First impressions - Homefront

    

 
Homefront is not your typical war FPS. Instead of taking place in some desert country with Taliban like enemies, the war takes place on US soil. North Korea expanded outside it's borders after the death of Kim Jong-Il and began systematically taking over the world. After unifying all of Korea and taking over China and Japan, Korea set it's sights on America. With America in turmoil over $20 gas prices and an influx of people heading for the borders to leave American soil, the stage is set for the first bloody conflict on US soil in over 200 years. Can THQ take this awesome setting and make video game gold or does it fall a little flat in comparison to some of the other shooters on the market? Keep reading to find out in my first impressions. 

Homefront starts off in one of the brutal ways possible. You wake up in your apartment to find Koreans kicking down your door and taking you prisoner. On the transport bus to a labor camp, you see some of the most brutal displays of violence on the American people ever portrayed in a video game. I won't spoil it for you, but be on the lookout for one particular gut wrenching moment when a family is torn apart as soldiers kill a man and a woman who are trying to calm their crying toddler. After their deaths, he runs over to "wake" them as the soldiers leave him there. It's from this moment that you realize something special in the game...you HATE the Korean invaders. I can't say that I have ever particularly hated an enemy in a game before. Sure, you want them dead to make it to the next checkpoint, but in this particular game, I wanted to do bad things to them. That's an amazing accomplishment from a game developer and it's something you don't often see. Kudo's to the developers for creating this sort of anger and dread throughout the first five minutes of the game. Throughout the game, this anger only intensifies until it's almost palpable. 

Unfortunately, the game doesn't go much deeper than that of a typical shooter. The ambiance is amazing and the visuals really make you feel like you are reclaiming America town by town, but the game mechanics are a little dated. Picture a typical shooter with a limited supply of ammo and you have Homefront. This isn't a knock against Homefront though. There are some really good FPS games out there and it does a solid job of mimicking them, it just doesn't go much deeper after that. The areas it does shine in involve vehicular combat and combat drones but this isn't enough to rise it out of the mediocre shooting mechanics the game employs. It's really a shame too since the game started so strong and gave that anger the player could have built off of. But just because the shooting mechanics are so so, there is a lot to like to in the game. It does do a little more than the typical shooter to make you feel like the world is a living breathing entity.  

One thing that really put me into the story was the fact that the game often had breaks in the action where you would interact with people. It was never more than pressing a button to talk to the person a few times and you were usually following someone at the same time, but it did give the game a little more personality. You will recognize the characters and as things begin to take form and characters begin to grow and become more involved in the action, you'll feel for the loss of a teammate or ill decision of someone who responds off of anger. The game does a nice job to really show off the fallibility of man, especially during a time when their livelihood and country are being torn asunder. 

The graphics and sound in the game are both pretty good. You won't see any Uncharted 2 type graphics or be blown away by any particular sound work, but it's serviceable and does the trick. Destroyed buildings and enemy encampments come to life with minor details in tact. Propaganda coming from the radio makes your blood boil and collectibles strewn through the level teach you about the history leading up to the invasion. These small attentions to detail really prove that the developers put a lot of time and effort into their game and fleshed out a nice backstory to accompany their game. 

I was able to play a few rounds of multiplayer last night and from what I've seen, it's pretty good. It's got the Call of Duty points system people clamor for but it also uses vehicles. These vehicles are unlocked on the battle field and allow you to hop into them straight from a spawn point. They aren't too difficult to figure out how to use either and you can be soaring around the battlefield in no time dropping missiles on unsuspecting targets. The only game type I played was a capture point type game but there are others. I don't think it will make you leave your current game of choice, but it will provide a brief stint of multiplayer action before moving on to the next game to be released (or returning to your old game.)  

    

So, do I recommend this game? Sure, I'd recommend it. As long as you aren't a FPS snob who pays critical attention to shooter mechanics and expects something revolutionary in each game to hit the market. The shooting you've seen before, but hell, is it even possible to make something new nowadays? Shooting is shooting and it's just like in other games minus the supply of ammo. You will be scrounging and picking up enemies weapons to stay alive. The story, ambiance, and overall emotions this game embarks upon the player is more than worth the price of admission. While you will probably beat it once and then never come back to it, the multiplayer will provide a short respite from your game of choice and maybe even pick up a few players for longer than that. So, pick it up, and take out those invaders and save America. Because no one, and I mean no one, blows up a Hooters and uses it as a battleground. Think about the children!