Back in 2007, the people at Infinity Ward laid the groundwork for all military shooters since with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Now we have Titanfall 2, a game put together by a lot of the same developers. That shared DNA is apparent in how understated both games are in their accomplishments. The main difference is that, in contrast to the first Modern Warfare, Titanfall 2 never ruminates on how war is a terrible thing that only leaves spent lives in its wake. The story helps in that regard by painting a very black-and-white world in which there are only clear good guys and cartoonish bad guys. Nothing deeper is required.

It's a game that wants you to have fun and constantly congratulates you for having it. You leap around with crazy acrobatics, clearing gauntlet after gauntlet with an immensely satisfying flourish. Characters line up to tell you how amazing you are, enemies cannot comprehend how you keep besting them, and even the final villain is content to shake your hand and give you his business card. There's no moral ambiguity, you're never left feeling dubious about the violence you've just committed, you're just a fucking badass.

I agree with Brendan Keogh's excellent appraisal in that "the game lets me roleplay that spectacular professional multiplayer shooter performance I will never be able to actually achieve in a safe, crafted, singleplayer environment." Titanfall 2 makes you feel like you're sitting pretty at the top of a globally ranked competitive multiplayer scoreboard and turns all other characters in the game into a supportive and enthusiastic audience. Every element in the campaign comes together to that end, and it works wonderfully.