Over the past couple of weekends I have played the Titanfall 2 Technical Test multiplayer and I just felt like typing a few things about it.
The biggest change from the first game ( which was my favorite game from 2014) is the grappling hook, which allows you to traverse short distances very quickly. This is useful across gaps, up walls, and to Titans (both friendly and opposing). I most liked using to effectively vault over long distances by aiming the hook at the top of objects and boost jumping as soon as contact is made. The hook is also useful for escaping death quickly such as finding yourself in from of a Titan that is about to mow you down. I would grapple a nearby wall or building ad zipp out of the titan's line of sight. The Grappling Hook is very useful and fun, to the point that I'm concerned that the other tactical options for your pilot are going to be underwhelming/ not useful by comparison. Just as the jump pack was integral to the Titanfall 1 experience, so I feel is the Grapple to Titanfall 2. Imagine being able to build a class in Titanfall that does not have a jump pack, the game I feel would be missing the reason why it exists. I feel the same applies to the grapple in Titanfall 2 and as such I never even bothered trying the other tactical options. This could be a problem that is solved by balancing before the game's late October release date.
The other thing of note is the limited customization of Titan builds. In the first game, you could equip any weapon and any ability to any Titian. In this early build of Titanfall 2, the weapon, abilities, and ordinance are set for each Titan. Some Titans will have the vortex shield and most will not. The lack of Titan customization concerns me because there does not seem to be an increase in Pilot options to make up for it. I hope the game has a large and diverse selection of Titans (there is supposed to be one with a sword), this would help out quite a bit.
Overall I enjoyed the time I spent with this Technical Test (other than getting ganked on my way to the bank and being sent to the other side of the map with half of my previous bounty amount and not getting back there in time to deposit the rest of it. I will be buying this game when it comes out and I hope to write more about it when it comes out for real.
