When it comes to shooters, I'd consider myself to be pretty jaded. With the market as saturated as it is, a game really has to work to stand out in my eyes. Consider it a testament to the strength of Homefront's premise, then, that I was genuinely anticipating THQ and Kaos Studios' tale of Eastern domination. The marketing blitzkrieg supporting Homefront claimed that the game would thrust players headfirst into a desperate struggle for survival against impossible odds. The stakes? Only the further subsistence of American life as we know it. Promising a level of emotional resonance that most games don't even attempt, Homefront was poised to be one of the better games of early 2011. After carving my way through the brief single player campaign and participating in a few multiplayer matches, I can't help but wonder where it all went wrong.
Given that Homefront clearly has aspirations for Call of Duty's crown, I was shocked by how stiff the gameplay felt. Sure, the controls are identical to those of Activision's prize franchise, but as soon as I was up and moving, something just felt off. The silent protagonist moves with all of the speed and precision of a drunkard, and aiming lacks the buttery smoothness of other big names in the genre. It's possible to get used to the clunky feel of the game after a while, but it never feels like it's giving you enough precision or speed to really be an effective force on the battlefield.
It doesn't help matters that the single player campaign is both incredibly short and almost completely devoid of memorable moments or characters. THQ's promises of relatable squad mates and emotionally trying scenarios have revealed themselves to be frustratingly empty. The first five minutes of the game, which have already been covered ad naseum by preview outlets and which don't feature any actual gameplay, remained the most compelling memory when the credits rolled a scant five hours later. Homefront's version of the United States certainly had the capacity for some haunting set pieces, but the game merely flirts with its true potential before casting the resistance into another lackluster firefight. It is disappointing, to say the least.
Further marring the experience are dated graphics and awful animations. The grenade-tossing animation in particular is so bad, it makes aiming your throws needlessly difficult. In all of the shooters I've played, this has never been much of an issue, but somehow Homefront has managed to make this simple task into a chore. Melee attacks look similarly weird, but at least in that case the bad animation won't cost a you checkpoint. As if that laundry list of problems weren't enough, the questionable AI of your squad mates sees them blocking your path pretty frequently, and they never really seem to help out during battle. Between the game's failure to deliver on any emotional level, the poor graphics, the wretched animations, and the stiff gameplay, Homefront's campaign is appalling for all the wrong reasons.
Fortunately, the multiplayer fares better. The game features all of the standard modes revolving around either capturing territories or killing enemy teams, but with the added benefit of support for up to 32 players. Although class customization options are vast, the choices for personalizing your avatar are all but nonexistent. That said, it's still fun to deck out your guns with all of the latest upgrades, ranging from sights and scopes to some sweet camouflages. A perk system makes an obligatory appearance, but they're all pretty standard fare. The best part of the multiplayer is the Battle Points system, which basically functions like Call of Duty's killstreaks, but unlike its competitor's skills, Battle Points can be saved up over the course of a game instead of just one life. It's an interesting twist to an otherwise standard online offering. Still, the arthritic feel of the gameplay holds the multiplayer back just as much as it does the campaign.
In the end, Homefront's lack of smoothness and responsiveness is its biggest bugbear. Lousy graphics and a disappointing story could be overlooked if only the game played well, but in this case the gameplay only adds to the laundry list of problems. As a result, Homefront feels like a cheap flirtation with the upheaval of modern shooter conventions that I had expected. The frightfully low quality of the gameplay is all the more disappointing because of the enormous potential behind the concept. This Homefront has sadly been compromised.
Homefront brings a different personality to the FPS genre. It can be summed up as somewhere inbetween call of duty and battlefield which when played is a fresh feeling.
The campaign is a short 4-5 hours but is extremely thrilling and compelling.
The sounds of Homefront are dramatic and immersive, a defining moment for me was coming out of a hardware store into a large battle when i needed to shoot an attack helicopter. When i shot the helicopter down i could hear the servos winding and screaming with acceleration until a climatic bang as its flamming carcus slammed into the ground.
The online multiplayer for Homefront is also compelling, the structure of each gametype makes suspense and dramatic climax to victory/defeat. Every game feels like a real battle for victory. With the BattlePoint in-game economy system multiplayer in Homefront is extremely unique where choice of buy affects the outcome of the game.
The graphics of Homefront are in and out of amazing. A look at a character’s face and you can see wrinkles, dirt, grime, and the glittering of their eyes backgrounded with fire or whatever the environment may be while looking at apparel it seems as though all clothes may be made of wood and painted with a shrewd shade of a color. Also Homefront has a grittery overall theme than that of Call of Duty or Battlefield giving it a more unique feel.
Overall: 87 out of 100
I think I’m pretty neutral when it comes to this game’s campaign. I had heard from various podcasts and industry professionals about the moving, emotional moments of the game, and was really looking forward to those. Sadly, such moments were few and far between, and at the front-end of the campaign exclusively, at that, yet they still hit home. The latter half of the campaign devolved into another action-packed military shooter.
I haven’t heard anyone else mention this, and I don’t know if it’s really a complaint, but later on in the game, I almost felt as if I was playing a sci-fi shooter. The guns were brightly colored with blue and green sights, and the KPH heavies were wearing large, blue, digital camo outfits that made them appear alien. I suppose that’s just a visual gripe though.
As for the game’s mechanics, for my own experience with it, I can only describe it as feeling…cheap. I’m not a stickler for graphics by any means, but when the sound isn’t too good, and the hit detection is a bit more off than in other shooter campaigns, I can’t help but feel the game is lacking in that department.
Multiplayer, however, is quite amazing. A full 32-player battle feels just right, and the maps aren’t too large or too small. Not just that, but I really enjoy the urban sprawls and large valleys that the maps offer. You can work through houses and terrain with a team just as you would in a campaign mission, say with someone sniping from a window in one of many two-story houses, and another teammate marking targets with the parrot drone. There’s some amazing teamwork to be had here.
I’ve experimented a little with the other modes in the game, but I’ve stuck mostly with Ground Control. It’s a nice mix of a Call of Duty Domination style experience with moving target areas a la Bad Company 2′s Rush mode. It’s not static, however, as the territories move according to who has the upper hand. There are three sets of territories, and at the match start, both sides fight over the center. The loser is pushed back to defend their set of three territories. Should they lose again, the match is over. Should they win the second round, the tie-breaker round consists of fighting over the same center territories again. Plenty of frantic action.
One odd thing is the lack of weapon selection, although DLC is sure to come. Also odd is the lack of a shotgun, unless you pre-ordered from Gamestop and got it there. You’d think shotguns would be a staple for any shooter, but not here, apparently.
Overall, I’d recommend picking this game up if nothing else for the multiplayer, but the single player also offers up some moving material at the beginning that’s scarce in other titles in the genre. With reviews being middling, price drops such as the drastic one this past Wednesday are sure to come back, so it’s up to you on whether or not to wait.
If there was a multiplayer demo i would definately try it. So far im not sure if i want to pay full retail price for it.
Homefront with its short campaign 4-5 hours with a interest story premise if some sub par AI and gameplay design being shot through walls at random when you are in full cover.
The multiplayer on the other hand can be vary fun with friends, but the lack of enough severs has made I extremely difficult to find a game, also staying on the same team with friends and when friend join your party they sometimes are unable to join open games or even just the party. I did play on the 360, but others did find more issues with the PC version which I did not play.
Quality, quality is what I am reminded of when I play this game looking at other shooter Battlefield BC2, Halo Reach, Call of Duty Black Ops, and Killzone 3. The case in these game is they may not innovate the wheel that much, but the production values of these games are vary high and they are vary polished in their presentation.
When I play Homefront I am faced with a game that is rough around the edges where everything in the game is of underwhelming quality, just plain lacking polish which is the reason games like Reach, Black Ops, Killzone 3 and Battlefield BC2 are good not because they innovate somewhat, but because under that their developers produce a quality product that is well made. Just shows you can have the best ideas in the world, but execution is the most important thing in video games as it is with any other media.
I’m going to keep Homefront as a reminder of how quality in video games is vary important as I hope to go into the games industry after university. That and I might sell it for cash for another game.
how bout a rental? Sup