up on a hot summer’s morning at one of these bed and breakfasts, sitting down to a scrumptious breakfast before biking off for that day’s itinerary.

• In reality, I’m not too sure how well I’d be able to navigate such a trip: my Mandarin is weak at best, but I imagine that ahead of such a trip, a little touch-up and having some translation apps would probably be helpful. While enjoying the sights of Huadong Valley is within my wheelhouse, wandering Taiwan’s haikyo is probably something I’ll leave to the pros. Urban exploration has long fascinated me, but there’s an inherent danger about it such that were I to go on such an expedition, I would prefer to have a good guide handy.

• For now, my exploration of haikyo is limited to video games, where there are no threats like broken glass or asbestos to deal with. Exploring the derelict IMC facility and seamlessly transitioning to a functional facility was probably one of the most innovative modes of gameplay I’ve ever seen, comparable to Portal and SUPERHOT. No games since Titanfall 2 have been this creative or enjoyable: many games of the present are completely fixated on in-app purchases at the expense of gameplay, and these trends have resulted in increasingly inferior games of late.

• This isn’t to say there aren’t good games: DOOM Eternal and Ace Combat 7 have managed to maintain good gameplay without sacrificing it for cosmetics. While skins make sense in third person games, I’ve never understood why people care for them in first person games, when one can’t even see what they’re wearing. Since the success of Titanfall 2, even Respawn has entered the battle royale cosmetic shooter realm; Apex Legends is a spinoff set 18 years after the events of Titanfall 2, and with the IMC defeated, Blisk founds the Apex Games. Although Apex Legends is most certainly not the kind of game I’m interested in playing, it was interesting to learn that Blisk was the founder: Titanfall 2 denied players a chance to fight Blisk.

• Despite being the antagonist, I never felt any animosity towards Blisk or his Apex Predators. Blisk himself openly expresses respect for Cooper and declines to kill him, stating Cooper and BT were never part of his contract. Five years later, I’ve seen now for myself why Blisk was adamant about Cooper not being a part of his contract; scope creep can make even seemingly simple projects into monstrosities that seemingly cannot be completed. When I signed the original agreement for that Xamarin project, the expectations were that I would spend about a month on the project, get the bugs sorted out and then walk the computational oncology firm through the App Store submission process, which had previously given them trouble.

• Had we stayed within this scope of work, I would have wrapped up mid-September and had time to focus on our own product. Instead, this project expanded in scope as I continued working on it. Fifteen bugs became sixty, and I was asked to implement features that hadn’t been covered in the original contract. This pushed the project out to October, and I remember being contacted to fix a “high priority high severity” bug while I was out in Vernon for a well-earned break (the salmon run had been going that year), only to learn that it was a user error that produced the bug (they downloaded an outdated build).

• This experience immediately sees parallels in Titanfall 2, being equivalent to General Marder asking Blisk and his Apex Predators to go after Cooper. Throughout the course of Titanfall 2, Cooper and BT-7274 become such a formidable pair that they are able to begin picking off Blisk’s subordinates. In this way, Kane and Ash are killed after underestimating what the pair are capable of. From the player’s standpoint, this follows logically, but I imagine that for Blisk, Cooper represents an unexpected thorn in their plans. However, despite Cooper and BT-7274’s actions, they are not successful in stopping the Apex Predators from bringing the Ark to the Fold Weapon.

• Revisiting Titanfall 2 meant having a chance to explore more thoroughly, and here, I managed to find the only EM-4 Cold War in the campaign. This burst-fire bullpup grenade launcher fires small, but highly-damaging rounds in fours, and against the foes in the campaign, they are quite effective: a single hit will vapourise IMC soldiers, and even the Reapers will go down in a few bursts. Playing games again is fun for this reason: I get to discover new things about them, and oftentimes, revisiting a game under different circumstances impacts how I feel about a given scene.

• In the case of Titanfall 2, I see a fantastic story that has aged gracefully, and with five more years of life experience, I also see a convincing tale of why scope creep is undesirable. Had Marder managed to convince Blisk into accepting that killing Cooper and BT-7274 was a part of their scope of work, Blisk likely would’ve died by the player’s hand. My Xamarin assignment with the computational oncology company indeed saw scope creep of an unreasonable extent, and I got the distinct feeling that the Winnipeg team was actively working to prevent me from finishing my tasks.

• Reading through the commit history, it was similarly clear that the previous developer who’d been working on the mobile app was competent, but similarly hampered by the Winnipeg team; the changelogs show that the endpoints were added very late into the game (about a month before I was asked to start). There is little doubt in my mind that the fact I was nailing down issues, and fixing a fatal flaw in their user onboarding flow (transforming a ten-step process into a three-step process), was making their developers look bad, so they were attempting to save face by throwing more bugs at me, and even introducing changes prior to demos that they knew would cause the app to crash.

• Thus, what was supposed to take six weeks at most doubled to twelve weeks, and I was left exhausted by this project. Looking back, I know now why Blisk states to Marder that Cooper was not his problem; Cooper represents a low severity, low priority issue to Blisk in that since he’s already delivered the Ark, he’s done his work. For me, my contract was explicitly stated as ending once I submitted the app to the App Store, although this was later expanded to “taking care of any high priority, high severity bugs that the Winnipeg team introduced”. Dissatisfaction at this project for dragging out as long as it had, coupled with the fact that it ultimately cost us the other deal we had, led me to resign from my first startup.

• Although the work had been engaging, I was not able to see a future in which we would be successful: that the Xamarin project was allowed to expand in scope as it did also gave me little confidence that we would be able to work on our own products without being interrupted constantly by external factors. Had I continued, I likely would’ve continued to suffer as a result of the Winnipeg team’s incompetence. When I transitioned over to my next position, another startup, I found myself far happier, and under a new founder, I ended up cultivating a diverse range of iOS skills, from UIKit and Autolayout, to things like writing my own networking wrappers and reachability tests, push notifications and payment handling through the Stripe SDK. The only reason why I ended up leaving this position was because investment dried up after the results of the 2020 election. With revenue dwindling, the founder and I shared a conversation about our directions.

• Unlike my first start-up, whose founder has fallen off the radar, I’m still in contact with my second start-up’s founder and occasionally lend my time to help out with a side project. Curiously enough, towards the end, my second start-up’s founder also asked me to lend my skills for another project, but this time, armed with significantly more experience, I delivered a product I was proud of, and one where there had been no scope creep because all of the lines were clearly drawn in the sand. More importantly, unlike the Xamarin project, I was also fairly compensated for my work: with the second start-up’s project, I was involved in every step of the process and knew exactly how much the client was paying, as well as how the funds would be dispersed.

• Conversely, with the Xamarin project, I wasn’t involved with discussions when money was concerned, and although it sounded like the payout was considerable, in the end, my compensation only equaled the sum of my travel expenses. Considering the amount of trouble the Winnipeg team put me through, I was definitely shortchanged by this turn of events. Experiences like these reshaped my experience with Titanfall 2 a second time around, and so, while Blisk might be an antagonist, I completely empathise with his sentiments in the present; considering the amount of experience I’ve accrued as an iOS developer (and all of the ancillary know-how I’ve picked up), I agree with Blisk’s thoughts: “I don’t work for free”.

• Blisk’s remark, that he’s got “other people with money to see”, shows that his skills are in high demand, and that he’s able to make his own call as to what assignments he wants to take. Since there are other clients implied to be bidding for his services, Blisk no longer regards Marder as his employer, hence his attitudes towards the end of the game. Others have argued that this lessens Blisk’s character: from this point of view, Blisk is only saying this because Cooper has thoroughly beaten his team of elites. However, given the tone Marder takes with Blisk, the opposite is true; Marder sees Cooper as a threat to the IMC, but Blisk simply has no interest in doing what’s outside of his original scope of work.

• My experiences doing contract work at start-ups to help keep my lights on has meant that I look at Blisk’s character completely differently now, and for this reason, I’m glad they chose not to have Cooper fight (and defeat) him: it shows that Titanfall 2 understands the other side of things. The me of five years earlier had been more similar to Cooper, fighting loyally for a cause to both learn and protect. I only left my first start-up after it became clear there was no future, and I was fighting right to the end. This was, in part, because I was not confident in my skill as a developer at the time. Correspondingly, the me of five years earlier was a little disappointed at the fact that Cooper never did get to take Blisk on.

• According my site’s archives, I reached the penultimate mission of Titanfall 2 mid-April. Fighting through the various IMC warship en route to the Draconis, I was fighting off a minor head cold at the time. However, a cold was not enough to dampen my spirits: at this point in time, my Japan trip was only a few more weeks away, and I was very much looking forwards to my experiences. After my experiences in Taiwan, I was most excited about the fact that I was rocking an iPhone 6: despite only sporting 16 GB of internal storage, this phone had an eight megapixel camera and shot images of a decent resolution.

• Moreover, access to the App Store meant I had access to offline maps, which proved instrumental in helping me to remember which destinations I visited. This bit of technology allowed me to record my vacation in greater detail than any vacation I’d been on previously, and so, I am able to recall specifics about this particular vacation with a much higher precision compared to something like Taiwan. Owing to an incident when I was migrating machines a few months ago, I lost all of my original photos, which were carrying the EXIF and date information, but since I uploaded my images to social media, I at least still have a majority of the photos I took.

• As noted earlier, I will be returning to revisit this particular journey later this month. However, rather than share the vacation photos a second time here, I will be recounting how this vacation shifted my perspectives. I will be fitting this discussion around Go! Go! Nippon!: this game acts as a virtual simulation of what an idealised first-time trip to Japan is like, and while it began as a bit of a joke, this visual novel is surprisingly well done, providing players with some useful information about Japan, along with an amusing scenario that makes the game more immersive than its premise would suggest.

• Having said this, I’ve never actually written about Go! Go! Nippon! despite having beaten it twice. The game has received two expansions, once in 2015, and again in 2016, which dramatically upgraded the resolutions and number of destinations one could visit. As such, the time has come to correct this, and for my play-through this time around, I will be going through the 2016 expansion: my last play-through of Go! Go! Nippon! was for the 2015 expansion, which proved to be a remarkably enjoyable one. Games like Titanfall 2 are more commonly seen in my wheelhouse compared to things like Go! Go! Nippon!, but I will remark that, while I’ve got a bias towards FPS and action-oriented titles, I am generally open to a wide range of games.

• Towards the end of Titanfall 2, as a clever callback to the overpowered MK5 Smart Pistol of Titanfall: the Smart Pistol was originally able to instantly kill a Pilot in the multiplayer. While automatic target acquisition took some time and only could occur at short ranges, a skilled Smart Pistol user could decimate foes in close quarters without retribution. However, the Smart Pistol was useless at medium and long ranges. To mitigate these issues, Titanfall 2 has the Smart Pistol become a boost rather than a loadout weapon, and while retaining most of the original Smart Pistol’s functions, the MK6 cannot be fired unless one has a lock, and players will be alerted to the fact they’re being locked onto.

• In the campaign, it becomes a weapon that Cooper can reliably fall back on: after securing the Ark, Cooper is captured, and BT-7274 is destroyed, forcing Cooper to retrieve the SERE Kit and reach a drop point to continue the mission. Having the Smart Pistol offsets the overwhelming odds, and this is the only point in the campaign where the Smart Pistol appears. The speed and efficiency players have here is a culmination of everything one has learnt throughout the campaign, and it is expected that one can make full use of their weapon and environment to reach the drop site for a new Vanguard-class Titan equipped with the Legion setup.

• On this date five years ago, I was on a plane bound for Narita. On that day, I certainly wasn’t thinking ahead five years; today, I’ve finished another workday, and by, this point in time, I feel like I’ve settled in after the move. Housekeeping has become smoother, and I’ve found enough time at the end of a day to write. I’ve also resumed my anime schedule, and at the time of writing, I’ve now finished Akebi’s Sailor Uniform, which I look forwards to writing about soon. In addition, settling in means being able to capitalise on both the fact I’ve got several brilliant parks and good restaurants within walking distance.

• Over this past weekend, I had a chance to try out the pizza place just across the way: we ordered a Greek pizza (purple onions, green peppers, black olives, feta cheese and tomato slices), alongside a house special pizza (an all-meat pizza with pepperoni, sausage, extra cheese and crispy salami slices) and honey-garlic wings. Having not gone out for pizza for quite some time, what stood out was the fact that the pizzas from this particular place (a 2-minute walk) were packed with toppings. I’m not a pizza connoisseur, and the mark of a good pizza for me is the toppings: a winning pizza has a flavourful and healthy amount of meat, vegetables and cheese.

• With this, I’ve beaten Titanfall 2 again, but this time, it’s under different circumstances. Five more years under my belt means I’ve been able to see the story from another angle, and in this way, I’ve also found that Titanfall 2‘s answer to the question I’d posed whilst playing Project Wingman is simple: mercenaries don’t really care for ideology and concern themselves with a job well done, so it was interesting to fight on both sides of the fence (as a mercenary in Project Wingman, and against them in Titanfall 2). I imagine readers tire of non-anime posts here, so my next goal is to swiftly wrap up a post for Akebi’s Sailor Uniform, and then kick off Go! Go! Nippon!: since I moved to my current desktop, I’ve lost a host of save files on top of my old travel photos. This means that I’ll have a chance to go back through Go! Go! Nippon! with a fresh set of eyes.

While I passed through the Meishin Expressway cutting through the farmer’s fields near Shiga, my iPhone began playing BT’s theme. The me of five years earlier had admired the majesty and scale of Titanfall 2‘s soundtrack, as well as the game’s movement system and visceral gunplay. I hadn’t yet caught onto the fact that Titanfall 2‘s portrayal of Blisk was strikingly similar to that of a software developer. Blisk is described as being in his line of work both for the fact that it pays well and because Blisk loves the the thrill of a challenge. In addition, Blisk is particularly fond of testing out cutting edge hardware and weapons, as well as experimenting with different solutions and pushing himself to complete assignments at all costs. Blisk is loyal to no flag or ideology, serving a client only until his task is completed as stated. As a software developer, I’m surprisingly similar: although some problems are frustrating, there’s a certain satisfaction in solving them. Working as a developer means being able to play with beta builds, new SDKs and even cutting-edge hardware. I’ve similarly worked on assignments (both in an organisation and as a consultant) where I stop development once the stipulated milestones are reached (and out-of-scope work is described as such). Seeing the commonalities between myself and Blisk led me to appreciate Titanfall 2 in a new way, and at present, I understand Titanfall 2‘s choice to let Blisk live by disallowing players the chance to fight him. Looking back, I’d been similar to Cooper in that I had been loyal, to a fault, with my first startup. As I accrued more experience, both professional and personal, realities meant that it became easier to see what drives Blisk’s character; Titanfall 2 has Blisk end the game by stating to Marder that with his current contract over, Cooper is no longer his problem, and that he’s got people with money to see. For me, the first start-up I worked for ended up failing: with the paycheques no longer coming in despite having delivered a working app, the time had come for me to move on, as well.

Titanfall 2: Campaign Final Impressions and Reflections

“Protect the Pilot.” —BT-7274

Taking into the skies after the Draconis, Milita forces pursue the Ark weapon, but find themselves hampered by Viper, a mercenary. Cooper manages to take control of an IMC vessel, disable its guns and defeats Viper before pressing on to the Draconis. BT sustains heavy damage and surrenders the Ark to Blisk, before being destroyed by Sloane. In his final moments, BT gives Cooper the SERE Kit containing the MK-5 Smart Pistol, a knife and his own computer core. Cooper makes his way to a drop point, where he is provided with a new Vanguard chassis equipped with the Legion setup. Reunited with BT, the pair fight their way through the IMC forces and reach the Ark. In the process, Sloane is defeated, and Blisk complements Cooper on his resilience, remarking that strictly speaking, the Apex Predator’s contract never extended to taking Cooper out. He leaves Cooper with his business card before leaving. BT flies himself into the Ark’s core and ejects Cooper at the last moment, citing his third protocol. The Ark Weapon is destroyed and destabilises Typhon: reaching the extraction point, Cooper escapes Typhon before the planet is annihilated. In the aftermath, Cooper is formally admitted as a Titan pilot into the Marauder Corps, and it appears that BT’s AI has survived, running from within Cooper’s helmet. This brings Titanfall 2‘s campaign to an end; despite its short length, Titanfall 2 managed to create a compelling narrative for the world of Titanfall: the most distinct feature about the campaign in this title, besides the fact that there was a campaign to begin with, is that no two missions were similar.

In Titanfall 2‘s campaign, the central theme is about trust: despite BT and Cooper being unfamiliar with one another, the journeys and experiences they share to uphold Lastimosa’s mission allows the two to develop a strong bond with one another, to the extent where Cooper is comfortable with entrusting his life to BT during challenging situations. This bond between man and machine is what allows a pilot to be such an effective force on the battlefield. When Titanfall 2 first opens, Cooper narrates the incredibly powerful presence a pilot has on the battlefield: this power is almost supernatural, at least until players see, from Cooper’s perspective, what a pilot and Titan pair are capable of after they’ve become attuned to one another. Central to this syngery is trust: a pilot must trust their Titan to assist them with difficult choices, and Titans likewise will look after their pilots, giving them a very human-like nature. In its narrative, Titanfall 2 also suggests at the extent and scale that the IMC-militia conflict has been occurring, indicating that this is a universe with its won stories to explore. With nine distinct missions, Titanfall 2‘s campaign was a breath of fresh air, combining smooth platforming with shooting and mechanised combat through the Titans. Superbly fun and presenting the Militia as a sympathetic cause, it was very pleasant to play from the perspective of the resistance group, allowing Titanfall 2 to contrast Infinite Warfare, where players assume the role of a government military force working against insurgents. The different perspectives often serve to remind players that conflicts are fought not without reason, and it is such an interesting juxtaposition to go through both games.

Screenshots and Commentary

• The penultimate mission is one of the most visually impressive of Titanfall 2: set over the mountains and forests of Typhon, the goal is to reach the Draconis and stop it from delivering the Ark to the Fold Weapon. Undaunted by the fact that the Draconis has taken off, Militia forces manage to seize another IMC vessel and take off. Despite some of the jumps over the valley below being quite terrifying, these are scripted events that have a known outcome. Once Cooper is tossed to a nearby IMC vessel, his job is to stop its guns and create a space for Militia forces to catch up.

• The abundance of weapons and ammunition here means that there’s really no concern for running dry mid-battle. The close quarters engagements and large number of enemies meant that I would personally find a shotgun and LMG to be well-suited for the firefights ahead, although an assault rifle is also useful for taking out enemies at range. The weapons diversity in Titanfall 2‘s campaign is impressive, although there are some weapons that I gravitate towards more than the others.

• Immensely fun, one of the only gripes I have about Trial By Fire is that Cooper cannot take control of the large guns on the IMC vessel’s flank side. Strictly speaking, there’s no reason to actually use them, since it’s Militia forces in the air. Disabling the guns is a reasonably simple task: the weapons are controlled by an IMC soldier, and they can be disposed of very quickly. Once the guns stop firing, Militia pilots will board to assist Cooper with taking control of the vessel.

• In one of the more cinematic moments in Titanfall 2, a Militia vessel flies close to the IMC ship, providing an impromptu wall that allows the pilots to wall run across to the main hanger leading to the bridge. This jump requires coordination and timing to complete: it took me several attempts to actually make it because I kept doing the double jump too early after leaving the Militia vessel, failing to land. On successful landing, it’s directly into a heavy firefight with the IMC soldiers and robots.

• The wisdom of having an LMG is useful, as is making use of the cloak to conceal myself from enemies. One of the things about this mission that strikes me as impressive is how the sense of travelling through one of Typhon is captured: even though the ground is shifting continuously, players won’t actually reach the Ark and can take the time they need to clear areas out. If I had to guess, I would imagine that the terrain below is moved around the vessel and is procedurally generated, only generating certain assets once checkpoints in-game are reached.

• Some IMC soldiers encountered throughout Titanfall 2 are equipped with shields that can absorb a considerable amount of damage, and while they can be bested with the traditional “shoot until they die” methodology, but the more effective means of dealing with them is to engage the cloak, sneak behind them and fire, or else drop some explosives behind them to quickly deal with them. Yesterday’s post on Your Name‘s home release came out of the blue, but this one does not. Now that there’s a release date, I begin counting down the days to when I can finally roll out my talk on Your Name, but with a shade less than three months to go, there’s quite a bit to do in the interim with respect to games and other modes of recreation.

• This is because over the past weekend, I developed a minor cold and spent most of yesterday sleeping it off: this cold signals that warmer weather is returning soon, and I look forwards to being able to walk around without the need for a heavy coat and scarf. We return to Titanfall 2, where I found that the graphics, while perhaps not quite as exceptional of those seen in Battlefield 1 or Crysis 3, nonetheless remain highly impressive. In spite of all of the things that Titanfall 2 has going for it, however, I’ve heard that the playerbase is not particularly large, even though the game’s initial sales figures were quite good, and Titanfall 2 does everything from Titanfall better, including addition of a fantastic campaign.

• Up until now, there’s been little use for the MGL, but I figured that with the game drawing to a close, the time was ripe for me to give the weapon a shot. This is an anti-Titan weapon, but there aren’t very many moments in the campaign where Cooper will face Titans while on foot. These weapons thus become extra-powerful options for taking out infantry, and here, I unload grenades into the bridge of the IMC vessel to commandeer it.

• Cooper will then take control of the IMC vessel and position it so that it is directly behind the Draconis, with the aim of boarding it mid-air. Cooper uses a data knife to  override the controls and maneouver the vessel: this tool is not actually a melee weapon and is intended to be placed into a slot in an enemy Spectre or turret. When a hack is complete, the enemy unit will fight for the player. Closer inspection of the data knife finds that it resembles a lightsabre handle in design. After what seems to be an eternity, Cooper is finally in position and heads out onto the deck. However, it’s not a simple walk in the park: the Mercenary Viper shows up in a Northstar-class Titan.

• Viper is one of the trickier bosses in the campaign: his Northstar has nearly unlimited flight core duration, and he earlier shoots down half of the attacking Militia forces on his own. Owing to Viper’s mobility, the Expedition loadout or Tone loadout are the best choices for taking him on: lock-on missiles allow Cooper to whittle his health down, while having powerful shields prevent Viper’s missiles from dealing too much damage. Viper is accompanied by two Scorch-class Titans, and when defeated the first time, will come back a second time. Finishing him off will allow players to reach the Draconis and secure the Ark.

• Cooper and BT’s actions come to an abrupt halt when they are met with the Apex Predators: refusing to give up the Ark, Cooper orders BT to never surrender it, but with the situation dire, BT asks Cooper to trust him, creating an opening that prevents Cooper’s death but also leads to BT’s destruction. Before powering down, BT unlocks the SERE Kit that provides gear to assist Cooper’s survival, evasion, resistance and extraction. In this kit is a data knife, BT’s data core and a much-welcomed return of the MK5 Smart Pistol.

• Long considered overpowered and being a no-skill weapon to use in the original Titanfall, the MK5 has been modified in the multiplayer so that it is a boost rather than a standard weapon. It also is limited to a magazine size of twelve rounds with one reserve magazine, lock-on speed is dictated by distance to target and placement of the target relative to the reticle. Finally, players will receive a warning if a user is locking onto them with the MK5 to provide them a chance to evade. In the single player campaign, the MK5 is supremely powerful, being able to easily decimate scores of IMC infantry and has unlimited ammunition in reserve.

• The Militia have one final surprise for Cooper: a brand-new Vanguard Titan equipped with the Legion loadout. A heavy weapons platform based off the Ogre chassis in the multiplayer, the Legion is fantastic for heavy breakthrough tactics with its ability to take and deal out damage. Its speed is its biggest liability: speedier Titans can flank around it and deal massive damage. In the campaign, the Vanguard’s solid all-around performance means that it’s really a matter of equipment that changes: the Predator cannon is a rotary machine gun that has an incredibly high rate of fire and can destroy lighter enemy Titans in seconds.

• The Predator cannon can be configured to fire a spread of rounds similar to a shotgun, or else charge up for a longer range shot for damaging distant opponents. The Legion’s defensive ability is a shield mounted onto its cannon, which can absorb some incoming damage. Against the waves of other IMC Titans, the firepower conferred by the Legion loadout comes across as being highly entertaining: even the heavier Scorch class Titans are shredded by the sheer volume of firepower. I imagine that the Predator cannon is firing 20mm rounds.

• The boss fight against Sloane is on par with Viper in terms of difficulty: she’s armed with the Ion loadout, and her laser core can deal massive damage in a very short period of time even if players have a shield up. The only way to survive is use of cover, dash and returning fire once the laser core runs out. The cronies that assist Sloane can also be a bit of a problem: as soon as Sloane sustains enough damage, she’ll retreat. Taking the other Titans out correspond to fewer guns on Cooper, which simplifies the fight.

• Some of the remarks that Sloane makes throughout the boss fight are hilarious when juxtaposed: she initially states that she’ll take out Cooper for free, then mentions that defeating Cooper could land her a nice bonus. Here, I make use of the Smart Core to pummel Sloane: the Legion’s Smart Core turns the Titan into a walking cheat code. All rounds fired will automatically arc towards any enemies and weak spots on Titans, making it a powerful way of dealing with a large number of enemies or quickly whittling down the health of a boss.

• With Sloane’s Titan nearly destroyed, I move in for the execution: Titan executions are quite brutal, and once Sloane is done, it’s time for the classic endgame events where Cooper must stop the Ark before the Militia planet of Harmony is destroyed. The ensuing act of opening the Ark up disables BT, and in a terrifying moment, Blisk appears. However, he says that killing Cooper was never a part of his contract, that the IMC should’ve included it in their scope of work, and that he’s rather impressed with Cooper’s skills and tenacity.

• Leaving his business card behind, he takes off to see other folks with money, leaving Cooper and BT to stop the Fold Weapon. BT decides that the only way to stop the weapon now is to destroy it by overloading his reactor, and citing his final protocol, to protect the pilot, he ejects Cooper at the last moment. The Fold Weapon is destroyed and begins destabilising the planet: the last sections of Titanfall 2 involve some of the most exhilerating parkour as Cooper must move over a bottomless pit en route to the extraction point.

• Cooper makes it to a dropship with moments to go, and it jumps into Typhon’s lower orbit just as the planet begins disintegrating. The devastation to Typhon is reminiscent of the results of firing the Death Star in Rogue One: not quite the explosive display seen in A New Hope, the slower decimation of a planet becomes a little more frightening when considering the size of a planet and the forces keeping it together.

• With Titanfall 2‘s campaign in the books now, I found myself impressed at just how smoothly everything came together. It’s a shame that there aren’t more Titanfall 2 players around, and one will wonder if the upcoming Star Wars Battlefront II will suffer a similar fate; being superior to their predecessor in gameplay and design, as well as featuring a full campaign, the consumer base’s disappointment with the first title might dissuade them from buying the game, keeping player counts low. I’m very excited to see what Battlefront II will be like, although my decision in picking the game up will largely be driven by what impressions I gain of it post-launch, when I watch some gameplay footage. This also means that in October, there will likely be an open beta.

Having now finished the Titanfall 2 campaign in its entirety, I can say that the game was very much deserving of being counted as one of the best shooters in 2016. In my books, it’s a draw between Titanfall 2 and DOOM for the strength of each game’s respective campaigns: with a strong narrative and diverse gameplay, Titanfall 2 never became dull or repetitive. Of course, I may go back through in the future and collect the pilot helmets as time permits, but with Titanfall 2‘s campaign in the books, I may take a look at the multiplayer: I’m not sure how long it would take to rank up, and I’ve heard the learning curve is quite steep, but there are private servers that I can use to grow accustomed to the controls, and also for learning the best routes through a map. With this being said, there is quite a bit on the future horizon on my plate with respect to games: Battlefield 1 Premium is offering no shortage of things to do as I aim to reach rank ten for my assault and scout class, and there are assignment weapons to unlock, and of course, I still need to complete Infinite Warfare. Thus, my discussions of Titanfall 2 will end for the present, although one should not rule out the possibility that I may return at a later date to provide some impressions of my experiences in the multiplayer.

Titanfall 2: Transmitting the news and arrival of the cavalry at the campaign’s ¾ mark

“Trust me.” –BT-7274

It does come across as a pleasant surprise to have played through Titanfall 2‘s sixth mission and coming out as though I just played through the Titanfall equivalent of the Battle of Scarif: BT and Cooper meet up with remaining Militia forces who are pinned down near an IMC Communications Array, and after defeating them, Cooper makes his way across the chasms to obtain a new communications component, making use of an arc tool to activate elements in the environment to make transit of this facility possible. With the new communications part retrieved, Cooper defeats the Apex Predator Richter in a Titan battle, and the Militia forces send a transmission to their main force, which soon arrives on Typhon in order to stop the Ark from being transported to the Fold Weapon. They launch a heavy ground assault to reach the IMC Draconis, which is carrying the Ark, but despite their efforts, the Draconis takes off for the Fold Weapon. Undeterred, Militia forces seize control of IMC vessels in pursuit with the intent of stopping the IMC and saving their world, Harmony, which will be the IMC’s first target should they succeed in reaching the Fold Weapon.

Having made my way through three quarters of Titanfall 2‘s campaign, the game has continued to impress with unique, memorable game mechanics even at this point in its story. Although the time shifting gadget was damaged, Cooper has access to the arc tool, which proves integral in allowing him to traverse the communications facility in order to retrieve a part. The very nature of this facility requires clever use of the arc tool and various cranes to create a suitable path that Cooper can utilise, and it is immensely satisfying to manoeuvre a crane into place to create walls to run along, then hop off and immediately activate a doorway using the arc tool without missing a beat. Like the time shifting device, the arc tool only is presented for one mission. Insofar, every single mission of Titanfall 2‘s campaign has been a thrill, featuring one unique aspect that makes it stand out and remain distinct. As a consequence, the game never feels repetitive, continuously offering something new to mix up the gameplay and advance the narrative further. Once Richter is neutralised, and the transmission is sent, the seventh mission is an all-out Titan assault that never lets up, offering Titan battles on a scale surpassing what was seen in earlier missions, and by this point, Cooper (and by extension, players) have become sufficiently familiar with the different Titan loadouts and abilities to effectively fight their way through an onslaught of IMC forces to reach the Draconis in time.

Screenshots and Commentary

• The distant geological formations bring to mind the Karst landscapes of China, such as those of the Stone Forest and Zhangjiajie National Park. Under a beautiful blue sky and the morning mists, it feels quite peaceful here, but all gaming veterans will remark that the peace won’t last. Visible in the image are also sakura-like blossoms, adding a touch of pink to the landscape. Typhon is definitely a very temperate planet, and while Titanfall 2‘s developers and art team probably won’t mention thus, I imagine that Chinese and Taiwanese geography inspire the geography of Typhon.

• Nearing the transmission facility, Cooper and BT find it nearly overrun with IMC forces. The Ronin loadout can be found right before BT steps into the noxious fog to engage the IMC. Featuring a shotgun and sword, the Ronin is intended to be a high-speed Titan in the multiplayer, making use of the arc wave to impede enemies and closing the distance to deal damage with both the shotgun and sword. In the campaign, it’s one of the less effectual loadouts, since the Vanguard chassis is a good all-rounder that, while capable of absorbing more damage than the lighter frames, lacks their mobility to make use of these weapons.

• Once inside the facility, Militia forces lament the lack of an arc tool, essentially a portable power supply that is useful in activating and deactivating constructs. Delving deep into the IMC facility, Cooper eventually manages to find one, and liberates it from one of the robots working with it.

• The robot becomes saddened that their tool has been commandeered, but won’t otherwise do anything about it. Although essential to the gameplay, one cannot help but feel a little bad for the robot: close inspection of the image shows its emotional state, and its body language, a slouched pose, speaks volumes about how its feeling. Inspection of other robots merrily working on their assignments will find that they wear a smile on their chest-mounted displays.

• The arc tool has a self-recharging power supply, allowing it to be used indefinitely after a cool-down, stuns robots and can kill organics with prolonged exposure on top of its role in activating power supplies. The tool’s design brings to mind the weapons I’ve seen in Borderlands 2, and according to my Steam library, the last time I played was a shade less than a year ago. I’ve been a bit of a slacker when it comes to finishing games with longer campaigns, and from the sounds of it, I’ve still a ways to go yet with Borderlands 2 before I finish the game.

• Stunning IMC spectres allow them to be hacked, turning them into allies fighting alongside Cooper. Activating racks of Spectres will likewise provide allies that can help take fire off Cooper. A Reaper appears, but Cooper will find an LG-97 Thunderbolt, an anti-Titan weapon that is functionally identical to that of an unguided rocket launcher in spite of its unusual projectile: the weapon fires a sphere of electrical energy that deals considerable damage to whatever it impacts and can even arc to nearby targets. Once the Reaper is dealt with, the other enemies can be mopped up.

• One of the more interesting weapon optics in Titanfall 2 is the IR sight that highlights enemies in red. The wide open spaces of this mission initially might suggest a good long range weapon, but as most confrontations occur in close quarters, having a good automatic weapon becomes more practical than a longer range weapon.

• The open holographic sights affixed to my rifle here brings to mind the sights in Halo 5‘s Battle Rifle. Back in 2014 when the feature was first revealed, aiming down sights was met with resistance from the community, who had felt that one of the defining features of Halo was that there were no emphasis on aiming down sights: save a few weapons that had zoom-in capabilities, Halo‘s arsenal is fired from the hip. These reactions have not been seen since, and players have since acclimatised to the presence of holographic sights in Halo.

• I personally would love to see Halo 3 and 4 come to PC: years ago, rumours abounded about a possible port, but Microsoft clarifies that Halo would not be ported to PC, citing architectural differences between the Xbox and the PC as reasons why at the time, there were no plans to make the port. This was almost three years ago, and a few days ago, an AMD marketting campaign hinted that Halo 3 might be coming to PC after all. There’s not too much information on whether or not this is authentic, but if it is, I’ll likely give things a spin. After making use of a pair of cranes to move a pair of platforms to form walls to run along, I smile and recall the days of Half Life 2, where environment puzzles were similarly utilised to encourage lateral thinking.

• By this point in Titanfall 2, parkouring to the transmission dish to retrieve a working component is straightforwards, and it was a simple matter of obtaining the component after moving the dish into the appropriate position. While there are many fetch quests in Titanfall 2, they are done remarkably well and never feel monotonous. Further to this, another design choice that makes the missions fun is the fact that I do not have to backtrack in order to return to where I started.

• Instead, there’s a series of panels that one must activate in order to get back across by means of wall-running. There are a few platforms in between to give players a short chance to catch their breath, but with three-quarters of Titanfall 2 done, players should for the most part, be comfortable with timing the arc tool and their jumps to return to BT very quickly. Upon arrival, Cooper finds BT fending off a large group of enemies, and embarks BT to disable them.

• Against the large number of smaller enemies, including Reapers, I switched to the Ion loadout, thinking the splitter rifle’s rounds would be effective against robotic enemies. It’s actually one of the weaker weapons available to a Titan, and has an alternate fire mode that allows it to behave like a shotgun. Once all of the enemies are dealt with, mercenary Richter arrives with his Tone-class Titan.

• Guides out there suggest the Ronin loadout for defeating Richter: since the Tone is a long range setup, it is unsuited for dealing with the Ronin’s exceptional short range capabilities, and coupled with the Vanguard-class’ increased health, closing the distance isn’t too difficult. Of course, I always tend to wing it when it comes to shooters now, and I ended up using the Ion loadout, dooming Richter’s Titan with the laser core before finishing him off with an execution.

• At the beginning of the seventh mission, an all-Titan combat mission, I switch back to the Tone loadout and hammer the numerous Titans separating the Militia task force and the Ark. It is pure chaos in this mission, and there are supposed to be three pilot helmets scattered throughout this mission. I did not bother collecting them, but they appear to be located in the calmer areas. The seventh mission marks the first mission that I spent exclusively in a Titan, and it was incredibly fun to decimate enemy Titans and infantry alike.

• Today is Easter Sunday, and it’s back to work tomorrow. I spent most of the Easter Long Weekend relaxing: on Good Friday, I purchased Battlefield 1: Premium and won my first match on Rupture, a beautiful map overgrown with poppies, and went for a walk nearby. Yesterday, after heading out to lift weights in the morning, I spent most of the afternoon in Battlefield 1, and by the time we sat down to Easter dinner (turkey, stuffing, ham, pineapple and a simple vegetable medley), it was snowing outside. In the aftermath of the Flames’ second loss to the Anaheim Ducks, today was a bit of a quieter day: the sun was shining when I woke up, and I’ve finally submitted my taxes for the year.

• After a homemade fish-and-chips lunch, I stepped out to do some shopping in preparation for events of the very near future, and returned home to play more Battlefield 1. In one match today, I managed to go 17 and 15 on Fort de Vaux, a close-quarters map that lends itself to the sort of frenzy seen in Battlefield 3 and 4‘s Operation Metro map, as well as Operation Locker of Battlefield 4. I’m working on the assignment to unlock the Ribeyrolles 1918 and have all of the required kills with the Automatico M1918 Factory. The next part, to get twenty headshots with the MP18 Optical, will be substantially trickier. After the events of today, I’m very nearly at rank nine for the assault class, and are a few thousand points from rank seven on the scout class.

• I’ll be returning in the near future to do a proper talk on Battlefield 1: Premium now that I’ve joined the premium club, but for now, it’s back to Titanfall 2, where I’ve found the Northstar loadout. Equipped with a plasma rail gun that does obscene damage against other Titans, the Northstar is best suited for long range engagements and can quickly destroy Titans from afar. In exchange, it is very unsuited for close quarters engagements, and in the multiplayer, will be ripped apart if one is attempting to engage other Titans at close ranges.

• The Flight Core boosts the Northstar into the air and allows for a barrage of rockets to be fired at opponents below. While in the air, the rockets fired can deal a total damage exceeding even that of the Tone’s Salvo core, although these rockets are unguided. The different Titan loadouts can be switched out on the fly, making it possible to immediately adapt oneself to any situation. The campaign-only Expedition loadout is the best for anti-personnel combat, while the Tone loadout is generally best against other Titans.

• Against the Reapers, I decided to try the Scorch loadout: its primary armament is the T-203 Thermite Launcher, which acts as a single-shot grenade launcher effective for area denial. Its projectiles arc substantially in flight, and aiming down sights will provide a small indicator for where the shot will end up. All of its abilities are based around thermite and fire: its defense measures melt incoming ordinance, and its core generates walls of flame. I’ve not made too much use of this in the campaign owing to the fact that this setup is not well-suited for direct attack against other Titans.

• Commander Sarah Briggs accompanies Cooper on this mission, providing support and is more than capable of dealing with threats. She warns Cooper that the Draconis is about to take off and stresses the importance of reaching it, but regardless of how efficient Cooper is, the Draconis will always take off with the Ark, setting in motion the events of the next mission. I finished Titanfall 2‘s campaign this weekend, and will be aiming to get out a talk on the final missions on short order. With the campaign done, I might give the multiplayer a spin: I will need to learn the ins and outs in order to survive matches against other human players and unlock items, but there is a private mode that allows me to play against AI if I so choose.

The diverse gameplay and missions contributes to why Titanfall 2‘s campaign was considered to be one of the best in 2016, a year already with a number of contenders, including DOOM. Not knowing what each mission entails and walking through each level was a constant thrill, but this sense of unknown was offset by BT: maintaining communications with Cooper and providing the occasional bit of wit, it made the desolate reaches of the missions more manageable. However, by the seventh mission, with the Militia present, it feels fantastic to have numerous allies in my corner to provide covering fire and support as the Militia push towards stopping the IMC. Titanfall 2 continues to be full of surprises well into its campaign; while games can feel as though they are drawn thin if they count on too many mechanics, but this is not the case in Titanfall 2. Seamlessly woven into the narrative, each mechanic serves to keep the game fresh, being dispensed with in order to keep players from growing complacent with any one method. Ultimately, it comes down to Cooper making use of the most in his environment, and perhaps through its campaign, Titanfall 2 is suggesting that to perform in the multi-player, individuals should keep their eyes open for opportunity and advantages in their environments.

Titanfall 2: Puzzles and time travel at the campaign’s halfway point

“I have concluded we should take no further shortcuts.” –BT-7274

After defeating Kane, Cooper and BT make their way further towards Major Anderson’s last known position, electing to take a shortcut that BT has scouted out. However, when they enter a vast subterranean facility, BT is separated from Cooper. Making his way through the manufacturing plant alone, Cooper finds himself taunted by the mercenary Ash, who begrudgingly comes to respect his skill and is genuinely surprised when Cooper survives everything she can throw at him. Blisk orders her to scuttle the facility, and Cooper manages to reunite with BT. Heading off for the exit, they are stopped by Ash: she faces with him in battle with a Ronin-class Titan, and in a short battle, Cooper executes Ash, exploding her into a pulp. They then continue to the IMC research facility, and locate Major Anderson, who is dead as a result of a time travel mishap. Cooper locates a special device for manipulating time, makes his way through the facility and learns of the Fold Weapon, which can destroy entire worlds by means of a time-displacement mechanic. However, the weapon is dependent on the power supply known as the Ark. With this information, Cooper and BT must relay their information to the Militia forces, surmising that the IMC plan to destroy the world of Harmony in their campaign against the Militia. Further into Titanfall 2‘s campaign, the puzzle-platformer mechanic of the game is becoming increasingly prevalent, adding a unique dimension to the game’s storyline: on top of smooth shooting and being able to pilot a mecha, Titanfall 2 adds new mechanics into the game in order to keep things fresh; the game has been full of surprises so far, and no two levels have ever felt derivative or repetitive in any way.

In fact, the inclusion of platforming, a vast underground complex, a female antagonist insulting the player and a mechanism for cleverly mixing up the gameplay means that Titanfall 2 feels a great deal as though elements of Portal 2 made their way into DOOM. The combination of platforming with an incredibly fluid shooting experience never comes across as being forced into the game; level designs and gameplay mechanics are clearly built with these two gameplay components in mind, creating maps that end up being both memorable and rewarding to complete. One of the reasons why Portal 2 was acclaimed was because finishing a puzzle allowed the player to feel they had accomplished something: to port this over into Titanfall 2 without having it overtake the shooter elements means that clever puzzle solving must be completed in conjunction with a sure aim and good reflexes – the sum of these components contributes to the fun factor when playing these missions. In particular, the time shift mechanic of the fifth mission, “Cause and Effect”, is a solid example of how Titanfall 2 innovates without overusing a game mechanic. When Cooper picks up the wrist device and is able to jump between the past and present IMC facility, it opens up the possibilities for novel level design. Moving between the pristine and derelict installation, Cooper encounters different threats and different setups: what was an impassible laser barrier becomes an open path at the press of a button, and a deadly flaming chasm in one time is an ordinary hallway in the other. Strategically flipping between these two time periods allows Cooper to both survive and progress through the facility (I’ve abused time shifting to safely reload before continuing a firefight on more than one occasion). However, besides being an exceptionally ingenious gameplay mechanic, the time shift also is a highly innovative story-telling mechanic; Cooper is immersed in a living flashback that explains the Fold Weapon in a far greater level of detail than data logs or communications could accomplish without disrupting the narrative of Titanfall 2.

Screenshots and Commentary

• In a comment left by one of my readers for the last Titanfall 2 talk, the sentiment was that Titanfall 2‘s campaign felt “unnecessary”, with “horrid” writing. The individual cited Gundam as a better example of the dynamic between man and machine. I do not directly address rants: this is a lesson that dates back to 2012, where shortly after the release of the K-On! Movie, an individual’s exceptionally negative rant about the movie was accepted on the basis of their presence in the anime community. Challenging that landed me in hot water and led some folks to even boycott this blog, so presently, I don’t respond directly to strongly negative opinions.

• Because I will invariably be asked as to how I would respond to those claims, I will provide an answer here. I would open by asking how Gundam better portrays the pilot and mobile suit dynamic, since I feel that in Gundam, the mobile suits themselves are tools that help pilots fulfil an end, and that it was only in Gundam 00 where pilots became attached to their Gundams. I would similarly then inquire – in what way is the narrative of Titanfall 2 predictable and see if some examples of other works that integrate dynamic time travel as a means of both completing a mission and acting as exposition without a separate flashback.

• The burst core for the expedition loadout was fun, but by this point in Titanfall 2, I’ve finally grown accustomed to the Tone loadout. The harder-hitting 40mm rounds might be slower to fire than the 20mm X0-16, but by forcing me to pick my shots, I can hit my targets with a much higher accuracy. The ordinance of the Tone can only be fired if three consecutive shots are landed on an enemy Titan: this loadout is much less effective against personnel, but is probably the most versatile against other Titans.

• After being separated from BT, Cooper must make his way alone through a gargantuan underground complex, where prefabricated housing is being assembled. The manic design of the level brings to mind the caverns of Portal 2 that Chell finds herself in after falling through an opening. In order to cross the large gaps, Cooper must make full use of the jump kit and any advantages in the environment to move over the deep chasms. While Cooper and BT are separated, BT will be in touch with Cooper, so players will never feel too alone while pressing deeper into the complex.

• Ash is a secondary antagonist in Titanfall 2, whose consciousness was moved into a robot body after she was injured. Working for the Apex Predators, she runs this facility when not working on an assignment. She has a playful but sadistic streak, enjoying the construction of combat simulations not dissimilar to those built by GLaDOS of Portal 2 and pits captured Militia soldiers against IMC technology. Noticing Cooper, she begins with insults, similar to GLaDOS, but later comments on his resilience and decides to let him fight in one of the similations.

• Here, I’m wielding the G2A5, a battle rifle that is highly versatile. Firing in a semi-automatic pattern, the G2A5 excels medium to long ranges; with low recoil, it hits hard and can be counted upon as a reliable medium range weapon, although its lower rate of fire means that it is wise to pair it with a suitable close quarters weapon, such as an SMG or shotgun. The engravings on the weapon read “Lastimosa Armoury”, and while one might be inclined to think that the weapon is related to Captain Lastimosa, one of the developers of the game is named Ryan Lastimosa, suggesting that it’s a callback to him.

• Here, I am wielding the EPG-1, an anti-personnel plasma grenade launcher. The weapon projectiles travel slowly but deal massive damage. I’ve always found that the more conventional automatic weapons and battle rifles are more effective than flashier weapons on the virtue that ammunition for them is more common, and there are precious few moments to utilise such weapons. However, my experience in FPS campaigns also mean that there might be opportunities to use more powerful weapons later on, hence my decision to hang onto the EPG-1 here.

• The electric grenades turned out to be an incredibly fun weapon to field against the IMC grunts present throughout the facility. As it turns out, having just the G2A5 was sufficient as a weapon, and Cooper’s progress leads even Ash to congratulate him; she points the way to a simulation dome. I died on several attempts to get here, but ultimately made it, entering a fake valley in the mountains with some prefabricated structures.

• After Ash recreates the simulation and I defeated the first wave of Spectres, a Reaper appears. Occupying the mid-point between the smaller Spectres and Stalkers, and the full-sized Titans, Reapers carry powerful weapons that can decimate foot-mobiles and quickly wear down a Titan’s shields. The EPG-1 I’ve been carrying all this time comes out, and I empty the plasma grenades into the Reaper, destroying it. The second Reaper that appears was dealt with in a similar manner, leaving Ash surprised as to how Cooper is still alive.

• Finally reunited with BT, I move to take on Ash using the Tone loadout. Unlike the fight with Kane, I was quite comfortable with using the Tone loadout’s setup now, pummelling Ash’s Ronin-class with 40mm rounds and lock-on missiles. After crippling her Titan, I made to melee the doomed Titan and ended up executing Ash: BT pulls Ash from the Ronin and squeezes her until she explodes in a bloody spray. Apparently, Ash will criticise Cooper for using the Core ability, so I decided to play honourably and bested her without using my Salvo Core.

• To make my way though the abandoned IMC facility is to bring back memories of the Test Chambers seen in Portal 2: from the damaged concrete to the growth of vegetation through the inner chambers, the installation has clearly been devoid of human activity for quite some time. Through the missions earlier stages, residual energy causes Cooper to be transported sporadically back through time, revisiting the facility when the IMC had still occupied it. Issues surrounding a possible time paradox arise in this mission, since it is Cooper’s presence that causes the IMC to test-fire their Fold Weapon, bringing him to investigate the facility.

• Here, I come across an empty lecture hall. I chose to stay back and avoid interrupting, but if Cooper moves forward and is noticed by the lecturer, all subsequent recordings will allude to Cooper’s presence in what is a very clever touch. The combination of abandonment and a theatre-like environment brings to mind the abandoned theaters of Taiwan: as Alexander Synaptic describes, Taiwan had numerous theaters n the 1970s and 1980s, but changing times meant declining audiences, leading to their demise. By the 2000s, these buildings remain unused and crumbling, conferring a sense of melancholy. One can only imagine what it would be like to explore these places with the Titanfall 2 OST as a background accompaniment.

• The Mastiff is a pump action shotgun that fulfills the role of the ultimate close quarters weapon, firing energy rounds in place of pellets. It’s one of the most powerful weapons at close quarters, and par the course of a shotgun, has high recoil and a slow projectile travel speed. Here, I navigate one of the laboratories in the IMC complex. Using the time travel device effectively is the only way to navigate the facility, as some passages open in one time period are inaccessible in the other. Besides navigation, there is one additional use for the device; it can be used to very quickly extricate oneself from certain danger, and I’ve shifted between time periods to escape damage or execute a reload.

• The combination of platforming and switching timelines is a refined, unique take on Portal 2‘s puzzle-solving gameplay. It’s been quite some time since I’ve played through Portal 2 in full. This would have been back during the summer of 2012; six days after my MCAT had passed, Valve announced the Perpetual Testing Initiative, where all individuals owning Portal 2 would be given a seventy-five percent off coupon to encourage their friends to participate in co-op test chambers with them. While I never did make use of the co-op mode, being able to play Portal 2‘s top-tier campaign for five dollars was a fantastic experience.

• Since I built a custom PC and acquired a new screen, I never did go back to play Portal 2, but on the list of things I wish to do as summer rolls around is to experience Portal 2 again. For now, however, my adventure through Titanfall 2 continues: here, I make it into a vast room where some well-timed time-shifting is required for navigation. Highly clever from a gameplay and narrative perspective, the time-shifting mechanic in Titanfall 2 is probably accomplished by designing the level twice and then switching out the assets and effects in world space. I imagine that the unused assets are probably cached and stored in memory so the transition is seamless: dangers escaped from one time period will still be in the same spot when one returns.

• As Cooper gets closer to the course that Major Anderson takes, he learns of the Fold Weapon’s existence and its dependence on the Ark. I am wielding the D-2 Double Take here, a double-barreled marksman rifle that fires two shots simultaneously and can penetrate multiple targets, although the projectile speed is on the slower end. The Double Take has a unique variable zoom sight, and owing to its design, attaching a different sight will not remove the existing sight from the weapon.

• A holographic display illustrates how the Fold Weapon works in a visual manner. From the sounds of it, the Fold Weapon works by creating a fold in space-time and can shift objects through this, causing destruction of an unprecedented scale. While exposition suggests this weapon was found, built by precursors akin to Halo‘s Forerunners, that it can be moved through time as well as space may also imply that the weapon was developed in the future and was transported back into the past. There’s all sorts of potential paradoxes that arise in Titanfall 2 with time shifting, and since my background is not in relativity or quantum mechanics, I do not have the authority to make any concrete claims on how realistic Titanfall 2 is. However, I can comment that I am watching Interstellar now; back in 2014, I wished to see the movie but circumstances precluding my seeing it prevailed.

• Almost out of the facility here, I high-tail it back to the exit in order to link up with the Militia forces and transmit the information to them for further action. By this point in time, we’re now more than six months since Your Name released, and news of the BDs are still nonexistent. I did some investigating and it seems that the delay in its release stems from its immense success in theatres. Home releases usually happen when ticket sales decline, and apparently, the companies are aiming for the film to top Spirited Away. Any home release could challenge ticket sales, so the distributors are holding out until things settle a little; more conservative estimates put Your Name as coming out in June or later.

• With this being said, I will still review and write about Your Name in spite of the fact that its wide dissemination and discussion renders ineffectual the purpose of a review. For the time being, I will focus on the present and focus on completing Titanfall 2, as well as handling priorities such as work and taxes. Back in Titanfall 2, it turns out I can use the time shifting device inside BT and ended up having a ball of a time blowing away enemy Titans. By this point in the game, the Tone loadout is my absolute favourite, surpassing the default Expedition loadout for its versatility. There’s also the fact that the 40 mm cannon sounds incredibly satisfying to fire.

• The mission “Cause and Effect” ends with a malfunction in the time-shifting device, freezing time absolutely. To achieve this effect is actually not as challenging as one might think: it’s a matter of placing 3D assets in space and giving them collision physics, but otherwise, they won’t be affected by the physics engine. When the flow of time resumes, the device breaks down and is rendered unusable, meaning that time travel will not be seen anywhere else in Titanfall 2. It’s a clever way of keeping mechanics fresh in a game, by ensuring that no single element dominates. Having reached the halfway mark of Titanfall 2 and with Gabriel Dropout in the books, I turn my attention next to Yuki Yuna is a Hero: Washio Sumi Chapter‘s first part. I will also be dropping by at the third episode mark for Saekano and at least one other anime in the future, as well as a brief talk about the Eddie Detachment DLC for Valkyria Chronicles.

At the halfway point, Titanfall 2 demonstrates why it is considered to be one of the most entertaining shooters of 2016: 2016 turned out to be a fantastic year for first person shooters, and the innovations seen in Titanfall 2‘s campaign make it capable of delivering new surprises in every level. This is especially important in campaigns – repetition diminishes the sense of urgency and accomplishment, turning missions into a long exercise in patience. In Titanfall 2, players want to push further to explore the dynamic between BT and Cooper, but also to learn of Major Anderson’s mission and its significance. Of course, Titanfall 2 reinforces the fact that players should continue to adapt and think in an open-minded fashion to complete the game: by the end of “Cause and Effect”, the device Cooper has found malfunctions shortly after he learns of the Fold Weapon. There is no more opportunity to explore the rest of Typhon in two distinct time periods, and so, Cooper must fall back on his training in order to survive. With an exceptionally powerful arsenal and the jump kit at Cooper’s disposal, however, players do not feel like they are losing an ability, and instead, are left to anticipate whatever challenges await them in the Titanfall 2‘s remaining missions.

Titanfall 2: First impressions of the campaign

“It is good to see you too, Pilot.” –BT-7274

Titanfall 2 is Respawn Entertainment’s sequel to its predecessor, differing chiefly in that it features a full-fledged single-player campaign. The first game presented the story of the conflict between the IMC and Militia by means of transmissions and dialogues during the prelude to some multiplayer matches; these snippets suggested that there was much that could be explored in the world of Titanfall. Thus, Titanfall 2 makes use of this fantastic setting to craft a story that does not stray far from the beaten path: after the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation (IMC) discovers an area rich in resources and dub it the Frontier, they begin exploiting these assets with little regard for the damage they cause to worlds and their populations. A section of the IMC splinter off and become the Frontier Militia, who strive to protect their people, worlds and gain independence from the IMC. Amidst the conflict is rifleman Jack Cooper, training off the books under Captain Tai Lastimosa’s supervision with the aspirations of becoming a pilot himself someday. When a mission to the surface of IMC-held Typhon leads to Captain Lastimosa’s death, he transfers control of his Titan, BT-7274 (hitherto BT for brevity), to Cooper in his final moments, taking on the responsibility of finishing Captain Lastimosa’s mission to meet up with Major Anderson. Along the way, Cooper forms a closer link with BT and defeats Kane, an Apex Predator mercenary hired by the IMC to further their plans. With its story, Titanfall 2 treads on well-worn territory, although the real star of the show becomes apparent when Cooper is neurally linked with BT. Far more than an ordinary combat machine, BT possesses a powerful AI that enables him to be a companion of sorts for Cooper as he undertakes a mission that he has only received informal training for.

BT adds a new level of dimensionality to Titanfall 2, but as I’m only two missions into the game as of now, I can only say that the interactions between Cooper and BT right now is a friendly one even as I push further into the mission: to find Major Anderson. I am certain that there will be more to discuss about this dynamic upcoming, but in the time I have spent in Titanfall 2 already, the first thing that comes to mind is how well-designed the gameplay mechanics are. Moving around is incredibly fluid and, as a Pilot, Cooper has no trouble navigating the sheer walls and ledges in the environments. The smooth motions makes it very easy to become accustomed to parkouring through maps by taking advantages of features in the terrain. The gunplay also handles well: kills are incredibly visceral, and the weapons sound powerful. By the end of the first mission, after Cooper locates a pair of batteries to power up BT, there is an opportunity to glimpse what Titan combat is like. The default Expedition loadout for BT has proven to be my favourite so far amongst the choices available (just the Tone right now) – its 20 mm X0-16 automatic AP rifle has a high rate of fire and accuracy, while its ordinance is fantastic for locking onto multiple opponents. The vortex shield and electric smoke also make a return; the former allows BT to “catch” incoming fire and redirect it for damage, while the latter is a defensive utility for bugging out and dissuading enemies from pursuing, as the smoke can kill pilots and drain a Titan’s shields. It’s surprisingly versatile, and I find myself using the Expedition loadout far more than the Tone loadout, which features the powerful Tracker 40 mm cannon and lock-on rockets, plus a particle shield. While I’m loving the 40 mm cannon, the other aspects are a bit more tricky to use. It is with the Expedition loadout that I took with me into my duel against Kane, and after a short battle, I finished my first boss of Titanfall 2.

Screenshots and Commentary

• After a botched landing results in Captain Lastimosa being defeated by several IMC Titans, Cooper himself is nearly eaten by Typhon’s wildlife until Lastimosa intervenes, transferring his equipment to Cooper and entrusting him with BT. The first mission in Titanfall 2 involves securing two Titan batteries for BT. These batteries, large green cylinders, are said to provide power for Titans, although given that Titans can access the nuclear ejection ability, it is likely that batteries are used in conjunction with a reactor of some sort to power the Titans.

• While players have a chance to become familiar with the different parkour and wall-running abilities in the tutorial, the first mission is where these abilities are first put to the test. Some of the abilities, such as double jumping by means of a jump kit, are locked initially. The cliffs of Typhon’s first area are a fantastic place to begin practising; in narrower passages, where it’s possible to wall-run on one side, then hop over to another. Pilots will lose momentum as they continue wall-running, making the timing of a wall-run critical to avoiding falling to a deep chasm.

• I’m running Titanfall 2 on the second highest settings available, since I personally cannot tell the difference between maximum settings and the tier below it: the game looks fantastic all around, whether it be the lighting effects or details in the environment. Here, I’m equipped with the R-201 Carbine, the standard all-around performing assault rifle of Titanfall 2 that replaces Titanfall‘s R-101C. With a good rate of fire, moderate damage and low recoil, it’s suited for a variety of situations, bringing to mind how I stuck with the R-101C predominantly during my Titanfall trial back during 2014.

• Wide open spaces in the maps means that it’s useful to carry a good long-range weapon, and the Longbow-DMR fulfills this role early on in Titanfall 2. One thing that is unique about Titanfall 2 is that killing enemies will cause their helmets to pop off: when I first saw this, I thought their heads were popping off owing to the sheer firepower of the weapon. This may not be the case, but the Longbow remains an excellent all-around long-range weapon with its relatively high rate of fire and fast bullet travel time.

• The presence of lush vegetation on Typhon suggests that it’s got a tropical or subtropical climate, evoking memories of Taiwan. When I visited back during 2014, it was in December, and the weather was still markedly more pleasant than the weather back home. While our route around the island did not take us through the Huatong Valley (we took the coastal highway before transitioning to a train from Hualien to Yilan), we did travel through some regions of Taiwan’s interior en route to the Monster Village (妖怪村) and the Sun Moon Lake (日月潭), where there are steep mountains rising up from the foggy valley.

• All told, Cooper is required to pick up two Titan batteries from the interior of the MCS James McCallan, crashed from the operation as a result of heavy fire. The relatively pristine nature of its interior (excluding structural damage sustained during the crash) is a reminder that the vessel only crashed a few hours earlier, but the absence of personnel on board suggest that most of them were able to escape. While getting acclimatised to the jump kit, the IMC forces announce that players have the chance to surrender themselves and be spared death; BT remarks that it’s likely a lie.

• This brings to mind the announcement that Admiral Salen Kotch has for Reyes and his forces: “surrender for immediate execution”. Kotch pulls no punches and outright tells the heroes their expected fate, whereas the IMC present a bald-faced lie. Back in the days of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, ultranationalist forces can be heard telling Captain Price and his men to surrender. Price merely responds: “ignore that load of bollocks. Their counterattack is imminent”. Back in Titanfall 2, I come across an IMC outpost and hammer it from afar with the Longbow. Stealth is also an option: pilots are equipped with a cloak that, while too short-lived to accommodate the sort of sneaking around available in Crysis, is immensely useful for getting out of a pinch.

• In the IMC outpost, I find the Spitfire LMG, a fully automatic light machine gun great for delivering a large amount of hot lead downrange. Unlike its Titanfall counterpart, whose accuracy would improve as it was fired, the Titanfall 2 Spitfire can be fired in shorter bursts. I’ve never been big on LMGs that become more accurate as they are fired in multiplayer contexts, since it encourages a waste of ammunition and also exposes a user’s position the longer the weapon is fired. A sharp-eyed reader might notice that the parts of the weapon closest to the camera are blurry. This is a design choice in Titanfall 2, and while it makes the game feel a little more realistic, it also makes the weapons a little less visually impressive.

• After securing two batteries for BT, Cooper is able to board for the first time, just in time for enough of a neural link to be formed for Cooper to use BT’s ordinance package, which by default, fires lock-on missiles at distant opponents. When the initial link is established, players can begin using the X0-16 20mm Automatic rifle. Boarding the titan for the first time was a powerful moment, and as any gamer can predict, players have the chance to take on enemy Titans of their own. The X0-16 makes quick work of the Brutes, common IMC Titans encountered throughout Titanfall 2‘s campaign.

• With my mind continuously drifting towards the vast mountains and remote valleys of Taiwan’s Eastern coast, I present Synapticism, a website whose author travels the more unbeaten paths of Taiwan to explore both the ruins of Taiwan as well as the rural areas away from the major cities. It’s a remarkably well-written website with plenty of good content that presents Taiwan in a completely different perspective than would be obtained from a more traditional tour of Taiwan’s major attractions.

• Titan-on-infantry combat is almost unfair against the IMC grunts: all of a Titan’s weapons seem like overkill, capable of ripping apart infantry very quickly. The Expedition loadout seems best suited for taking on infantry owing to multiple lock-ons offered by the ordinance and the X0-16’s larger magazine capacity. There are anti-Titan weapons for pilots on foot, and usually, it takes a degree of coordination amongst pilots to use these weapons effectively in order to eliminate an enemy Titan.

• So far, I’m enjoying every aspect of Titanfall 2, although the HUD is a little different than what I’m used to: one’s ammunition and equipment is placed near the center of the screen, which is a strange place to situate it considering every other shooter I’ve gone through places these counters at the bottom right-hand side. This makes it a little tricky to keep track of reserve ammunition count, since I need to glance towards the lower center of my screen in order to take a look at what’s happening.

• I can never be sure if it’s pronounced  “tohn” (IPA: “təʊn”) or “toh-ne” (利根, romanised “tone”), but I imagine it’s the former, given that the other Titans of Titanfall 2 have English names. Presumably, the Tone loadout is so-called for the fact that a tone is emitted when one acquires a lock-on, and here, I unleash the salvo core, firing a barrage of guided missiles to absolutely overwhelm enemy Titans. The default Expedition loadout confers a burst core, which continuously fires the X0-16 with a high firing rate.

• The cavernous interior of the pump facility brings to mind the Metropolitan Area Outer Underground Discharge Channel (known informally as the G-cans) system in Saitama, Tokyo. Construction began in 1992 and concluded in 2006; the tunnel system is intended to redirect water and prevent flooding: the most famous section is a 177 by 78 meter water tank with a height of 25.4 meters. There’s a total of 6.4 kilometers of tunnels linking the five water tanks together, and guided tours of the facility in the Japanese language are provided. My feeble Japanese skills mean I’m unlikely to be qualified to sign up for these tours in the absence of an interpreter, but for the present, I can explore a variant of that in Titanfall 2.

• I find a Kraber-AP Sniper, a 14.5 x 114 mm rifle that fires heavy armour piercing anti-personnel rounds that can neutralise an opponent with one shot. It features a straight-pull bolt but is still relatively slow-firing compared to other weapons, making the Kraber best suited for long range combat, although the heavy rounds have a slower muzzle velocity compared to the Longbow, requiring that one leads their shots at longer ranges. I use it here to pick off IMC soldiers, watching as their helmets pop off on a successful kill, and note that the weapon’s low magazine capacity means that the weapon, though fantastic against other pilots in the multiplayer, is less effective in the campaign than the Longbow as a long-range solution overall.

• The EVA-8 is an automatic shotgun that unsurprisingly excels at close-quarters engagements. I use it in the tight corridors to pick off enemies. Inspection of my HUD also finds that I’m rocking an incendiary grenade, which deals damage over time. The enemies in Titanfall 2‘s campaign are a combination of IMC infantry and robots: the latter are more resilient against projectiles, and may carry the L-STAR particle rifle. Classified as an LMG, this weapon draws energy from a battery pool rather than a magazine and overheats when fired for extended periods.

• The L-STAR can make short work of robots quickly, and causes infantry to explode into chunks of meat when shot owing to the particle rounds’ high energy. Here, I come across a “清明” (Qingming) logo. Possibly being the name of the company that runs this facility, the sign reinforces my sense that Typhon has some elements from Taiwan, although I note that the traditional and simplified characters are the same. By this point, I’ve reached the point where I’ve opened one of the values and are fighting off IMC infantry and ticks, spider-like drones that explode to deal massive damage. Unlike TheRadBrad, I managed to survive the onslaught by moving continuously, and eventually reunite with BT.

• Unlike Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Titanfall 2 is more similar to DOOM in that making use of the map in conjunction with staying in motion is the key to survival. The movement system in Titanfall 2 is far smoother than in Infinite Warfare, mirroring the manoeuvrability afforded by the jump kit. Hidden in levels are “pilot helmets”: similar to Call of Duty‘s intel, these collectibles encourage exploration and are required to unlock a special achievement. They’re often hidden in tough-to-reach locations, requiring a bit of parkour to reach, and while I don’t always find them, I do make an effort to reach the ones that I see.

• The 40mm Tracker cannon is an integral part of the Tone’s loadout: the projectiles it fires contributes to the lock-on missiles’ targeting system. One feature I was initially hesitant about was the fact that the weapon’s tracers appeared to arc in a parabolic manner, but testing the weapon out, the weapon does not experience projectile drop at closer ranges. I look forward to experimenting with the Tone loadout as my main Titan setup during the campaign, since I enjoy using slower-firing, heavier-hitting weapons in general.

• Initially, I was unaccustomed to the Tone loadout and promptly lost a bit of my health against Kane, so I switched back to the more familiar Expedition loadout and hammered his Titan to defeat him. One of the Apex Predators, Kane is somewhat unstable and is fond of calling those he considers beneath him “scrubs”. His dialogue comes across as rather humorous, and the fight is not particularly challenging – besting him allows his radio to be collected, which gives players the ability to intercept Apex Predator communications. With this mission done, I look forwards to pushing through the next stages of the campaign, but for the present, I’ve got several upcoming posts: the Amanchu! OVA releases tomorrow, while the first part of Hai-Furi‘s OVA series comes out Friday. Besides these two OVA reviews, future posts also include whole-series talks for Gabriel Dropout and Nyanko Days, both of which I found to be far more amusing than anticipated.

I am impressed, but not surprised that the campaign of Titanfall 2 has proven to be as enjoyable as it has been so far: I originally picked up Titanfall 2 during an EA Publisher sale for 60 percent off, after seeing an advertisement on Facebook for it. Prior to this, I was wondering if such a sale would occur such that I could try the game out: one of the reasons I became interested in Titanfall 2 was owing to its soundtrack: the rich, soaring sounds of the track “BT-7274”, and the melancholy yet optimistic “Rifleman Cooper” stand as my favourite tracks. The majestic, purposeful presentation of these songs brings to mind a rather unusual image: the heavily forested mountains and foggy valleys of Taiwan’s interior. I suspect this is in part owing to a memory bias, since my iPod continuously gave me Titanfall music while on shuffle, during my vacation to Taiwan two and a half years previously. Still, the songs seem rather fitting, describing the steep peaks and remote roads that cross Taiwan’s eastern edge nicely. Indeed, Typhon seems to feel a little like Taiwan, with its lush vegetation and unforgiving terrain: it’s the perfect backdrop for Cooper’s journeys, and consequently, I am looking forwards to pushing through Titanfall 2 to see what adventures await Cooper and BT. Doubtlessly, regardless of what challenges Cooper faces, BT’s presence will be sufficient to maintain morale and allow Cooper to realise his own ambitions of becoming a pilot Captain Lastimosa would be proud of.