'Titanfall' wows with busy Gamescom trailer

Multiplayer action is turned up to 11 in the "Titanfall" trailer that escaped Gamescom this week, as waves of nimble players and hulking armored suits clash in Angel City's Attrition Mode map.

Speed-vs-strength-in-near-future-multiplayer-combat-game-Titanfall-Photo-AFP

Multiplayer action is turned up to 11 in the 'Titanfall' trailer that escaped Gamescom this week, as waves of nimble players and hulking armored suits clash in Angel City's Attrition Mode map.

'Titanfall' seeks to merge the sort of spectacular, cinematic set pieces and narrative beats found in expensively produced single player campaigns with an immersive multiplayer mechanic.

And so we see a drunk and belligerent veteran wingman being safely stowed below a sewer hatch before the player character sprints to the front, bounces off a couple of walls, and wraps a rocket around one of those bulky Titans.

Down one of these mechanical beasts and out pops the pilot, ejecting high into the sky. Better players will turn themselves into bullet-spitting hedgehogs as they descend -- the unlucky, as shown, become targets in a duck shoot.

The fast pace of 'Titanfall' coupled with Angel City's angular pathways come as no surprise given Respawn Entertainment's background in the 'Call of Duty' franchise.

But elements of squad play plucked from 'Battlefield' and the mechanized frenzy of the PC's stompy combat title 'Hawken' are in evidence as well; fans of cult title 'Mirror's Edge' and 'Tribes' will relish the chance to indulge in some athletic building ascension and rocket-powered leaps.

Announced for Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC, 'Titanfall' is expected to launch in early 2014.