Attack on Titan 2 – Review

Koei Tecmo gave a lot of fan service with the release of Attack on Titan: Wings of Freedom, which was the ultima A.O.T. game for fans of both the manga and anime. While it didn’t have the same fast paced action as many of Koei Tecmo’s games, it respected the source material, and nothing could beat the sensation of flying through the sky with the famous omni-directional mobility gear known from the series, which brought a lot of freedom to the player, allowing him to move quick and fast over the span of the entire map. While this new game is dubbed Attack on Titan 2, it will not take off where the last game ended, but it will start from the very beginning once again, with you playing as an unnamed soldier, in the midst of all the famous characters of the series.

Story

Once again you’ll be dropped in a world where the massive titans appeared over 100 years ago, nearly wiping out humanity, safe for those that were able to hide between the titan-proof walls. Nonetheless, to all good things must come an end with the appearance of the colossal titan, which is larger than the surrounding walls of the last bastions of humankind. The colossal titan breaks the wall, allowing many smaller titans to overrun what’s within the outer walls, forcing the survivors to run behind the second wall.

You’ll be playing as an unnamed soldier, a character not seen in the manga or anime, and you’ll follow the famous characters on their adventures. Your character is actually well incorporated in the plot, and it doesn’t feel like you’re just a bystander, but you’re an active part of the story. Even though the game is called Attack on Titan 2, you’ll start from the beginning of the series, namely Eren’s and the others’ training, the first few missions, and pretty much whatever happened during the first two seasons. All in all, you’ll be thrown on the front seat row in a more story-driven experience than the first game.

Graphics

Compared to the first game, the graphical prowess hasn’t really improved that much. The same maps are being used as in the first game, the same titan models can be seen, and  the same characters can be found riddled throughout the game. Nonetheless, if something looks good, there’s no real need to alter it. That being said, the destructible buildings still look a bit flimsy, many titan models are overused and the new mini-map looks a bit unclear compared to the one in the first game. There are still a few frame drops present and while the buildings feel like they have been updated a bit, it’s mainly the characters that stand out, as they really respect the source material and feel like 3D rendered anime characters.

Sound

While in the previous game the famous tracks of the series were more present than in this one, this second installment features great music as well and toggles it on at the right times. Other than that you’ll be treated to decent voice acting, albeit in a somewhat strange fashion. Cinematics are fully voiced and many of the in-game conversations are voiced as well. Nonetheless, these are sometimes fully voiced, sometimes half voiced and other times not voiced at all, making it feel a bit weird.

Gameplay

Attack on Titan 2, is just like its predecessor a semi-hack and slash title, in which you’ll be flying around towns and fields in order to slay the titans that threaten the existence of mankind. For the most part you’ll be killing titans, with the occasional item collecting and escort missions in-between. When digging in the story mode, it’s all about playing through the story of the anime series, with an original character, unlocking skills and new gear as you go.

The meat of the game is found within the story mode, in which you can forge friendships with the characters from the series, which will reward you in turn with new skills and abilities, at least if you invest some time in these possible friendships. Other than that, you can upgrade your gear the further you progress in the game, with the materials you collect, allowing you to buy better blades, better anchors and new omni-directional mobility gear, allowing for better movement. Even in the killing portion you’re free to choose how you handle your opponents, as you can chop off body parts to gain new materials, immobilize your foes or simply aim for the nape in their neck and finish them off in one blow. While the latter will give you better time scores on missions, it will also cause you to miss out on a lot of materials you can use to craft or upgrade your gear. The same can be said about the signal flares that are used in missions to complete extra objectives, for a higher score or items to build bases.

In this second installment you can also build small bases on the map, which can serve as resupply points or even to damage titans. This is a fun idea, but it doesn’t really do all that much, but it does add a bit of depth to the otherwise repetitive gameplay. Same can be said about the titans in this game, as they have been updated and can now enter a ‘rage’ mode, in which they act different and are completely focused on you, upping the difficulty a bit, and making sure you don’t mess around too long before killing your target. There are also sneak attacks that can be used, but these are often not worth the effort.

While the controls feel rather tight and precise, it does feel like a step back from part one, as you often find yourself stuck behind buildings, and even the anchoring system is a bit more annoying. In the first game you could switch freely between buildings and titans, while using the targeting button, but the same button for your anchors. Now you have to switch to combat mode and also use a different button for your anchor, the latter being very annoying to work with, as you often press the normal button you use most of the time. Other than that, not much has changed and you’ll enjoy soaring through the skies.

For those who want more than the offline features of the game, you’ll be happy to know that there are cooperative features, as well as a new mode in which you take up arms with different teams in order to see which team can kill the most titans. The latter is a fun change of pace, but in the end it’s still the same grinding as in the game, with some extra added pressure to keep things competitive.

Conclusion

Attack on Titan 2 is a decent upgrade of the first game, but it still feels a bit odd that the title has a 2 stuck behind it. Nonetheless, for those who missed the first game, they will find a more immersive story driven experience and having your own character certainly does have its charms. While the controls feel a bit off compared to the first game, you’ll have enough gear to explore, enough story content, a fun online mode and of course a very good impression of the Attack on Titan universe. The game is certainly a great addition to Koei Tecmo’s library of Anime based games.

Ibuki

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Aspiring ninja.

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