Terminal velocity.

Titanfall 2 is a game about momentum. It knows when to rush forward at a breakneck pace. It knows when to give us time to breathe. Both in its single player campaign and its multiplayer modes, Titanfall 2 has a more measured pace than its predecessor, making the build-up to its climactic battles just as enticing as the events themselves. It's every bit as kinetic and fluid as the first Titanfall--but in many respects, it's a much better shooter.

As with the first game from Respawn Entertainment, Titanfall 2 revolves around two layers of combat: conventional firefights between human combatants, and clashes between massive bipedal mechs. As a boots-on-the-ground pilot, Titanfall 2 feels more like a traditional shooter--albeit one with pristine controls and a fluid traversal system. The first Titanfall sparked the trend of shooters focused on movement, and with its sequel, the series reestablishes its place at the head of the pack. The loop of sliding, double jumping, vaulting a ledge, and running along a wall to flank an enemy feels invigorating and intuitive.

Then it comes time to call in your mechanical ally from orbit, and everything changes when it hits the ground. Because it's when these two layers engage in a tug-of-war that Titanfall 2 reveals its true brilliance. What was once an even fight becomes a David versus Goliath scenario: a pilot rushes to cover, fires off a rocket, glides along a nearby wall, avoids a missile salvo from her robotic opponent, activates her cloaking device, and enters a nearby ravine to order a Titan of her own.

This sequence is intense, but in Titanfall 2, it's commonplace. Momentum often shifts as one team gains control of the battlefield, only to lose ground when the other notices a weak spot, and attacks it.
This is crucial in Titanfall 2. Now more than ever, combat requires forethought and intelligence. Humans may be careening across the map with grapple hooks, while phase-warping ninja mechs cut through laser-powered robot warriors--but beneath all of this is a hidden nuance. Despite the bombast and spectacle, Titanfall 2 is a thinking person's shooter.

The sequel's new Titans embody this sentiment. In place of the basic light, medium, and heavy variants from the first game, Titanfall 2 employs six distinct walking battle tanks with arsenals of their own. They're almost like superheroes: one attacks with a thermite launcher and flame attacks, while another fires a chest-mounted laser cannon at unlucky opponents.

Each of the Titans' abilities are easy to learn, but difficult to master, as the saying goes. Their loadouts immediately make sense, and it's easy to see that Northstar's low armor and long-range railgun make her an ideal sniper--but new layers reveal themselves the more you play. Take Scorch, for example. His flame shield dissolves incoming projectiles, providing extra protection while he tries to back away from close-quarter engagements. But the flame shield has other uses: at one point, an enemy pilot came flying at me on a grappling hook. By igniting my fiery barrier, I melted him just as he came close to my cockpit.
Learning the intricacies of each Titan is paramount not just for offense, but defense, too. Each mech has a distinct aesthetic, so as you round a corner and see a Ronin approaching you, you know to put distance between your Titan and the shotgun-toting enemy. There are elements of fighting games or MOBAs here--each Titan has a tell, and you only have a few brief moments to counter it to your advantage.

The new Titans lend a very different pace to multiplayer matches. While the first Titanfall was always turned up to 11, so to speak, with smaller maps and cookie-cutter Titans focused on dealing damage, Titanfall 2 understands the value of breathing room. It doesn't burn you out with an onslaught of firefights--its maps are focused on exterior environments, and are often on the larger side, giving you time to plan out your attack with the intricate Titan loadouts. The plan may go awry, but it lends more weight to each enemy encounter. There's a sense of build-up as you approach a capture point, knowing full well which Titans occupy the area, and thinking through each step in your head.

Each multiplayer mode is tailored to facilitate Titanfall 2's interwoven combat systems, but also to twist the formula in creative ways. Bounty Hunt is my favorite--you gain currency by killing the enemy team and AI grunts that litter the map, and at the end of each wave, you're given the option to deposit your loot in one of several banks. But here's the wrinkle: you have to leave your Titan in order to do so. What's more, clever players will camp near banks to pick off unsuspecting Pilots as they approach their goal. It's a frantic game of cat and mouse that increases in tension as the banks open and each team knows exactly what the other is doing, or trying to do.

Dishonored Dev's The Crossing, Put on Hold in 2009, Gets a New Trademark Filing

This doesn't mean an announcement is coming soon, if ever.

Before Arkane Studios made Dishonored, the team worked on a first-person shooter called The Crossing. The game would have merged single- and multiplayer into what it called "cross-play," but it was not meant to be. Arkane put the game on hold in May 2009 due to an "unexpected financial challenge," the studio told Joystiq at the time.

Bethesda parent company ZeniMax purchased Arkane in 2010. Now, it looks like Bethesda may have plans for The Crossing, or at least it wants to keep hold of the name for potential future use.

ZeniMax filed a trademark application with the United States Patent & Trademark Office on October 11, records show. The trademark application covers video games, but the document doesn't contain any details about the status of the game or Bethesda's plans for it.

A Bethesda representative told GameSpot this afternoon, "We don't comment on trademark filings."

The existence of a trademark application doesn't necessarily mean much. There are many examples of trademark applications for things that never happen, like Call of Duty: Future Warfare and Call of Duty: Space Warfare. It might be that Bethesda filed the trademark application to allow it to hold onto the name, should it want to revive development on The Crossing someday.

Arkane CEO Raphael Colantonio said in the past (via double klondike) that layoffs at Electronic Arts--a partner for Valve, The Crossing's publisher--might have contributed to the need to put the game on hold. Check out the video above to see a teaser for The Crossing.Arkane's next game is Dishonored 2, which comes out in November. After that, the studio's Austin, Texas branch will ship the new Prey in 2017. Arkane is headquartered in Lyon, France.

HITMAN: EPISODE 5 REVIEW

The trouble with reviewing each individual Hitman level—and I'm definitely not saying this entire endeavour has been a waste of time—is that so much of what makes Hitman good happens in its systems. The levels are important, particularly in regards to the guard placement, disguise flow and creative opportunities. But all, so far, have been variations on the same theme. That it works is because, at its core, Hitman's stealth and AI manipulation systems are satisfying.

Episode 5's new level departs from the template set over the past four episodes. And yet, this is still a competently constructed space in which to cleanly and creatively kill some people. It's good, because, like past episodes, it's attached to a good game.

What makes this new mission, Freedom Fighters, different, is that 47 is operating in hostile territory. Previous episodes, much like Blood Money before them, feature an area of public space to explore, giving the player chance to watch, learn and plan. Here, 47 is infiltrating a Colorado farm occupied by a patchwork militia of hackers, explosive experts and assassins. If you're spotted, you're in trouble. In that sense, Episode 5 features a style of challenge reminiscent of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin.

The shift places a bigger emphasis on sneaking, at least up to the point of securing your disguise. Still, while Colorado eventually morphs into a more familiar style, the change in atmosphere keeps things feeling fresh. We've infiltrated a lot of mansions in Hitman up to now. It's nice to try something a bit different.

Episode 5 features a style of challenge reminiscent of Hitman 2: Silent Assassin.

This episode also brings stronger ties to the overarching story that, up until now, has been told almost exclusively in the cutscenes that play after each mission. It's still just a small part of the level, but, ultimately, that's all it can be. Because of Hitman's release model, each mission must stand alone to preserve its replayability over the life of an episode.

The farm is broken up into distinct sections, some with specific restrictions on who is allowed inside. A basic grunt can't enter the patch of land used for creating and testing explosives, and the main house is off limits to all but the elite guards. Freedom Fighters features four targets, each doing their own thing in a separate part of the compound. The structure creates lots of small-scale stealth challenges, reinforcing the hostile theme. 

Normally, I prefer the more open, public levels. But Hitman needed to mix up its formula, and Colorado does the job. In terms of murder methods, it's a little less interesting than previous episodes – only a few Opportunities exist spread over all four targets. But there's plenty to try, and the layout of the farm, and the nature of its restrictions, opens up the possibility for a satisfying series of contracts, escalations and elusive targets.

Colorado isn't the most visually appealing or intricate level in Hitman. But it provides some much needed variety—a change of scenery and challenge that rounds out the Hitman experience. It feels as if IO has spent most of this season demonstrating that it can still get Hitman right. It's nice to see they're now confident enough to move away from the template they've created.