I started writing this over a month ago, then a bunch of games hit and I stopped. So I decided to finically finish it, better late then never right.  So here it is:

This year we had the three biggest multiplayer focused FPSs of the year all come out in consecutive weeks, I called it the FPS parade. For some idiotic reason EA released Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2 within a week of each other basically killing TF2, a week after those two Call of Duty Jon Snow edition hit. Being the FPS connoisseur I am I decided to play all three, yes me, the guy that doesn’t care for multiplayer shooters. I played and finished all three campaigns and dabbled in the multiplayer. I will now review the parts of the games no one really cares about and mostly ignore the multiplayer parts, this will be a triple review and I will compare all three to each other.

Campaigns

Battlefield 1

Let’s begin with the campaigns and Battlefield 1. This time they decided against one narrative and split the campaign into a series of smaller stories spread across different countries during WW1. This allowed Dice to create stories that focused on certain aspects of the game like flight combat, or heavy infantry or tank battles. The most surprising thing about these stories is that some are quite engaging, they introduce an interesting character, give them a short backstory and usually tell a tale of redemption or heroism. I feel like because these are so short they were able to focus and tell engaging stories that don’t become too silly or complicated for the sake of a 6 hour game. Each of these stories take an hour to an hour and thirty and do serve as a good way to get used to the various aspects of the online mode.

That said the usual problems I have with BF campaigns remain, they just don’t understand the set pieces well. The combat usually boils down to the player engaging a bunch of enemies scattered in a map with little to no real thought into the flow of the game. I give credit for them including full stealth sections where you can stealthly explore an entire town, compete with the scouting system (taken from Far Cry)  now present in nearly every game; still MGSV this is not. The linear vehicle sections are fine, kind of repetitive, I enjoyed the flight missions the most.

What I don’t understand is here is this game which allows for massive war battles complete with a multitude of different vehicles. The campaign should have the feeling that you are in a massive battle with all aspects of the military engaging at once. Never does the campaign do this, it is a series of linear moments forcing the player through a shooting gallery. To me that is boring, there are few interesting inspired moments during this campaign.

Call of Duty IW

CoD on the other hand kind of goes back to its more linear non stop rollercoaster story route. The last few CoD games I played started to break the game into missions and allowed for more planning and open ended approach to combat. I enjoy that but even I admit when the game is structured in that way it loses that hollywood blockbuster feel. Infinite Warfare tries to balance the two out and mostly succeeds. The majority of the campaign feels like the IW campaigns of old with insane set pieces happening every few minutes, only this time IN SPACE.

I loved the setting, I enjoyed some of the more futuristic guns and abilities. It borrows heavily from BO3 but the way the campaign flows is much improved. Quite possibly the most amazing part of it all is that I liked the story, I am a sucker for badass teams in charge of a spaceship going on an adventure. I found myself caring for these characters and enjoying the whole ride like a fun summer sci fi flick. Kit Harrington though was totally wasted as a terrible not believable villain.

This campaign has the usual on foot combat sections which is the same game you have been playing since MW. Then there are these spaceship combat missions which are really fun even if they are not deep at all. No space combat game I played controls quite like this, the ship can turn in any direction on a dime, the laws of physics don’t exist here. It’s hard to describe, its like an arcade version of a space combat mini game, its super fast and intense. I found them to be a great diversion. Lastly there are zero G combat moments where are kind of messy cause trying to find cover while floating around is mostly a pain.

This was a very good CoD campaign, definitely shows how much more exciting and engaging the CoD setpieces are compared to the mostly boring BF1 missions.

Titanfall 2

Then we have Titanfall 2 which honestly shouldn’t even be compared to the other two; it is a different class of campaign. This is real quality stuff, I’m talking single player focused FPS quality stuff. There is no reason why this campaign is so good, it feels like an accident, oops we made this quality campaign for this multiplayer focused game.Just play it, it is just amazing.

It is on the short side but every chapter takes a new gameplay idea and runs with it to give the whole campaign great diversity in the gameplay. I don’t even want to describe them because experiencing these moments as they come is part of the fun. I will say the level design is top notch, the controls are so fluid and the enemy encounters very well done. The wall running and fast movement of TF1 has changed shooters all over, CoD is desperately trying to catch up and it shows when you play both games back to back. CoD feels like the poor mans TF control wise.

All that movement allows for some excellent platforming sections which turns this game into a genuine action adventure game to me rather than just another FPS campaign. Oh and the hidden items are so well done, I feel echoes of Destiny with how well hidden these objects are which requires constant awareness of the environment and great skills to find your way to areas that would seem unreachable.

Titanfall 2s campaign tells the story of a man and his robot, sure its rather cliche but it works. In your path is a series of mercenaries (MGS like crew) which all have their own titan which lead to some good boss battles. Switching between titan modes on the fly allows for great combat freedom; some modes are fast and agile, some are tank link and fire area of effect weapons. There is the ability to hop out of the titan at will and engage ground forces. To balance the two main ways of play the campaign forces sections on the player where you are outside the titan or using the titan. This is absolutely necessary for the setpieces to work and to constantly keep the gameplay shifting.

Titanfall 2 has one of the most thrilling well designed FPS campaigns this generation. It is worth playing just for the campaign alone, the only negative would be is it worth paying for a 6 hour campaign, that’s on you to decide.

Multiplayer

I did not play much multiplayer of any of these games BF1 the least by far. BF is just not my thing, I enter a match and everyone runs away in some cool vehicle of animal and I am left stranded alone, so sad. Then I run to an objective only to be shot by some dude like 3 miles away. I try to do objectives but I feel I am insignificant. BF1 does nothing to change the formula but even I can tell this version is very well done with impressive destructive environments. I tried flying and crashed… I tried a tank and got blown up. I'm just not good at this. For those that love this style of online multiplayer this is probably the best BF in years.

On the flip side Titanfall 2 is exactly the kind of stuff I like in my online shooters. Fun mechanics that go beyond just aim and shoot guy in face. The movement on TF2 is so fast and fluid, there is a grapple hook that can be used to chain wall runs and other moves. It feels great to move around the map, then you combine that with great responsive gunplay and you have a formula that is a blast. But TF doesn't stop there, there are the Titans which can be summoned after enough points are earned and now you are in a giant mech fighting other mechs. It's just fun as hell with plenty of variety from moment to moment which is what I enjoy. I do wish there were more modes and a better leveling system. Something that ties all the modes together like some leaderboard ranking system would have been great.

Somewhere in the middle of the two lies IW which is exactly like BO3 but worse. I played like two matches and quit, I clearly played this last year and it was better than. It has no identity of its own, they changed the name of some of the moves and loadouts, put new maps and called it a day. But I still prefer the fast paced CoD to BF. What I did spend a bunch of time on was zombie mode which now takes place in a 1980s theme park complete with 80s music blasting while you kill zombies, totally rad! It's the best zombie mode I have played with far clearer objectives and progression that makes sense. I could play this mode for many many hours, great companion piece to the main campaign.

Graphics

The frostbite engine is voodoo magic, Battlefield 1 is stunning and runs amazing on a regular PS4. The detail, the lighting, the smoothness of the entire image is unmatched. IW looks extremely great as well and runs at a perfect 60fps. The budget for CoD is probably unlimited and it shows, it's not as good as BF1 but still a beautiful game. Then there is TF2 which feels outdated by comparison. It looks fine but nothing really stands out. Models are fine, environments are ok, it runs well but there is no wow factor to any of it.

Conclusion

Titanfall 2 is clearly the standout game of this bunch. It treated the single player campaign with as much reverence as a non multiplayer FPS. It's fun unique mechanics shine in all modes and which gives it the best gameplay of the bunch. I give Titanfall 2 a 8.7.

Infinite Warfare has one of the best CoD campaigns ever. It could have been even better if the side missions didn't have so much repetition and reused locations. The pvp though is quite uninspired but zombie mode makes up for it. There is a lot to like in this game. I give CoD IW a 7.4

Battlefield 1 tries to have an interesting campaign but they still fail to put something that feels cohesive, a game where there is progress. Instead you play what amounts to small vignettes that are kind of tutorials to certain vehicles and play classes. Clearly the multiplayer is their best effort in a few years so my review is going to be way on the low end here. If you love BF get this right away. If BF never enticed you I doubt this one will change your stance, it did not change mine. I give Battlefield 1 a 5.5