Spillanya
March 19th, 2011, 11:18 PM
http://i52.tinypic.com/191ki.jpg
A couple days ago, I had a conversation with a friend of mine on the topic of patriotism. During this conversation, I explained to him that I wasn't the most patriotic person in the United States -- I mean, I definitely support our troops and all that, but I don't exactly wave an American flag around or have a red, white, and blue bumper sticker on my car. Imagine my surprise when, within the first ten minutes of THQ and Kaos Studios' newest first-person shooter Homefront, I was ready to jump out of my chair, grab an M16, and invade Korea.
Okay, maybe that's a little extreme, but the opening cutscene alone made me feel more than willing to jump into the front lines and defend my, well, homefront.
http://i56.tinypic.com/9ticuo.jpg
I had a lot of expectations for this game. A professor of mine (let's just say he's high up on the THQ food chain) brought in a couple trailers to class one day, and I was immediately hooked into what little story they gave. A little later in the semester, when the game was nearing its completion date, I was allowed to play through a little bit of one of the levels. The controls were easy to get the hang of considering they were the same as Call of Duty, and the graphics weren't the best, but I loved what little bit I got to play, part of which included sprinting after a moving humvee and attempting to jump at it while the skies rained hellfire onto the buildings and enemies surrounding me. Needless to say, when Homefront was released this past Tuesday, I had to get my hands on a copy.
Set in 2027, Homefront's singleplayer mode starts off with some exposition told through a series of real and fictitious news clips explaining the unification of North Korea and South Korea by Kim Jong-Il's successor, Kim Jong-Un. The Greater Korean Republic, now a world superpower, is hellbent on global domination and has invaded the United States of America, which has been severely crippled by warfare and economic downfall. Once you gain control of your character (keep in mind that all other cutscenes in the game are all interactive, which really keeps the player immersed in the story), you are captured by a group of Korean soldiers attempting to forcibly draft you into their army. While on the bus toward the Korean camp, you witness the sheer horror of what this evil superpower has done and will continue to do to America.
http://i55.tinypic.com/2rqk087.jpg
It's not all blood and gore, however. Homefront is written extremely well and knows exactly which heartstrings to tug on for maximum poignancy. Let's just say there's nothing more heartbreaking than a child's anguish or more horrifying than a mass grave in the neighborhood baseball field.
The bus ride ends abruptly as a group of Americans known as The Resistance rescue you and take you back to their camp. This is where the real game begins as you are drafted into their makeshift army, whose goal is to help the US military by bringing fuel to San Francisco. Of course, the battlefield couldn't be more unsettling -- each firefight takes place on familiar ground. From the first chapter in the suburbs, to the Hooters down the street, to the baseball field, there wasn't a single moment in the campaign where I didn't think, "Jesus. This could be taking place in my backyard."
Needless to say, Homefront is very well-written and its story reveals a future that is all too possible, which is what makes playing the game so unsettling at times. Unfortunately, the singleplayer campaign is heavily marred by its length. The average FPS campaign these days is roughly 6-8 hours. I finished Homefront in about 4, and that includes all the ragequitting and bumbling about looking for weapons. The final battle on the Golden Gate Bridge, as epic as it was, just didn't feel like an ending. I truly expected more gameplay afterwards and was disappointed there wasn't a follow-up level. It was difficult to draw any satisfaction from the "ending" of the game when I didn't actually get to defeat the Greater Korean Republic or kill the bad guy. I can only hope that DLC is released in the near future that includes some extra chapters to truly wrap up Homefront's otherwise excellent campaign.
The multiplayer side of Homefront, while somewhat unpolished looks-wise, almost makes up for the campaign's length. The multiplayer, I must say, is quite fun. Right now, multiplayer consists of four different playlists: Team Deathmatch, Ground Control, Battle Commander Team Deathmatch, and Battle Commander Ground Control. It's pretty much everything you'd find in a typical Call of Duty game, but Homefront mixes it up with the addition of a system called Battle Points. Basically, the better you do in a match, the more Battle Points you'll rack up, which unlock a variety of in-game awards such as more powerful weaponry and the ability to spawn in vehicles. In fact, you can even do terribly in a match and still be rewarded Battle Points for your efforts (let's just say I earned a lot of Deathstreaks). In any case, it's a unique system that encourages players to work as a team, which makes playing with an Xbox Live party all the more rewarding. I definitely had more fun playing with a partner than I did all by myself. With its huge maps that can accommodate matches with up to 32 players, as well as a server upgrade on its way, there's definitely a lot of fun to be had in Homefront's multiplayer mode.
http://i56.tinypic.com/wrx65z.jpg
Overall, Homefront is a fairly solid first-person shooter. While its campaign is disappointingly short, it's definitely engaging enough to inspire me to go back and replay each mission to collect any achievements I didn't grab the first time around. Not to mention its multiplayer will keep you occupied for hours. The gameplay itself is neither new nor innovative, but that doesn't mean Homefront isn't a good title. A few singleplayer DLC add-ons to wrap up the rest of the story are all this game really needs to earn itself an A in my book.
Summary:
PROS:
-- Well-written and engaging singleplayer campaign filled with powerful imagery and familiar settings that will unleash the hidden patriot in you.
-- Non-cutscene cutscenes keep the player immersed in the story.
-- Fun and entertaining multiplayer mode with a unique rewards system.
CONS:
-- Singleplayer campaign is far too short.
-- Gameplay is nothing truly different from your average Call of Duty or Battlefield game.
-- Did I mention the campaign was too short?
Final Score:
8/10
A couple days ago, I had a conversation with a friend of mine on the topic of patriotism. During this conversation, I explained to him that I wasn't the most patriotic person in the United States -- I mean, I definitely support our troops and all that, but I don't exactly wave an American flag around or have a red, white, and blue bumper sticker on my car. Imagine my surprise when, within the first ten minutes of THQ and Kaos Studios' newest first-person shooter Homefront, I was ready to jump out of my chair, grab an M16, and invade Korea.
Okay, maybe that's a little extreme, but the opening cutscene alone made me feel more than willing to jump into the front lines and defend my, well, homefront.
http://i56.tinypic.com/9ticuo.jpg
I had a lot of expectations for this game. A professor of mine (let's just say he's high up on the THQ food chain) brought in a couple trailers to class one day, and I was immediately hooked into what little story they gave. A little later in the semester, when the game was nearing its completion date, I was allowed to play through a little bit of one of the levels. The controls were easy to get the hang of considering they were the same as Call of Duty, and the graphics weren't the best, but I loved what little bit I got to play, part of which included sprinting after a moving humvee and attempting to jump at it while the skies rained hellfire onto the buildings and enemies surrounding me. Needless to say, when Homefront was released this past Tuesday, I had to get my hands on a copy.
Set in 2027, Homefront's singleplayer mode starts off with some exposition told through a series of real and fictitious news clips explaining the unification of North Korea and South Korea by Kim Jong-Il's successor, Kim Jong-Un. The Greater Korean Republic, now a world superpower, is hellbent on global domination and has invaded the United States of America, which has been severely crippled by warfare and economic downfall. Once you gain control of your character (keep in mind that all other cutscenes in the game are all interactive, which really keeps the player immersed in the story), you are captured by a group of Korean soldiers attempting to forcibly draft you into their army. While on the bus toward the Korean camp, you witness the sheer horror of what this evil superpower has done and will continue to do to America.
http://i55.tinypic.com/2rqk087.jpg
It's not all blood and gore, however. Homefront is written extremely well and knows exactly which heartstrings to tug on for maximum poignancy. Let's just say there's nothing more heartbreaking than a child's anguish or more horrifying than a mass grave in the neighborhood baseball field.
The bus ride ends abruptly as a group of Americans known as The Resistance rescue you and take you back to their camp. This is where the real game begins as you are drafted into their makeshift army, whose goal is to help the US military by bringing fuel to San Francisco. Of course, the battlefield couldn't be more unsettling -- each firefight takes place on familiar ground. From the first chapter in the suburbs, to the Hooters down the street, to the baseball field, there wasn't a single moment in the campaign where I didn't think, "Jesus. This could be taking place in my backyard."
Needless to say, Homefront is very well-written and its story reveals a future that is all too possible, which is what makes playing the game so unsettling at times. Unfortunately, the singleplayer campaign is heavily marred by its length. The average FPS campaign these days is roughly 6-8 hours. I finished Homefront in about 4, and that includes all the ragequitting and bumbling about looking for weapons. The final battle on the Golden Gate Bridge, as epic as it was, just didn't feel like an ending. I truly expected more gameplay afterwards and was disappointed there wasn't a follow-up level. It was difficult to draw any satisfaction from the "ending" of the game when I didn't actually get to defeat the Greater Korean Republic or kill the bad guy. I can only hope that DLC is released in the near future that includes some extra chapters to truly wrap up Homefront's otherwise excellent campaign.
The multiplayer side of Homefront, while somewhat unpolished looks-wise, almost makes up for the campaign's length. The multiplayer, I must say, is quite fun. Right now, multiplayer consists of four different playlists: Team Deathmatch, Ground Control, Battle Commander Team Deathmatch, and Battle Commander Ground Control. It's pretty much everything you'd find in a typical Call of Duty game, but Homefront mixes it up with the addition of a system called Battle Points. Basically, the better you do in a match, the more Battle Points you'll rack up, which unlock a variety of in-game awards such as more powerful weaponry and the ability to spawn in vehicles. In fact, you can even do terribly in a match and still be rewarded Battle Points for your efforts (let's just say I earned a lot of Deathstreaks). In any case, it's a unique system that encourages players to work as a team, which makes playing with an Xbox Live party all the more rewarding. I definitely had more fun playing with a partner than I did all by myself. With its huge maps that can accommodate matches with up to 32 players, as well as a server upgrade on its way, there's definitely a lot of fun to be had in Homefront's multiplayer mode.
http://i56.tinypic.com/wrx65z.jpg
Overall, Homefront is a fairly solid first-person shooter. While its campaign is disappointingly short, it's definitely engaging enough to inspire me to go back and replay each mission to collect any achievements I didn't grab the first time around. Not to mention its multiplayer will keep you occupied for hours. The gameplay itself is neither new nor innovative, but that doesn't mean Homefront isn't a good title. A few singleplayer DLC add-ons to wrap up the rest of the story are all this game really needs to earn itself an A in my book.
Summary:
PROS:
-- Well-written and engaging singleplayer campaign filled with powerful imagery and familiar settings that will unleash the hidden patriot in you.
-- Non-cutscene cutscenes keep the player immersed in the story.
-- Fun and entertaining multiplayer mode with a unique rewards system.
CONS:
-- Singleplayer campaign is far too short.
-- Gameplay is nothing truly different from your average Call of Duty or Battlefield game.
-- Did I mention the campaign was too short?
Final Score:
8/10