Homefront PC Review
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Homefront is the newest contender, coming from Kaos Studios and THQ, which tries to break the mold through an original story coming from Red Dawn director and writer John Milius, in which the USA is invaded by a united Korea in the near future. THQ promised that we would see the birth of a new shooter franchise that would add fresh things to the classic genre formula. Has it succeeded or should Homefront see the firing squad? Let's find out. StoryOne of the high points in Homefront is its story, in which the USA are invaded by a united Korea and subjugated under a totalitarian rule by the Asian super power. But while the idea is pretty original, the execution is pretty much on par with writer John Milius' previous work on Red Dawn, except the Koreans have now replaced the Russians. You play as silent protagonist Robert Jacobs, a former Marine pilot that is being sent to a reeducation camp in Alaska after failing to serve his new country. He is quickly freed by the resistance in his native town of Montrose, Colorado, and urged to join its efforts in order to score a win against the Koreans. What follows is basically just like a movie and, seeing as how I completed it in around 4 hours, is about the same length, except you get to push buttons and act out during its firefights. While the story feels like a whole and doesn't wear out its welcome, Kaos should have really added a few more missions in the middle part of the game, in order to at least match up to the length of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, another short title that still managed to impress. In those four hours, however, you get to experience quite a lot of intense fights and, if you keep your eyes out for newspapers, can get lots of information about the events that lead up to the invasion of the USA. The story isn't all about firefights, as you bear witness to slower moments, specifically at the beginning when you're riding in a bus and seeing Americans being tortured by Koreans on the streets. You also have certain moments in which you can catch your breath, around the Resistance headquarters situated in one of the battered suburban neighborhoods around Montrose.
GameplayYou won't find lots of new things in Homefront, as it plays out basically just like any other first-person shooter powered by Epic's Unreal Engine 3. Colors in the gray spectrum occupy most of the screen during urban firefights, but you do manage to catch some more intense colors here and there. Unlike other shooters, however, Homefront practically forces you to use the iron sights or tactical scopes of your weapons as if you attempt to shoot from the hip, without actually aiming, the bullet spread is all over the place. In quick firefights or when enemies pop up from cover, this can cause a lot of missed shots and subsequent deaths. Speaking of deaths, Homefront has quite a lot of cheap ones, not just because it's a difficult game (which it is even on the easy setting) but due to the grenades thrown by your enemies towards your own location. The game does show the grenades on your screen, like in Call of Duty, but doesn't allow you to throw them back, like in Activision's franchise. In one certain case, three grenades were thrown at me in just a couple of seconds, killing me instantly. When the grenades don't kill you, the big number of enemies will, as Homefront is pretty much filled with the so-called monster closets, infinitely spawning enemies until you trigger a cut scene or checkpoint. They'll shoot at you from every possible direction, and the on-screen prompts can't really show you where your opponents are targeting you from. Homefront does have one special gimmick, in the form of the Goliath, an all-terrain robot tank of sorts, fitted with automatic chain guns and rocket launchers, which you can guide through the use of special aiming binoculars. This makes quick work of Korean armored vehicles and, over the course of its short campaign, you do get a bit attached to it, more than even your actual comrades. Seeing as how you play as a former Marine pilot, you do get to control a helicopter later in the game, while you escort some of your Resistance colleagues, but that portion isn't something that will blow your mind. Homefront does manage to drive the point home that you're fighting a war | ||||||
Version reviewed: Homefront
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