Analysis of Attack on Titan 2
Attack on Titan, better known in our country as Attack on the Titans (Shingeki no Kyojin, in Japan) is a manga / anime by Hajime Isayama that illustrates a fictional world where the human population is forced to live within three huge walls ( Sina, Maria and Rose), to protect themselves from giants that devour people whom they name as titans; the story focuses on Eren Jaeger, the protagonist, who seeks to annihilate all the titans since they devoured his mother, accompanied by his friends Armin Arlert and Mikasa Ackerman.
We are currently eagerly awaiting the third season of Attack on Titan which will premiere this summer in Japan, meanwhile, if you haven't seen the series I highly recommend it, you can watch the first season on Netflix, it's also The first two films of the series are available, but they are still a mere summary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnUDmiHRjQk
Almost two years ago his first game appeared on Xbox One, Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom, on that occasion the playable characters were the heroes of the manga/anime, in this, his second part, a completely new invented character is controlled . Attack on Titan 2 allows us to create our own character, so we can choose his face, height, hair or clothes. With this detail, Omega Force wants to give the player a more personal touch so that they feel the story of Attack on Titan as their own. Although this is a double-edged sword since the true protagonists will be the same as in the series, our avatar becomes a completely secondary character in the plot, a main plot for the character would have been good, the story would have gained more depth.
Once the creation of the character is finished, he will begin to be part of the training troops, where he will find all the protagonists such as Eren, Mikasa or Armin, after a long training we will be part of the Reconnaissance Legion, the expert group that comes out of the walls to kill and capture titans, all led by Captain Levi. The game recreates all the great battles of the two seasons of the series, including the most important ones against the Beast Titan, the Female Titan, the Armored Titan or the Colossal Titan .
Technical Section Attack on Titan 2 looks spectacular, it captures the essence of the anime very well and everything is faithfully recreated. The video game is analyzed in depth on Xbox One X, noticing on some occasions frame drops when several titans and soldiers of the Scout Legion come together, especially it happens in closed points of the city or in the middle of the forest. Another technical problem of the video game is popping (this effect occurs when certain elements of a video game appear on the screen spontaneously), it is visible in an open field when there are no buildings, it will not be strange to see how titans appear in the distance of the nothing, they are the only technical flaws in Koei's game, although the camera can be improved, it does not tarnish the gaming experience.
The cinematics are very successful, even surpassing the anime itself, they summarize the two seasons of Attack on the Titans in great detail, when a character walks towards us, the camera is put in first person, so it gives the impression that you are really into the world of Attack on Titan 2.
The sound effects are remarkable, it does not have the original anime soundtrack, but it reminds us of it, since it is very similar, and there are truly epic choral songs. Attack on Titan 2 comes by default with the English dubbing, although it also has the original Japanese voices, an option that we recommend. One of the novelties is that the game is translated into Spanish, its predecessor Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom was completely in English without subtitles, an action that surely put many back in the purchase of the title.
Gameplay The gameplay of Attack on Titan 2 remains the same as Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom, improving some elements that failed and keeping the ones that worked correctly, it is a demanding game, although it has several pre-story tutorials to get you going perfecting the technique. They have improved the use of the three-dimensional maneuvering equipment, you can go from end to end of the mapping by sliding on cables to find the best angle to attack the titans.
There will be two types of attack, the first "By surprise" we must be less than 150 meters from the Titan, aim with our binoculars, and once indicated, we must press Y, we will fly towards the titan, at the precise moment we will press Y again to end the life of the monster, the other way is more strategic, since it allows us to select various parts of the body that we want to amputate, if you have followed the anime you will know that humans discovered the weak point of the giants, the neck, this is the The only way for them to die is where all our attacks will be focused.
There are different types of titans, smaller and larger, the most difficult will be the eccentric ones, as they show unusual behavior and cunning, which makes them different from others. There will also be special titans, who in order to damage the back of their neck we must previously attack a part of their body, marked by green smoke.
One of the great novelties of this second installment is that titans can be captured, for this we will have to amputate all their limbs to make it easier to capture them in the form of a giant net, although it seems interesting in the end it is useless, only to complete a sticker album of the different captured titans….
The battlefield will be quite a challenge, even more so outside the walls, since we will not have buildings to move around, being much more exposed to the sight of the Titans, who when they see us, will attack us incessantly, but we will have the help of a horse to move (with little AI, by the way). The character that we control will have at his disposal different items for the battle, such as light bullets, to dazzle the titans, Molotov cockels, the aforementioned net to capture the beasts, potion to heal wounds and the two most important , the blades and the gas.
These last two are key in the game, the blades are what we kill the titans with, they wear out little by little, we must have a spare if we don't want to be titan meat, on the other hand the gas refills are basic to move, since without those cylinders we will not be able to push ourselves through the mapping, which will make our fight useless. As was the case in the first installment, you can recruit soldiers that we see by mapping, in this second part they exploit it much more, since they will help you from certain death when you need them.
On the battlefield, whether in the city or in the open field, we will have settlements that we will have to build, they will have the objective of helping you in the battle, there are different types, among them is giving you resources: blades, life potions, light bullets, etc. or the Turret mode that will attack the titans that approach with cannon shots, it must be said that they are destructible, so sometimes you will have to leave the mission you are undertaking to fix the destroyed settlement.
DurationAttack on Titan 2 is a fairly long game, the story mode is made up of six episodes, depending on the difficulty chosen, the main mode can last between 12 and 15 hours, but within each battle there will be different optional objectives that lengthen the experience. The main mission is reflected in the mapping with a red flare, but you will also have to help other soldiers, they will launch a green flare, asking for help, it is not mandatory to go, but if we go and help our partner he will join our team , the signal turns purple when the soldier is about to die, we will also find different and more enjoyable missions such as escorting a legion to a specific point or protecting villagers from the evil titans.
In addition to the story mode, the game has different extra modes, highlighting the competitive online mode for eight players, where we will have to fight to reach the top of the rankings doing what we know best, killing titans with style. But without a doubt, the star online mode is the Annihilation mode, a mode for eight players (four per team) who must make the highest score in a limited time, these extra modes are greatly enjoyed if we play in the company of a friend, since that the spikes are insured.
Attack on Titan 2 has a large amount of content, improving Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom in all aspects, one of the great successes is the creation of an avatar for the story mode, it makes you feel that you are inside the anime of Attack on the Titans, its recreation of the original series is really successful, surpassing the video game to the anime many times. The action is unique, there is no similar video game on the market, the game mechanics are addictive and rewarding, you will only think about killing one after another, although it can be repetitive, each game achieved makes you feel more than part of the world of Attack on the Titans.
If you liked the first one or you're a manga/anime fan, it's a guaranteed purchase, but if you like action games you'll also feel hooked by this magnificent Attack on Titan 2.
*Thanks to Koch Media for providing us with the material for the review.
