Why write a Titanfall review? The previews anointed this MechWarrior wannabe the new king of games long before the first customer ever played it. Bestowed more Best of Show awards than a Jim Gaffigan Las Vegas tour, the game’s combination of glitzy graphics, choose-your-weapon multiplayer and Call of Duty pedigree promised gaming nirvana. But how does this Electronic Arts first-person shooter play? Well, not too bad.
Playing a rifle-toting soldier or badass Mech has been old hat since Monolith’s Shogo: Mobile Armor Division in 1999, but still Titanfall does it well. Pitting the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation against the Frontier Militia, it offers a butter-smooth frame rate, a plethora of match types, in-game experience points, and detailed, beautiful environments in which to do battle.
The game’s double-jumping, wall-running soldiers are obviously quite agile and great fun to play. By comparison, the Titans, although quick and powerful, can be disappointing. If gamers are expecting Mad Cat BattleMechs, they’ll be let down. Titans are ordnance magnets and soon destroyed.
Titanfall’s online multiplayer campaign feels like an afterthought. Many of the missions focus on killing more members of the opposing team than the player loses from his side, and the running commentary on the background and story line is difficult to concentrate on while dodging a stream of bullets from an enemy autocannon.
Overall, Titanfall offers players a good time. However, it’s not as great as the hype would lead us to believe.
Ærena: Clash of Champions is a tactical turn-based game set in an Ætherpunk-style world. Players control up to three Champions on a chessboard-like “arena” set between a pair of opposing ships hovering in the clouds. While this may sound crazy, it’s great, thought provoking fun.
Players win by destroying the enemy ship, attacking it directly or targeting it indirectly by killing the shipmaster’s Champions. Although they respawn the following turn,their deaths cause the ship to lose hit points.
The Champions are interesting and boast a wide variety of talents and weapons. For instance, Crank is durable and can wreak an impressive amount of melee damage, while Bloody Mary is weaker but can strike from afar with her rocket launcher.
Gamers can play solo by taking on the artificial intelligence or they can choose to battle against others online. Ærena is free to play but it does offer in-game purchases.
Heroes of Normandie is a tactical World War II board game that’s long on charisma and easy to learn. It is a beautiful piece of work from Devil Pig Games, the folks who designed Frontiers, a clever but overlooked science fiction game.
Players control squads, heroes, leaders and tanks as the Germans and Americans fight each other through the Norman bocage circa 1944. Units are activated via order chits placed beside them during the activation phase. However, neither side knows the opponent’s order until it’s revealed, leading to tense encounters and chaotic battles.
Although Heroes of Normandie isn’t a detailed simulation of tactical combat, players will be having so much fun they won’t care about the lack of realism. The counter art is superb, the combat resolution is simple, and the action is exciting and intense.
Mark H. Walker is a retired U.S. Navy commander and the author of over 40 books, including three novels. Read his insights into gaming, writing and living at overdaedge.blogspot.com or markhwalker.com.
Originally published in the January 2015 issue of Armchair General.
