It feels like March 11, 2014, was so recent and Titanfall had just hit the Xbox One. Developed by many of the folks behind Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Titanfall took combat into the future. The first glimpse of its world brought together gritty combat with futuristic robotic action and online gameplay. Now that Titanfall 2 is continuing the series in 2016, perhaps you need a reminder of what exactly is going on in the Titanfall story.
Whether you played the first game or are a total noob, you probably need a quick refresher. Despite how straightforward the massive robot action appears, the world of Titanfall is more complex than it seems. So, before you head back out to The Frontier, here’s some much-needed info.
Technology Changed Humanity
In the not too distant future, Hammond Industries is part of Earth’s massive scientific expansions. Faster-than-light travel is created, nearby planets in Earth’s solar system are colonized, and Hammond Industries invents powerful, advanced robotics. That includes Titan units, towering robotic bodies that work as the extension of the pilot. Pilots are elite soldiers who know not only weapons but also jetpack-assisted parkour. Hammond Industries became a massive company that expanded into its outer space military force known as the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation (or just the IMC). Hammond’s ships used fsater than light (FTL) tech to explore a newly discovered collection of inhabitable planets referred to as The Frontier.
Hammond slowly colonizes The Frontier, but the IMC eventually has to withdraw and return to Earth. In the IMC’s absence, the people left behind keep society going on The Frontier. In their time alone, they find extensive resources and expand and flourish when left alone. Decades pass before the IMC finally returns to find the people they abandoned had found vast riches without them. The IMC liked what they saw, and they had the army of mercenaries and robots to take it.
A War for the Frontier
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Earth and the surrounding planets are strapped for resources, so IMC forces forcefully capture the land and riches of The Frontier. Thanks to the great Titan tech, IMC troops can disrupt entire cities and take whatever they want from the populace. The IMC displaces and kills The Frontier residents until eventually they have had enough. The loose collection of Frontier inhabitants forms The Militia to get rid of the IMC.
The Militia and The IMC are the two sides of war in both Titanfall and Titanfall 2. The plot in the first game played out the same no matter which side you picked, and it focused on the relatively new and inexperienced Militia battling IMC’s more ruthless forces. Both have Titans at their disposal, as well as AI-controlled troops known as Spectres versus The Militia’s lesser Grunt soldiers. It leads to some massive battles that play out in Titanfall‘s somewhat thin story as The Militia fights over resources, field commanders switch alliances, and eventually the Spectre production system is shut down.
Where Titanfall 2 Begins
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In the wake of The Militia’s victory, The Frontier threatens to fall into chaos. IMC and Militia forces are basically evenly matched now as the war rages on. Titanfall 2‘s story takes you to completely new areas of The Frontier. The much larger campaign mode casts you as Jack Cooper, an aspiring Titan pilot who works for The Militia. Trapped deep behind IMC lines, Jack befriends an unpiloted Titan, and they fight their way back home together.
How many of the commanders from the first game will we meet? How many new areas will there be? Are there any returning battlefields? And could new shifts in power tip the scales of The Frontier War? We’ll keep you posted as soon as Titanfall 2 hits Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.