Review - The Art of TITANFALLReview by Paul Fiander
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Author; Andy McVittie
Published by; Titan Books |
I will say for disclosure I’m more of a fantasy nut than a sci-fi enthusiast that being said I do have Titanfall on pre-order and I did plough a good many hours into the beta.
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Titan Books have a rich history of creating these books and have covered many a blockbuster title from Assassins Creed 4; Black Flag, Dead Space, Halo and of course Thief (which we reviewed here). But now they are taking on the biggest new gaming property in a while and it’s time to see if all that experience is a valuable asset in Respawn’s dream to make Titanfall more than just a game.
I think the cover shot (to your left) of this book is one of the most Iconic images associated so far with this game. The scale difference between the pilot and their Titan gives you an idea about the scale of the world you are about to fall into. Even the word Titanfall is created with lines depicting something falling. Everything feels like it should be and needs to be here to tell the story of the games creation and as you continue through the pages this is certainly a theme running through the book. The images on the page seem to have two states, Massive shots like the ones of the Atlas (shown below) or smaller images packed together to fill the page. Both types leave very little real estate to breathe on the page but that’s no bad thing as there is so much to see. From early ideas that never made it to the early designs for equipment everything seems to be documented on the page. Obviously there are probably loads that we do not get to see but the mass of images make you feel that there cannot be any more to see.
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Speaking of which you do get to see some seriously amazing shots in the pages, perhaps the most visually alluring to me were the images of The Boneyard map. Richard Taube explains to some extent why;
“Boneyard also gave us a chance to diversify our portfolio of levels with its warm color scheme and unique terrain”.
This level was not something I expected to see in the book or the game. With gigantic ribs sticking out firm the floor it’s like nothing I have ever seen before and this makes me genuinely excited. The images in the book are such a stark contrast to the rest of the images it really is a section worth pawing over.
That’s not to say the rest of the book is not worthy of your time, Andy McVittie knows who to draw people into this book with pieces being created by the heads of the studio and quotes from the creative team. The images however are the main attraction and they do look amazing with great colours being used as well as quality paper stock. It may seem like a small thing but the feel of the pages is very important to the overall experience of the read.
That’s not to say the rest of the book is not worthy of your time, Andy McVittie knows who to draw people into this book with pieces being created by the heads of the studio and quotes from the creative team. The images however are the main attraction and they do look amazing with great colours being used as well as quality paper stock. It may seem like a small thing but the feel of the pages is very important to the overall experience of the read.
From Guns to flying creatures every image in this book tells a story about the desire of the games creators to bring a new franchise to life and give it the legs to stride on through the next generation of gaming and beyond. At the start of the article I asked whether this book could be a valuable asset in making Titanfall a franchise and I truly believe in its own way it really does.
The Art of Titanfall |
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Images courtesy of Publisher
Book - Provided by Publisher
Book - Provided by Publisher
