Attack On Titan 2 Final Battle
Released in 2016, the first Attack On Titan was an interesting title when it was first announced. Anime licensed video games are a dime dozen these days and very few do little to "re-invent the wheel." While I bemoaned about this for their fighting games, action games haven't been much better, with most games being simple brawlers that follow the "general plot" of the franchise it's based on. I expected this to be the case with Attack On Titan 2 as it was developed by Omega Force, best known for the Musou series and is no stranger to crossover games. However, AoT is not a "Dynasty Warriors" clone by any stretch and the sequel had improved on what made the original unique to anime games in my opinion.
A major appeal to Attack on Titan is the larger-than-life common enemy featured in the franchise, the Titans themselves. In most "one vs a crowd" titles, players are at the very least fighting enemies that are relatively similar in height, build, or even species. Titans are twenty-foot-something behemoths and versus a squishy human, I didn't expect to take one down as easy as a human.
Omega Force did their best to give fans of the series the same immersion in the video games by focusing more on aerial combat to attack a TItan's exposed weak point. The player will need to line their attacks and go for the kill in one clean strike as the longer a fight persists, the more the player is at risk of danger. Resources are finite and the player only has a limited number of tries before they are forced to retreat and replenish resources.
Moving around the battle maps were meant to capture the same energy as the anime, allowing the player to zip through lines and control their speed as well as their height. I can compare the movement in-game similar to Marvel's Spider-Man yet it's more tuned for gaining an advantageous position. At first, attacking the Titans felt awkward. The player targets a limb of a Titan while hooking their gear onto them. Pressing the attack button once will initiate a glide mode that inches the player close to the Titan. The faster and more direct the attack is toward a Titan's limb, the more damage it'll do. The player doesn't have to be perfect but perfection equals more damage.
Even if a Titan is without their legs and arms, the player is still not safe as they can crawl on their knees and elbows in order to chase the player down in a last-ditch effort. Sensing the player will force the Titan into a fit of rage that can prove dangerous, especially since there is no health bar indicator in Attack On Titan 2. If the player is grabbed by a Titan, they have a limited time to escape, or else they will be eaten. If they are grabbed enough times, usually twice, without healing in between, they will automatically be devoured. There is no "life" system either. You wind up in a Titan's stomach, it's Game Over, much like the deaths of several key members within the series.
What I enjoy so far from the first hour of playing Attack On Titan 2 is that Omega Force opted for a "self-insertion" plot instead of following the anime closely. One of my peeves is titles where I'm playing as the protagonist and I get it, fans of Attack On Titan will be familiar in playing Eren, the actual protagonist and the identifiable character in the series. But why play as Eren when I can create a character and play as myself within the game? It doesn't take away from the plot as Attack On Titan 2 follows both seasons closely. The Final Battle DLC adds content from Season 3 as well, which gives a new perspective on certain events as characters interact with the player character.
Having knowledge of the franchise does help, naturally, as Attack On Titan 2 is a passion project for fans of the series. However, it's not at all a requirement to have watched every single episode and read every single chapter. It has been a while since I've read Attack On Titan since the series ended before the anime did. Several of the events that take place were easy enough to follow as a refresher, however. I plan to cover the game in more detail as well as focus on the Final Battle content. As far as first impressions go, the ability to create a character, craft weapons, and become "anime Spider-Man" is always a fun way to spend time before the holidays begin.
Attack On Titan 2 Final Battle is available on Steam, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch.