Set menu
Kaos has, at least, interlaced proceedings with an admittedly decent array of first-person cinematics; burying yourself in a mass grave complete with a corpse’s arm drooped across your field of vision being just one such moment. Similar are a number of set-pieces where, for instance, Jacobs will be hurled to the ground or surrounded by flames (again, all in first-person), but these side-shows fail to cover-up what is disappointing handling of the Unreal Engine.
Firing on all cylinders
At least in multiplayer, a levelling-up, vehicle-heavy affair with echoes of Battlefield 2, Homefront offers enough to make itself a viable option. The clever generation of BP (battle points), the currency required to fund purchase of weapons, armour and transportation, earned by racking up kills and assisting in the overall war effort, means you’ll see genuine gain for your efforts.
The inclusion of dedicated servers should ensure gameplay remains blessedly lag free too, but whether Homefront is able to capture a strong enough following for its multiplayer to thrive remains to be seen. The thought occurs that THQ might have been better pushing this side of proceedings, much as EA does with Battlefield: Bad Company, rather than hyping the inconsequential solo experience.
What the truck?
Verdict
Drawing heavy inspiration from the likes of Activision’s Call of Duty series, and with rather hefty nods in Half-Life’s svelte direction, Homefront is a game of lofty ambitions. However, while just about screaming loud enough to be heard – thanks to an interesting premise and decent multiplayer – it ultimately lacks the required gumption to really stand out in the crowded FPS genre.
More Games Reviews |
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Homefront
COMMENTS
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70% is far too nice a score for this game, after playing it I dug out my copy of BFBC2 and had a game. It plays so much better!
Playing Homefront makes you realise why they did not release a demo first, shame on you THQ!
"...hapless American captors cower before their feet. "
I would have thought that it was normally the CAPTIVES that do the cowering.
Please check your homonyms, grammar and typos.
Nice description of the background to the game, I would like to know the final set piece. I am imagining 1:1 combat with Kim Jong-un (a la Killzone 2 / Team America).
I tried to stop myself commenting on some of the mistakes in the article, but was unable to do so (it is Friday afternoon).
"leaving the reigns of North Korea... reigns he seizes with relish..."
I was not sure whether you meant "reign of North Korea", until I read the next line about "reigns" and "relish".
In this context, I think REINS would be more appropiate.
After an escape, a prisoner does not go on the 'lamb'. (Cue kebab and/or regional jokes)
It is more usual to go on the 'lam'.
Oh, "KIM" was mis-spelt also (final paragraph, first page).
A pint of beer to whoever finds the remaining grammatical error(s). :-)
@Peter Kay
Fair enough, different strokes for different folks.
Given your comments, I would suggest you give Deus Ex Invisible War a try. It's old-sh, 2004 I think but it is very playable whether you want to kill everything or finesse your way past obstacles. A very sophisticated game IMHO.
You might like mindlessness; I prefer plot
I'm not a huge multiplayer fan. I don't do online gaming, and I like a strong story driven FPS.
That's probably why my favourite FPS is Jedi Knight. Granted, I enjoyed Doom (but not Doom 2), Rise of The Triad, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake and Quake 2 (I haven't played much more modern FPS). I thought the move to the Quake III era of no single player campaign and endless bot/online fights was a tremendous step backwards.
I'd far sooner travel through a level where the objective is obtaining an item, rather than killing everything, then finding out that obtaining it causes the spaceship you're rushing through to plunge to the ground leaving three real time minutes to get to an exit.
That's much more fun than any number of monster kills.
