E3 2015 - CHAPPIE

Did you think Destiny was far too colourful? Where you disappointed that Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare didn't steal every single good idea Titanfall had? Have Treyarch got a game for you! In the interest of pure honesty, Call of Duty: Black Ops III actually struck me as reasonably appealing. Gun design once again favours pipes and barrels over PDW blocks, and Treyarch are right to plunder their stablemate Bungie for multiplayer special moves - remember, it's not unbalanced if everybody can do it. If Treyarch can match these best-in-field steals with the kind of map flow and spawn progression they had back in 2010, they might even rescue a franchise stuck in the doldrums.

Titanfall - BASIC PREP

With Call of Duty: Ghosts firmly in his rear-view mirror, XboxAhoy looks set to fill his time with Titanfall. His first video is a basic primer on game flow in this multiplayer only title. I'm not sure if Mr Ahoy intends to focus solely on Titanfall's weapons, or if he intends to branch out and cover the game's various systems and mechanics. This video would seem to suggest the latter.

Titanfall - LOCK ON

At first glance Titanfall's Smart Pistol MK5 looks like the biggest wind-up imaginable. A silenced sidearm that locks on for rapid headshots - Black Ops 2's target finder cheat sight taken to another, aimbot like level. Stick around for the full skinny though and you'll see that the automated shooting is only really useful for breezing through AI controlled grunts. Try and cheese human players and you'll waste time acquiring multiple lock-ons and doing marginal damage. Makes you wonder about how Titanfall is considering balance. With all these disposable bots racing around begging to be killed, are Respawn pitching for a Sandy Ravage experience for every player?

Titanfall - TITAN READY

With the embargo lifted, beta footage of Titanfall has begun cascading onto YouTube. Predictably enough it looks fun on wheels - infantry shooting for the Call of Duty twitch crowd, and shielded walking tanks for Halo heads. In action, this simultaneous manoeuvre warfare looks like Mirror's Edge with a jet pack by way of an arcade informed, mech suited rebrand of Shadow of the Colossus. Even at this stage, Titanfall looks rapid and responsive, recognisably the next step from the studio who gave us Marathon Lightweight Commando streak stabbers.

What's interesting about the hype surrounding the game's release is that it's not just Microsoft betting the farm on Respawn Entertainment's online shooter. The YouTube crowd that made their names posting killstreaks in the dozens are all over the game, already treating it like The Next Big Thing. With Call of Duty: Ghosts dead in the water, and Battlefield 4 buggy and bordering on sedentary who can blame them?

Titanfall - NEVER STOP MOVING

Respawn Entertainment Community Manager Abbie Heppe presents a 20 minute look at Titanfall for Australia's EB Expo - I'm getting a sense that this audience is a little cooler than she's used to. Unflapped feedback aside, Respawn's game continues to impress. It's pretty exciting to hear that the studio are focused on creating gameplay situations that promote constant movement, since I can't sit still for five seconds when matched up online. Compared to the fantastical Destiny, Titanfall's human vs human conflict and functional, spluttery mech-tech is also a little more my speed.

Titanfall - JUMP KICK

While the latest Call of Duty rearranges the deckchairs, Respawn Entertainment hit back at their former stablemates with Titanfall. Designed to give us a flavour of the always online mission structure, this gameplay clip takes us into and out of the action, whilst also demonstrating a wild increase in vertical movement compared to the game's contemporaries. Due early 2014, Titanfall remains the most compelling case for Xbox One ownership.

E3 2013: Titanfall

After a couple of years of radio silence, the ex-Infinity Ward staff over at Respawn Entertainment hurtle back into our lives with Titanfall, a mech vs infantry game stuffed full of speculative Shirow tech. Interestingly Titanfall is multiplayer only, apparently designed specifically to represent the always connected, cloud calculation culture Microsoft is selling with their new console.

After Modern Warfare 2's release there were rumours that Infinity Ward was pushing to do a futuristic Call of Duty shooter, a plan seemingly derailed by a heavy-handed publisher throwing their weight around and a subsequent talent exodus. Personally, I was a little worried that much of the groundwork for such a title had been appropriated and folded into Black Ops 2 as a kind of petty riposte to the ex-Activision staff. I needn't have worried. As far as sugar rush shooters go, Respawn has ideas to burn. Titanfall is presently a Microsoft exclusive, set to release on 360, Xbox One, and PC.