With EA’s GamesCom announcement of Titanfall‘s final DLC, IMC Rising, releasing sometime in the fall, it isn’t a shot in the dark to assume that avid FPS gamers are already mulling over what may potentially be in Respawn Entertainment’s inevitable follow-up to one of the most anticipated games of the last year.
The previous DLC for Titanfall, Expedition and Frontier’s Edge, were map packs, each containing 3 new maps, and IMC Rising is following suit. The base game included 15 maps, and the DLC added 9 altogether, bringing the total to a hefty 24 battlefields for aspiring pilots to test their mettle in.
Titanfall has been generally well-received by critics and gamers alike, however, there have been a decent number of criticisms thrown at the multiplayer-only shooter. The most prominent being Respawn’s ambitious, yet shoddily executed decision to integrate the typically single-player FPS campaign into the overarching multiplayer aspect of the game. In regards to the addition of the MOBA creep-like Grunts/Spectres, feelings were mixed, citing that their inclusion added an atmosphere of increased intensity to the matches, but reproaching their elementary AI.
All this being said, there lies merit in positive conjecture regarding what the public desires in a Titanfall sequel, however, there exists an equally important role in discussing what should NOT be included. This article seeks to hypothesize the most rational arguments relevant to a Titanfall sequel, and how their inclusion exclusion would benefit the game.
With no further ado, here is what gamers don’t want in Titanfall 2.
1. Xbox One-Exclusivity
GamesCom, and the gaming industry in general, has largely been a battle between Microsoft and Sony (and their associated developers/companies) in the fact that many of the announced games have been touted to be exclusive to their respective consoles (I’m looking at you, Rise of the Tomb Raider). Looking back, this is also the case with Titanfall, which was destined to be the Xbox One’s killer app leading up to its release this past March. Taking this into account, the following can be said: For Titanfall 2 to mature into a fully-fledged multiplayer-shooter franchise that stays true to Respawn Entertainment’s vision, it cannot be tied down to a single console. Why is this so? Because, aside from the business aspects of console-exclusivity, it alienates a large portion of the gaming population. The PS4 is outperforming the Xbox One in terms of sales, and PC gaming* is arguably at its peak, consequently, allowing Titanfall‘s sequel to stay married to one console limits both the accessibility and sales performance of the game.
*Titanfall was also released on PC/Xbox 360, but just for the sake of argument…
2. Third-Person
Back in July, Respawn Entertainment posted a job listing that stated:
“…seeking a Senior Systems Designer to embrace and contribute to the project vision, specifically in the areas of hero control/mechanics, enemy design, AI behaviors, combat/weapons, class design, skills/progression, story, and boss encounters…”
Qualifications desired for the position included experience working on 3rd person action/exploration games.
One could infer that Respawn, whose most successful (ahem, only) game is Titanfall, may possibly be looking towards developing either a new third-person IP or integrating, even overhauling, third-person action game mechanics into the follow-up to Titanfall. If the case was the latter, Titanfall 2 would crash and burn. Designed to be a frenetic and dynamic first-person shooter, allowing Titanfall 2 to emulate the likes of Gears of War would sap the lifeblood of the franchise at an alarming rate.
Of course, the more realistic approach of interpreting the job announcement would be that Respawn is looking to refine the kill-cam/player-cam mode that kicks in after a player is killed. Another plausible explanation would be that the developers are looking to include dynamic battlefields ala Battlefield 4 that feature large, unpredictable boss fights within the environment. Honestly, that would be an exciting addition to the already seizure-inducing modes in the game.
3. “Campaign” Mode
Above: I don’t care about you, or what happens to you. Just let me stand by for Titanfall…
Last, but definitely not least, if Respawn makes the decision to repeat disaster by including another dismal “single-player” story aspect to a multiplayer-focused game, gamers will revolt. Back in the 1990’s, game franchises such as Quake and Unreal Tournament prided themselves on being multiplayer-only shooters, and they did so with aplomb. Even today, multiplayer-only games like Counter-Strike and Team Fortress 2 are largely successful.
As previously mentioned, Titanfall‘s biggest criticism was that the campaign mode was soulless, shallow, and ultimately, useless. In the sequel, Respawn would do well to either nip the campaign mode in the bud entirely, focusing on expertly crafted level design and refreshing game mechanics, or divvy up resources intelligently to emphasize building a well-executed, substantial story mode that integrates both story and multiplayer aspects. Doing neither, and deciding to simply rehash of Titanfall‘s campaign mode would be a colossal failure.
Gamers are fickle creatures, they want what they want, and they want it the way they want it. But if Respawn can pull off the impossible and create a game that has the most out-of-this-world multiplayer-shooter mechanics or include a God-breathed single-player campaign that blows the mediocre attempts of Call of Duty and Battlefield out of the water, gamers around the world may have the best first-person multiplayer shooter on their hands whenever Titanfall 2 releases.
Also, we don’t want TitanCall of Duty: Advanced Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots. Please and thank you.