E3 2016: 10 Things We Learned From Titanfall 2's Single Player Trailer

First-person shooters were something of a laughing stock in the gaming community recently, at least the more military-centric ones. The more clichéd the better, but even more recently these games - having struggled for relevance in recent years - have approached serious themes with an air of pretentiousness so unashamed it borders on the nauseous.

They're just so lampoon-worthy, as any serious commentary put forward was immediately overshadowed by the hilarious cliched military archetypes that so often populated their narratives. So far we can't tell whether or not Titanfall has fallen victim to these same cliches, but the genuinely new additions they've made to the genre does give its story promise.

Sure, the prospect of another tired and worn tale of revolution and rebellion doesn't intrigue at first, but the trailer did show some moments that appealed to a more human level of story-telling. Ironically this human element is embodied by an emotionless death-wreaking mech, but it does offer indication of a more character-driven narrative coming our way.

And if you think your emotions will remained unfazed just because your best pal is a robot, I implore you to remember The Iron Giant. Sure, that extraterrestrial robot didn't kill or maim anyone, but it's the perfect example of the reaction that Respawn are aiming to provoke in this instance. The title is very clearly grounded in the relationship between this pilot and his AI, so chances for cliched supporting characters to make an appearance along the way have been minimised for now.