There is nothing more satisfying than dropping a 15-foot, ten-ton war machine right into the battlefield. “Titanfall 2” is the direct sequel to the Xbox and PC exclusive “Titanfall.” This time around, “Titanfall 2” comes packed with a fully fleshed single player campaign, as well as an updated multiplayer.

The campaign starts you off as Rifle Corpsman, Jack Cooper, running a simulation for the Pilot’s test with your mentor Captain Lastimossa. The simulation is cut short when the ship is alerted of an attack on the Militia controlled planet by the IMC.

After dropping to the planet and being ambushed by the vicious Titan mercenary group known as the Apex Predators, Jack is saved by Lastimossa and his Titan BT-7274. Unfortunately, BT and Lastimossa are outgunned and Lastimossa is killed but his final act as Captain is to transfer authorization of BT to Jack. The next mission is to restore power to BT and then regroup with Major Anderson to complete their original mission.

The campaign is wonderfully fleshed out, especially when compared to the first game. I was hoping there would be a little more build up to being able to use BT but the strong character development between the two of them more than makes up for it. Although a bit corny at times. the interactions seem very genuine between the two main protagonists. The side-characters aren’t as developed as they could be, the members of the Apex Predators, other than the leader, just kind of show up, you fight them, and then move on.

The online play is very similar to what the original game was with quick paced combat, and very fun game modes. In the tech-test, the game played much more like a Call of Duty clone, where titans were time gated and it really slowed down the gameplay. The developers, Respawn Entertainment, really took to heart the criticisms from the player base and restored a lot of the original gameplay styles of the original “Titanfall.”

Some of the maps are bit more open, which offers a different way to deal with the titans since there are very few tight corners. There are still the classic inner city maps where quickly turning a corner could run you face- first into the barrel of a Titan’s gun.

A common complaint of the first games was a huge lacking in customization options, which “Titanfall 2” has mostly corrected. Selection of different load-outs will change what your pilot looks like. Any gun can be used with any pilot; it’s the ability that really changes how your pilot will play. Returning fans will be a bit upset to learn that Titan’s are now classed so you can’t equip any weapon. It’s a little upsetting knowing you can’t run a really fast Titan with a 40mm cannon. It’s way more balanced this way though, since now Titan’s with extremely high damage are a bit slower and bulkier.

Overall, “Titanfall 2” was a pleasure to play and really improved on the first game. “Titanfall 2” gets 4 out of 5 stars.