1. Titanfall
Titanfall, its fair to say, is causing quite a stir among
gaming enthusiasts and
critics alike, and thats no surprise considering the pedigree of the team behind it. Titanfall is the brainchild of Respawn Entertainment, a studio founded by Vince Zampella (ex-CEO of Infinity Ward Call of Duty developers) and Jason West (ex-President of Infinity Ward) following their acrimonious split from Activision. With no single-player campaign to speak of, the game focuses on bringing single-player elements
("scale, verticality, and story") into the online multiplayer scene. This multiplayer revolves around completing objective-based missions by taking control of either a pilot or a Titan on a desolate, war-ravaged planet. Pilots are nimble infantry units with a penchant for parkour, traversing the map by generating momentum and performing double jumps. Choosing a Titan sees your pilot commandeering a mechanised walker a much less nimble but more robust counterpart. Different titans have unique abilities, ranging from an electric smoke that rebuffs other piggybacking pilots, to a vortex blocker that propels enemy ammunition back in the direction from whence it came. In truth, at first glance, Titanfall looks unremarkable, pitching its aesthetic somewhere between the industrial shades of Black Ops 2 and the more sprightly vibrancy of Halo 4. In reality, Titanfall could be a game-changer.