Lowered Expectations
I don't normally purchase games day one, nevermind at full price. However, I've had my eye on Homefront since I first heard about it - I've really wanted a game to explore the possibility of an invasion of the US. I still would love to see Heartland be made, and Homefront sounded just up that alley.
What a letdown. I told myself several times: calm down, this is Kaos, Frontlines was buggy and a similar disappointment, just let it go on sale on Steam. But I didn't listen, and I was done 6 hours after pressing "purchase". And 3 of those hours were spent downloading the game. Seriously, I wish I had been playing the game for 6 hours, or even 5 hours.
I can say a few things positive. The setpiece battles were impressive, especially the mortar rounds in the third mission, as well as the final confrontation. Contrary to some complaints, the game did surprise me a couple times, namely the third mission when the white phosphorus round misfired and your squadmate was voicing his concern and apologies over the radio. I would like to think that Kaos added this twist as a touch or realism - contrary to Half-Life, normal people can't just pick up weapons (never mind mortars) and use them expertly. Then again, the fact I can't remember the squad member's name should tell you about the connection I felt with the guy.
In conclusion, I feel I put more time & thought into this review than I did playing the game. I want my money and my time back.
I plan on going back and giving the multiplayer a try, so take my review with that giant mound of salt, but I look at it this way: multiplayer is 95% dependent on a large pool of players available, and unless the game in question is named Halo or Call of Duty, there's little chance of a vibrant community after 1-2 months. Since I don't usually buy games until they're cheap and any multiplayer community has moved on, I don't usually consider multiplayer in reviews.
