There’s been a lot of debate and discussion recently over Titanfall’s player count. For those that haven’t been following the story as it developed; Respawn Entertainment have confirmed that the maximum number of players in a multiplayer match is 6 on 6.
A Respawn Developer then defended the 6 v 6 max player count on NeoGAF, stating: “…we tried a huge amount of playercounts …and designed the maps, gameplay mechanics, and entire experience around which played best.” Since then, in an interview with Polygon, it’s been stated that the number of combatants can reach as high as 48.
That would be 6 human players on each team, each with their own AI-controlled Titan on the map (bringing the total up to 24) and finally an extra 12 AI soldiers per team. So this is first reason why you shouldn’t worry. With numbers of enemies reaching as high as 24, you shouldn’t be hard-pressed to find something to shoot at, or that will be shooting at you in a game.
A lot of people have been seeing the numbers ‘6 vs 6’ and instantly damning Titanfall for being too small. Well, I had the opportunity to play it back in September, and mentioned it in the FPS article I wrote at the time. Back then, I has the following to say about Titanfall: ‘…the game felt genuinely innovative and fresh. It was fast paced and fluid, with familiar controls and different classes based on preferred playstyles.’
“So what?”, you might be saying. “Why does that make a difference?” Well, I played the game at EGX, with 6 players per team, and it still outshone Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty: Ghosts. The number of players on the map didn’t feel too small, and I certainly didn’t enjoy the game any less. Admittedly, Titanfall won’t be for everyone, but I think it’s far too early to reject what looks like, and (from my experience) is, a brilliant game just because it doesn’t support 8 v 8, 16 v 16 or larger battles.
But I’m not trying to force my opinion down your throat, I want to hear yours too. Leave a comment below with your opinion on the matter, and whether you think it had or should affect your decision to play Titanfall.
