The former Infinity Ward principals who formed Respawn have finally unveiled their initial project, the three years in the making hush-hush, previously unidentified Xbox exclusive (more on that later) multi-player only FPS named Titanfall.
It is not unreasonable to say that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and its progeny are at the top of the heap in regards to quality multi-player frag fests. And have been for years. The franchise was developed by Infinity Ward. But, several years ago there was strife between the studio and its publisher. The two top devs were fired by Activision, or …did they quit to begin their own new studio backed by EA? Lawsuits and court appearances were in line for June of last year, but both parties agreed to settle instead.
In the meantime, development on Titanfall was moving forward albeit in total secrecy at the newly formed studio Respawn.
Gameplay in Titanfall adds a “double jump” jetpack as well as parkour type moves to the more traditional foot soldier capabilities. Also, players will find times where they are better off fighting as a Mech pilot (unsurprisingly called “Titans” in this case) and other times as a standard infantry. With Titanfall, Respawn is attempting to create what it calls the future of online gaming. “Introducing the experience that combines fast-paced multiplayer action with heroic moments from traditional campaign mode.”
As seen in the gameplay footage shown at this weeks E3, there are some inspired moments of mayhem from both the Titan perspective and the foot soldiers.
If the consistently polished gameplay found in past Infinity Ward titles can be re-captured and pushed further, then Titanfall will likely be a huge success, but if you are a Playstation owner don’t get too excited yet. While there has been no definitive “NO!” in regards to publication on the Playstation consoles, Respawn only says that it is “definitely not out of the question.” Axl Rose did finally release Chinese Democracy….and we do have an African American president. Currently Titanfall is scheduled for release in 2014 for Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC.