After a strong launch of Titanfall on Xbox One and PC back in March, many gamers are already eager for word on an inevitable follow-up. Despite critical acclaim and plenty of buyers, some players have begun to lose interest in the freshman installment - forcing Respawn to outright remove select modes from the PC version. Early details suggested that the game would sport a limited amount of maps, weapons, as well as perks, and even though the final product included more unlockables than some had originally assumed, there's no doubt that players are having a difficult time finding new things to do in the game - especially those that hoped the project's multiplayer campaign would offer a thought-provoking and exciting story experience.

Instead, the "campaign" portion of Titanfall was little more than augmented multiplayer matches - with nominal story details bookending each session (while voice-overs added context for in-game events). For many, the addition was underwhelming - in spite of the title's ground-breaking gameplay. After all, Respawn has created an intriguing game universe but Titanfall offered very little opportunities for insight or exploration. As a result, fans were encouraged to hear that Respawn COO Dusty Welch wasn't ruling out the possibility of a traditional campaign in Titanfall 2; unfortunately, new comments from founder Vince Zampella and director Steve Fukuda seem to suggest that, even though the studio isn't ruling out the possibility, fans probably shouldn't hold their breath either.

Speaking with CVG, Zampella asserts that a Call of Duty-style single player campaign is actually counterintuitive to the multiplayer focus of the Titanfall series. Essentially, the developer suggests that the future of Titanfall relies on pushing the boundaries of online multiplayer, not interactive storytelling:

"A single-player campaign? I don't know. I think we want to hit whatever part of the brain it is that triggers that feeling of a single-player campaign. There's nothing wrong with a single-player experience. They should exist and they do exist and I would work on one. But doing one with this feels almost like taking a step backwards [...] As you're playing there are these story moments happening around you and some people take it in, but others miss it because they're focussed on the fight. Sometimes it's a problem for single-player games too, but in those you can put up a wall, block the action and then force people to pay attention to the story. In a multiplayer game you don't want to block things off."

Similarly, Fukuda maintains that the developer is attempting to do something different with their Titanfall series - not simply copy the team's Call of Duty experience and add giant Titan robots:

"To me it would almost be a step backwards. Doing straight up single-player just feels a little bit to me like going back to what you know, going back."

According to the report, the temptation to include a more familiar story mode led the team to develop a multiplayer campaign mode - one that, as mentioned, didn't quite satisfy gamers looking to delve into the Titanfall world and its characters.

As a result, unless there's a major shift in design philosophy, it's sounding as though the team will focus the majority of Titanfall 2 energy on delivering a bigger multiplayer experience: more Titan chassis, weapons, maps, perks, modes and customization rather than reinventing their approach with a "walled" offline story component.

That said, while the campaign portion of Titanfall received a mixed response, there's still plenty of reason to think the developer could satisfy single player lovers - if they made the narrative material (and in-game events) bigger and more meaningful. For the most part, Titanfall story missions were simply redressed multiplayer modes with some background explosions and window-dressing. If more time was dedicated to introducing story lines and quality characters between missions, paired with larger scale events in-match, Respawn might be able to achieve the best of both worlds. The studio doesn't need to deliver a traditional blockbuster action experience that funnels gamers from one over-the-top set piece to the next, most players just want an opportunity to explore the world, the people, and what's at stake - regardless of whether the experience is off or online, alone or with others.

Unfortunately, it will be a while before we hear concrete Titanfall 2 details but, in the meantime, gamers who are still battling it out in Titanfall have two more DLC packs en route. The first of the three season pass offerings, Expedition, launched back in May (on Xbox One as well as PC) and just arrived a week back on Xbox 360. Yet, Respawn waited until Game Update #4 to add-in the respective DLC achievements.

Gamers who have yet to return to the world of Titanfall for Expedition can preview the full list of new DLC challenges below:

• Swampland Victor (5) - Win a match on Swampland
• Swampland Connoisseur (10) - Play every game mode on Swampland
• It's Safer Here (20) - Don't touch the ground for 60 seconds on Swampland
• Tree Runner (30) Be airborne for 500 Meters on Swampland
• Runoff Victor (5) - Win a match on Runoff
• Runoff Connoisseur (10) - Play every game mode on Runoff
• Side Pipe (20) Kill 25 enemies while wall running on Runoff
• Blood Water (30) - Kill 200 enemies on Runoff
• War Games Victor (5) - Win a match on War Games
• War Games Connoisseur (10) - Play every game mode on War Games
• Faded 20 - Kill 12 Pilots in a single match on War Games
• Super Faded 35 - Kill 100 Pilots on War Games

Sadly, those who played a lot of Expedition when it first released will not retroactively receive achievements for wins or challenges that were earned prior to Game Update 4. Fingers crossed that when the next Titanfall DLC pack releases, any new achievements will be launched at the same time.

________________________________________________

MORE: Titanfall Impressions and Gameplay Video

________________________________________________

Titanfall is now available for the PC, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The "Expedition" DLC pack is also available at this time for PC, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

Follow me on Twitter @benkendrick.

Source: CVG & XboxAchievements