I couldn't stay asleep, and saw the Titanfall demo was up, so I figured I'd give it a shot. Initial impressions: Graphically, it's less than what I expected. It's certainly not the most impressive XBO game I've played, and it still won't be after the resolution changes (even with additional anti-aliasing/blurring, etc., you can tell it won't be super smooth). The graphics remind me a bit of Killzone: Shadow Fall. Not nearly as polished, but similar in usage of colors and patterns. The lighting and smoke are well done, and the pilot models look great from a distance. The training mode was fun, and reminded me of Portal, but without the humor. As far as tutorials go, it was one of the best I've seen in a while. Short, to the point, quick load times, and it chains together most of what you need to know well. Personnel executions are a bit lacking, and somewhat awkward, depending on your angle, and there's not much to the Titan versions, but the Titan executions do look good each time you perform them. Weapons are a bit bland, and while there are some interesting elements to them (like the smart pistol being similar to some other multi-target weapons or utilities), they leave a lot to be desired. There's not too much of a selection, but the force feedback on the triggers is well balanced, as opposed to how annoying it can be in some other games. The Titan's "falls" and boarding animations are pretty great. The Titan's melee on humans is a lot of fun at first, but you soon realize how comically bad the "splatter" animation is. Movement isn't bad, but can be somewhat resistant to fluidly dashing in quick succession. The Vortex shield is fun and somewhat interesting, and ejecting is pretty well done.
Multiplayer Specifics: The server selection is a great idea. It measures your ping, gives you that information, and then still allows you to choose. For example: I had 31ms for "East," 34ms for "North Central US," and 265ms on SouthEast Asia (which is to be expected). You can therefore make the best compromise among friends and pick a server that works for you. The pings are external, though, so they don't necessarily indicate how good the connection will be when you're inside the matches--that's still a crapshoot. Kills and deaths are traded quickly. If you get shot, you can generally count on dying unless you're less than a second from cover. The free-running adds an interesting aspect to the game, but you don't get as many chances to use it as you'd like, because the walls tend to turn you into an easy target. The Titans are next to worthless. They only make you a large, clumsy, target when playing with competent enemies. There is a Titan-specific mode, though. It's also a bit bland, and short on options, but probably the most fun mode available on the demo. Assists don't count for much, which is sad for obvious reasons. The weapons are well-balanced, though, you get a very limited scattering of them across maps. This is unfortunate, because it means people have a strong motivation to camp. I've seen a few bugs (people corner-shooting, falling through floors, etc., but nothing game-breaking. It certainly doesn't appear to be Battlefield. Matvhmaking still has its hiccups, but is generally decent. Nothing special, just moderate wait times for a 6v6. The servers have been pretty decent so far (It's about 8:30am), but sometimes they already seem to be a bit stretched. It doesn't really say how many people are online, so it's hard to tell, but I think they'll be decent enough throughout the life of the game. So far, I'm a level 9, have a k/d of 4.5, and have been in the top 3, every match. Most people are still complete asshats and not many are particularly good, which I guess is to be expected of anything outside golf games and farming simulators.
Multiplayer Specifics: The server selection is a great idea. It measures your ping, gives you that information, and then still allows you to choose. For example: I had 31ms for "East," 34ms for "North Central US," and 265ms on SouthEast Asia (which is to be expected). You can therefore make the best compromise among friends and pick a server that works for you. The pings are external, though, so they don't necessarily indicate how good the connection will be when you're inside the matches--that's still a crapshoot. Kills and deaths are traded quickly. If you get shot, you can generally count on dying unless you're less than a second from cover. The free-running adds an interesting aspect to the game, but you don't get as many chances to use it as you'd like, because the walls tend to turn you into an easy target. The Titans are next to worthless. They only make you a large, clumsy, target when playing with competent enemies. There is a Titan-specific mode, though. It's also a bit bland, and short on options, but probably the most fun mode available on the demo. Assists don't count for much, which is sad for obvious reasons. The weapons are well-balanced, though, you get a very limited scattering of them across maps. This is unfortunate, because it means people have a strong motivation to camp. I've seen a few bugs (people corner-shooting, falling through floors, etc., but nothing game-breaking. It certainly doesn't appear to be Battlefield. Matvhmaking still has its hiccups, but is generally decent. Nothing special, just moderate wait times for a 6v6. The servers have been pretty decent so far (It's about 8:30am), but sometimes they already seem to be a bit stretched. It doesn't really say how many people are online, so it's hard to tell, but I think they'll be decent enough throughout the life of the game. So far, I'm a level 9, have a k/d of 4.5, and have been in the top 3, every match. Most people are still complete asshats and not many are particularly good, which I guess is to be expected of anything outside golf games and farming simulators.
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