The game consists of players controlling "pilots" and large robotic vehicles known as Titans and as members of one of the two factions (IMC and Militia), they fight in a war-torn belt of planets known as the Frontier. Many game modes are found within the game that show off the game's solid and unconventional core mechanics in a multiplayer first-person shooter environment. A single-player campaign does exist, which explains the game's backstory in further detail as you play as James Franco, an IMC officer who eventually deserts to the Frontier to escape his death sentence and joins the guerrilla-like Militia. The campaign is a radical departure from the typical shooter campaign, with RPG-like boss fights, exploration, classes, and character design.