Titanfall 2 is a 2016 first-person shooter game developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. A sequel to 2014's Titanfall, the game was released worldwide on October 28, 2016, for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. In Titanfall 2, the player controls a titan, mecha-style exoskeletons and their pilots, who are agile and equipped with a variety of skills ranging from wall-running to cloaking. Set in a science fiction universe, the single-player campaign follows the story of Jack Cooper, a rifleman from the Frontier Militia, who bonds with his mentor's Titan BT-7274 after his mentor, Tai Lastimosa, is killed in action. Together, they embark on a quest to stop the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation (IMC) from using a superweapon to destroy the planet Harmony, where the militia's base is located.
The game's two-year development cycle began in mid-2014. The decision to add a single-player campaign to the game came about because the team wanted to expand the game's player base. They came up with different ideas and prototypes and integrated them to form a single coherent campaign. Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet and buddy cop films, as well as the video game Half-Life inspired the game's campaign and narrative. The team also overhauled the progression system and made subtle changes to the multiplayer to make the gameplay fairer. A heavily modified version of Valve's Source engine powers the game. Stephen Barton, who composed Titanfall’s soundtrack, returned to compose music for its successor.
Upon release, the game received critical acclaim. The single-player campaign was praised for its design and execution, and the multiplayer modes for building on the foundation of the original game. Despite the positive reception, Titanfall 2 underperformed commercially, with most attributing its underwhelming performance to going on sale in a crowded release window, placed between the release of Battlefield 1 and Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. It was nominated for multiple year-end accolades, including Game of the Year and Best Shooter awards, by several gaming publications. Respawn continued to support the game after its release, providing several updates and downloadable content. The game was followed by Apex Legends, a spin-off of the franchise and a free-to-play battle royale game, in 2019.
1. Similar to its predecessor, Titanfall 2 is a first-person shooter where players can control both a pilot and their Titans—mecha-style robots that stand roughly five to eight meters tall. The pilot has a large variety of equipment that enhance their abilities during combat. All pilots have a jump kit which assists with parkour, double-jumping, and wall-running. Pilots have more specific abilities unique to each 'class' which augments their offensive and defensive ability, such as a grappling hook for enhanced mobility, or a holographic visual cloaking device. Pilots use their jump kits to run on walls, movements which can be chained together to travel between locations quickly. The game introduces several new gameplay mechanics. These include: a movement system that allows players to slide on the ground, the pulse blade (which is a throwing knife that reveals the location of any nearby enemy), the holo-pilot, (a holographic pilot that mimics players' actions and appearance to confuse enemies), and a grappling hook, which can be used to slingshot players to a building/titan or reel other enemies it attaches to towards the user. The Pilots have a large arsenal of gadgets and weapons, such as shotguns, submachine guns, pistols, rifles, light machine guns, and grenades to fight their enemies. At close range, players can execute their opponents from behind in a short animation with a melee attack. Melee attacks are always instantly fatal should they connect.
2. Titans are significantly less mobile than the pilots, but they have stronger firearms and superior protection. Replacing the three classes featured in the first Titanfall, six Titans were introduced at launch—Ion, Scorch, Northstar, Ronin, Tone, and Legion, with Monarch being introduced in the May 2017 Monarch's Reign free DLC. Ion uses a directed-energy arsenal and makes use of a shield that can catch and redirect enemy projectile attacks. Scorch engages in combat using area-denial incendiary weaponry and thermite cannon. Northstar excels in long-range precision attacks with a charged railgun, and sets movement-restricting traps, and is the only Titan with the ability to leave the ground and hover. Ronin specializes in hit-and-run combat, using a shotgun and a sword. Tone focuses on mid-range combat with its target locking weapons. Legion uses a rotary cannon designed for sustained fire at both long and short range. Finally, Monarch—added post-release via downloadable content (DLC)—is a Vanguard-derived chassis that can steal power from other Titans to power up its own defensive shield and upgrade itself mid-fight. The Titans have their own move sets which are different from those of the pilots—for instance, they can dodge quickly to evade attacks.
The game's conflict takes place in "The Frontier", a region of star systems far removed from the "Core Systems" where Earth is located. The Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation (IMC) and the Frontier Militia battle for control of the Frontier. The IMC seeks to exploit the Frontier's rich resources regardless of the consequences for planetary environments and civilian populations, while the Militia fight to expel the IMC and gain the Frontier's independence. In the wake of the Battle of Demeter, the Militia is on the offensive, battling for resources and control of the Frontier planets. Though weakened by the lack of reinforcements from the core systems because of the destruction of the refueling facility by James MacAllan, the IMC is still a dominant fighting force attempting to drive the Militia out and put down any resistance to their control of the Frontier.
In the single player campaign the player assumes control of Jack Cooper, a lowly rifleman from the Frontier Militia, sent to the alien planet of Typhon as part of an assault on the planet by the Militia, who must join his former mentor Captain Tai Lastimosa's Titan—named BT-7274—to foil the IMC's plans of interstellar domination.
Jack Cooper is a rifleman in the Militia. He aspires to become a Titan Pilot and is receiving off-the-books training from Captain Tai Lastimosa to prepare for his candidacy. The two are part of a Militia force which attacks the IMC-held planet of Typhon. In the initial battle, the Apex Predators, a group of mercenaries led by Kuben Blisk and contracted by the leader of the IMC's science division, General Marder, mortally wounds Lastimosa and incapacitates his Vanguard-class Titan, BT-7274. With his dying breath, Lastimosa transfers control of BT to Cooper. BT explains that Cooper has also inherited Lastimosa's mission, Special Operation 217: to rendezvous with Major Eli Anderson and assist in the completion of their original assignment. Anderson's last known position is at an IMC laboratory. BT and Cooper are forced to detour, first through a water reclamation facility then a manufacturing plant, killing the Apex Predators Kane and Ash along the way.
BT and Cooper continue to the IMC laboratory only to find it destroyed, with corpses artificially aged due to time-travel distortion scattered across the facility. Cooper finds Anderson, deceased from a time-travel mishap. BT uploads part of his AI into Cooper's helmet to facilitate communication through time. Cooper learns Anderson was gathering intelligence on a new IMC device, the "Fold Weapon", which utilizes time-displacement technology to destroy entire planets. The planet Harmony, which is the home planet of Lastimosa and houses the Militia headquarters, will be the first target. Fortunately for the Militia, the Fold Weapon is dependent upon a power source known as the Ark. Cooper and BT hijack an IMC communications array to broadcast a signal to the Militia fleet and kill another of the Apex Predators, Richter. The transmission contains sensor data on the Ark's electromagnetic signature so that the Militia can find and seize it.
After receiving the transmission, the Militia's Marauder Corps, led by Commander Sarah Briggs, assaults the IMC-held installation where the Ark is being kept, arriving too late to prevent it from being loaded onto the Draconis, an IMC transport. The Militia gives chase in hijacked IMC ships. BT and Cooper attempt to board the Draconis but are attacked by the Apex Predator Viper. Cooper kills Viper and successfully boards the Draconis with BT.
Cooper and BT secure the Ark before the ship crashes. BT becomes incapacitated from damage sustained in his fight with Viper, and the duo are captured by Blisk and his second-in-command, Slone. BT surrenders the Ark to save Cooper but is destroyed by Slone for trying to help Cooper escape. However, BT gives Cooper a SERE kit and his data core before his chassis fails, and Cooper uses it to revive BT by installing it in a new Vanguard chassis provided by Briggs after he escapes captivity. Reunited, Cooper and BT fight their way to the base where the Fold Weapon is being prepared for use against Harmony. They kill Slone, earning Blisk's respect; Blisk spares Cooper and offers him a place in the Apex Predators before departing. BT and Cooper then launch themselves into the Fold Weapon's superstructure where the Ark has already been installed. BT hurls Cooper free before sacrificing himself, destroying the Ark, Fold Weapon, and the planet itself.
The game ends with a monologue by Cooper, talking about having his status as a pilot affirmed and being inducted into the Marauder Corps, as well as reminiscing over his experiences with BT. In a post-credits scene, the Titan neural link to Cooper's helmet flashes with the message "Jack?" encoded in Morse, suggesting some fragment of BT's AI has survived.