Titanfall Beta (8 out of 10)

There is your Titan, reaching out to grab you and put you in your seat.

I've been playing it for about an hour now and although it is hectic I can see the possibilities.

The Beta starts you out with some training missions. You learn your pilot is able to double jump and run along walls and comes equipped with a fancy lock-on pistol. Then you do a couple of sample missions and bam you on your way to some multiplayer.

I've just played Attrition so far, which is Team Deathmatch. Your team consists of 6 or so players and grunts. Grunts are AI that are just there for racking up points it seems. I don't like the grunts and would rather just kills regular people. My feeling is that the maps were too big for just 6 players and too small for 12 Titans. To make it a little more just right they added grunts so a pilot wouldn't go so long without killing something.

You drop from a ship where a handy robot opens the door for you. Then you scramble around some rubble until you see either an enemy grunt of enemy pilot. Since it is just Beta there aren't many guns to choose from. An assault rifle, pistol, or shotgun. They all handle well but the most effective is the assault rifle, for the pilot and also the Titan. After 3 minutes or so (each time you kill a pilot 30 seconds gets chopped off) you can call your Titan from the sky: which is called Titanfall. That's the name of the game!!

Titans have big guns and are able to quickly dash backward, forward, side to side to dodge projectiles and such. They can't jump though which is a little frustrating. They also come with shields that last for about 4 seconds and allow you to collect whatever is shot at you and blow it back at your foes, this bit is particularly satisfying.

You have the option of getting in your Titan or letting it go on its own with simple orders from you (follow, or protect the area it is at). Couple this with the Pilot's ability to run along walls and quickly traverse the field of battle I believe this game will develop infinite possibilities and strategies.

Instead of just reaching the end score and the game ending the losing pilots have a short amount of time after the announcer declares defeat to reach a drop ship and exit before they are killed. This allows both the victors and losers a chance at some extra xp. Once the drop ship is on its way you only get one life and if you die you get to watch, like in Gears. It is a nice little touch and gives the developers another instance to distance themselves from the competition.

I see some opportunities for improvement but overall the game looks excellent and I'm going to go play it now.