I know, I know. A few days I posted a blog discussing how long it takes gamers to get tired of reading about a particular subject and one of my examples was how I thought interest in reading about Titanfall was already on the decline. But I can't help it - I'm going to blog about it anyway. If for no other reason...so I can look back one day and remember how I felt about the game.
I'm not much of a baseball fan but I know enough about the sport to know that whenever a team hits a homerun, it's generally met with excitement and cheer. Homeruns are great moments. It's true - some may be more spectacular than others. But in most cases, if you hit the ball over the fence you're going to get the fans on their feet. There are some games that never experience a homerun. While others may witness several of them in one game.
Video games are a lot like baseball, or at least, they have homerun moments like baseball does. They don't happen in every game...and some games have multiple homerun moments. These homerun moments...the greatest moments in the game...are the moments we remember long after we've quit playing (or watching) the game.
When I think about "Greatest Moments In Gaming" there are always a few that come to mind. And naturally my list of greatest moments probably looks nothing like your list of greatest moments. And why should it? You and I are probably very different and there are so many to choose from, it wouldn't be a surprise if none of them were the same. But then again, great games are great games...and have great moments. So maybe there are some we have in common. This is a topic I've blogged about before, so I don't want to drudge through them to rehash things I've talked about before, but I will share one of my all-time "Greatest Moments" in gaming.
It hails from the final scene in Halo: Combat Evolved and is often abbreviated, the Warthog Run.
It was such an epic moment made even more so because the first time I played it was with my kids and we managed to successfully navigate the trek in our first attempt. It's no surprise really...this is one of my favorite moments. Halo: Combat Evolved is perhaps my favorite game ever and it's moments like these that make it so.
But we're not here to talk about Halo. We're here to talk about Titanfall...and the many homerun moments the game has to offer. Of course these are mine. You might agree. You might have your own greatest moments. Or you might think Titanfall doesn't have any. Heck, I suppose you might even be tired of reading about it and might not even like the game.
5. Wall Running
I love parkour. I really do. I can watch it all day long. I dream of a day when I was younger and might actually be able to move like that. I love when it is included in movies, and while I never played Mirror's Edge, I also enjoy when it is in video games (I can think of a few games that use parkour like movements). The parkour elements in Titanfall are a blast. I was really kind of skeptical how they would pull it off, but as soon as I played the game my mind was set at ease (especially after someone told me to use the bumper jumper controller configuration). I can't even really describe why this is such a great moment from the game, but it is so smooth and fluid...once you start diving through windows and springing off walls and stringing these combinations of leaps and jumps together, it really is a memorable experience. Respawn said one of their goals was to focus on movements, and if you ask me, they nailed it.
4. Multiple Kills with the Smart Pistol MK5
A number of gamers have labelled the Smart Pistol a noob gun, because you don't even have to really aim it - it aims itself. Well, that is mostly true and I mostly agree with them. But that doesn't mean it isn't fun to use (and if we're being honest, it's actually difficult to shoot a pilot with it). So, a homerun moment in Titanfall combines the parkour and the Smart Pistol. Imagine wall running between two buildings, leaping for an open window, running through the building and jumping out the other side...as soon as you land your Smart Pistol locks on three minions...you pull the trigger and they all three drop. It reminds me of that scene in Iron Man 2 where Iron Man has that mini-rocket launcher that locks on all the bad guys and drops them all at once. Yes, the Smart Pistol might be a noob weapon...but it is a really fun noob weapon.
3. Destroying the Dropship
A twist to the standard gameplay model, at the end of a round of Titanfall (at least in Attrition, I don't remember if it happens in the other game modes) a dropship arrives to pick up survivors from the defeated team. The winning team tries to destroy all of the survivors and/or the dropship while the defeated team tries to board the dropship to leave the area. Whether a team blows up the dropship or not doesn't influence the outcome of the game - a win is a win and a loss is a loss. But if you get away on the dropship you get more points, and if you destroy the dropship you get more points. It usually takes several members of the team to work together to bring down the dropship, but if you're the lucky pilot to get the kill shot that takes down the drop ship, you get the credit for it. It's only happened to me once, but when it did, the dropship seemed to be at capacity...because when I blew it up, a list of names scrolled across the side of the screen indicating I destroyed the dropship. That was a great feeling.
2. Humiliate an Enemy Pilot
There are several ways to humiliate a bad guy pilot. You can punch him or stomp on him, but nothing beats ripping him or her out of their Titan and flinging them into the side of a building. It feels good when you do it to someone and it shames you and makes you angry when it happens to you. It's awesome to watch, this big hulking machine delivering a crushing blow to a puny little pilot. Yes, this is definitely an awesome feeling. Homerun!
1. Crush an Enemy Titan with your Titanfall
This is perhaps one of the best moments in gaming I've had in a long time. It's without a doubt a homerun moment. A great moment. When you drop your Titan on the battlefield they are protected by a shield for a short period of time. While this moment I am about to tell you was completely accidental, it doesn't change the fact it happened. This was my first. So, I saw an enemy Titan drop in and it was sitting under its shield. Titans are big and powerful and will help you win the game if you keep them alive and work together. If you lose your Titan you have to wait a few minutes before a new one is ready for you. Well, I noticed the bad guy pilot run over and board his Titan. My plan was to drop my Titan close to this Titan and perhaps get the jump on him from behind. I marked the spot to drop my Titan and waited the few seconds for it to drop. By this time the enemy's shield bubble dropped and he took two steps...right onto the marker where my Titan was falling. Perfect. My Titan landed with explosive force, crushing the brand new enemy Titan and its Pilot. If I'm not mistaken, you get an achievement and tons of points for this, but that pales in comparison to the overwhelming feeling of joy when you drop your Titan on a brand new enemy Titan. Glorious.
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As much as I love Titanfall, and trust me, I do love me some Titanfall. I do have to correct a comment I made a while ago about Titanfall predicting it would win the Game of the Year. I think when I made the comment, the game wasn't even out yet...and it was a quip I made more in response to the blitz of media attention more than anything else. I think the game will win many awards for multiplayer game of the year or shooter of the year, but I don't think it will win the coveted Game of the Year nod. Not because it isn't a great game - but because that honor usually doesn't go to shooters, unless they have a compelling story and interesting characters tucked away with the game play. It's funny because a friend and I were commenting on this very subject and he made the comparison of how we never really see comedies win big at the Oscars, and how straight up shooters never really get Game of the Year. So, at this point, I don't think Titanfall is destined for the big award (although it remains my personal game of the year thus far) and I have no clue what the industry might choose at this point. I think it will be something with a future release date - not something that has released yet.
Cheers.