Homefront is being developed by the guys who did Frontline, and was written by the guy who wrote Red Dawn. So, yeah, it’s a war game, and a corny one at that.

I mean, a United States under North Korean occupation? China, you can maybe swing China, but North Korea? Bit silly. Then again, being written by John Milius, it’s not the occupying power that’s the point of the story.

The point is that a bunch of Americans get a chance to exercise their right/love for big firearms and go at ‘em. Which, as you can see in this trailer, happens a lot in this game.

As for the gameplay, Homefront is a little like Crysis, with the player dropped into largeish areas (like a whole town) and then given a few objectives to complete. So, same game style as Crysis, same bad guys as Crysis… except it’s written by John Milius. Sounds good to me.

Interestingly, the game has been written by John Milius, a Hollywood screenwriter (and total gun nut) who has worked on Dirty Harry, Apocalypse Now, Conan and, yes, Red Dawn.

Which is funny, because Homefront’s story doesn’t stray too far from that of Red Dawn, with players joining the “American Civil Resistance” as they fight to overthrow their Communist oppressors. Who are from… North Korea.

The game is being developed by Kaos Studios, the team behind Frontlines: Fuel of War, and is due for the 360, PS3 & PC. More details, as well as something to look at (come on THQ, at least one screen would have been nice), will be provided during E3.

50 PLAYER CAP for Multiplayer?! [Kaos Studios Community Forum via Eurogamer]

Yesterday, the game, along with a few THQ representatives, made their up from their HQ in Melbourne to show off the latest build to us Sydney-based games journos in the best fashion possible – a multiplayer shoot-out.

I managed to get a solid four hours of gaming in (busy day at work, I know), and if you don’t mind a bit of reading, I’d like to share my impressions, and later, some cake.The event itself was held at the Player’s Lounge in Stanmore, a small yet comfortable venue that sits on Parramatta Road, just past the McDonalds. After a curt nod to the proprietors to assure them I wasn’t some random off the street, I made myself comfortable with a single Asahi (silly me decided to drive to the venue) and a can of Solo (to dilute the alcohol, because I’m a lightweight).

I’m not a diehard console shooter fan. Love them, for sure, as long as I can play them on PC with a keyboard and mouse. So it took me about 15-30 minutes to get into the groove with the 360’s controller, but once I was there, things started to click.

During the course of the afternoon we played a variety of maps, with “Streets”, “Gnaw” and “Solar Farm” being the most memorable. Streets was an intimate map, set in the ruins of a nameless city, while Solar Farm was a massive, sprawling desert with helicopters, tanks and anti-air trucks.

If you’ve played any of the Battlefield games, then the basic concepts of Frontlines will sound familiar. This is not surprising seeing as developer Kaos Studios was behind the excellent Battlefield 1942 mod Desert Combat.

When you join a game, you can select which side you want to play using the “Y” button, toggling between the Western Coalition and the Red Star Alliance. You can then pick your loadout and role, followed by a spawn point.

Loadouts and roles are where you get to customise your soldier. All the former really does is determine what weapons you begin with: Assault comes with a rifle and grenade launcher; Heavy Assault has a light machinegun; Special Ops provides a sub machinegun and C4; Anti-Vehicle packs an EMP rocket launcher and the Sniper has – you guessed it – a sniper rifle. All loadouts come with a pistol and most have grenades – Anti-Vehicle gets landmines instead.

THQ and Koas have pimped roles as one of Frontlines defining features. And it’s definitely a nice touch. Players can further specialise in Ground Support, EMP Tech, Drone Tech and Air Support. Depending on which side you’re playing as, these specialties will be different. For instance, Red Star Alliance Drone Tech provides the player with flying drones, while the Western Coalition is given tiny remote tanks. So if you ever feel like mixing it up, all you have to do is switch allegiances.

Each role has three abilities, and you start each match with the first of these. To gain access to them all you’ll have to earn them by killing enemies and capturing points. As long as the server continues unhindered, your unlocked abilities will persist from map to map.

The title’s other hyped feature is the Frontline system. In order to progress further into enemy territory, you need to capture all points along a line – usually two to three, depending on the map size – before you can advance your front. The points along the front can then be used as spawn locations, and any vehicles at these points can be commandeered.

Like the Battlefield games, a ticket system is used to track how well each side is doing. Victory can be obtained by running the opposing team dry of reinforcements, or having the most tickets when the time limit expires.

To make things simple, all enemy names are coloured red and friendlies blue, and your crosshair will transform into a white star if your barrel is aimed at a mate. Don’t panic if you can’t control your trigger finger – friendly fire can be disabled via the server creation screen.

Speaking of server options, Frontlines comes with a bunch. Auto team balance, min/max players, auto team-killer kicking and aim assist are all available. You can even disable individual loadouts, roles and vehicles to spice up gameplay.

A setting unique to Frontlines is “Upgrade speed”. This slider alters how quickly you accrue experience. For our matches, this was at 250% – the maximum – and even then I found getting to the more powerful abilities took 15 or so minutes.

Playing the game itself is straightforward. You can sprint by holding down the right bumper, and it’s something you’ll use a lot, seeing as how massive the maps are. If a point is neutral, you can start capturing it immediately. On the other hand, if the enemy holds it you’ll have to un-capture it first, adding an extra 30 seconds or so to the process.

Damage is handled via a progressive health system, like that in Halo and Gears of War. Dying is extremely easy, and a few well-placed shots from anything other than the pistol will down most foes. As you get hit, the outer edge of your view will flash red, and the screen proper will darken until it’s almost impossible to see. Avoiding fire will slowly return things to normal.

I found some roles to generally be more useful than others. The Air Support role doesn’t come into its own until you have carpet bombing, the second ability. Drones are extreme effective, the Coalition’s tank-like ones able to tear it up while taking significant damage. The EMP Tech is so-so, and requires patience and timing to use well, and even then its main advantages are against vehicles. The Ground Support is similar, except the deployable turrets are immediately potent.

According the THQ guys, the build we played was close to complete. It was about a month old, and provided a good representation of Frontlines minus tweaks, a bit of polish and an arseload of prolonged sodomy from quality assurance. Despite this, I found it fun, if all a little “done before”. Personally, I feel it’ll make an impact with the Quake Wars/Battlefield crowd, but I’m not sure it’s game of the year material. The roles are less game-defining and more gimmicky, but the good type of gimmicky that will entertain time and again.

PS: I received a T-shirt and poster as I left the venue, though the large size of the former stands no chance of conforming to my girlish frame.

Until then, here’s a few of the freebies the THQ guys gave out at the event. Above is the “Drone to Kill” T-shirt that comes with the Xbox 360 Collector’s Edition and after the jump you’ll find the poster (with added thong goodness) packed into the PC and 360 CEs.

Editor’s note: Seeing as the PS3 version was being developed in Australia, I’m chasing THQ’s local presence for additional comment. Stay tuned.

There’s always Haze! Oh wait…

THQ Updates Fiscal 2008 Outlook [THQ]

It’s still on, says Firing Squad, by way of the publisher. It’s just going to show up “later in 2008.” Those of you thinking “Frontlines who of what, again?” are assuredly relieved. You may sigh satisfactorily… now.

PS3 Frontlines Delayed But Not Cancelled [Firing Squad]

Kaos Studios’ open world FPS Frontlines: Fuel of War sure is taking its time getting out the developer’s door and onto retail shelves. It’s enough to make anyone a little narky.

It’s all good though, and here’s why.

THQ has just sent us the news that Australia – a region usually abused by the publishers of the world – is going to get its very own collector’s edition of the PC game.

Well, it’s for Asia Pacific, but it’s a nice treat nonetheless. A shot of the pack can be seen above, and details of the contents can be found after the jump. Sufficed to say, it’s packed with jam, and includes a soundtrack disc, poster, strategy guide and playing cards. According to THQ, only 10,000 will be made. Not a bad deal for $109.95.

Also included with all this is news of the Frontlines PC beta, which is starting this weekend. The specifics can be found at the game’s website.

As an aside, the PS3 version of Frontlines is being developed locally by THQ Studio Australia, otherwise known as Studio Oz. Stay tuned for our Q&A!

Frontlines: Fuel of War PC Collectors edition

The limited Collector’s Edition of Frontlines: Fuel of War on PC has been designed in Australia and is exclusive to Asia Pacific. Packaged in a special ‘ammo tin’ metal box and loaded with bonus content, only 10,000 of these badboys will be manufactured.

So what’s the loadout:

• Frontlines: Fuel of War game
• Mini Brady Strategy Guide for Frontlines: Fuel of War
• Bonus disk with the game soundtrack, behind the scenes videos, wallpapers and more
• Deck of Frontlines playing cards, each card featuring a different weapon, vehicle or drone
• Iron-on Stray Dogs insignia patch
• Art of Frontlines artbook
• Poster
The PC Collector’s Edition is available to pre-order now from specialist gaming retailers including EB Games, GAME and Gameplanet

Frontlines: Fuel of War PC Beta
The PC multiplayer Beta opens this weekend. Eager recruits can secure a place via www.frontlines.com.au, the newly launched Australian and New Zealand microsite for the game. System specs are available on the Frontlines: Fuel of War website

Frontlines: Fuel of War Xbox 360 demo on LIVE –FREE!
Xbox360 gamers don’t miss out either. A single-player demo is available to download now on Xbox LIVE, giving gamers a taste of the in-depth single player experience.

About Frontlines: Fuel of War
Frontlines: Fuel of War is an open world, infantry- and vehicle-based FPS (First Person Shooter) featuring advanced next-gen weaponry in a desperate, near future setting where controlling the planet’s depleting fossil resources determines the ultimate fate of civilization. Players will be instrumental in determining how the war is waged – and won.

About the developer
Kaos Studios, a division of THQ Inc. located in New York City, was formed in 2005 by industry veterans of the FPS genre. The core members of the group came from Trauma Studios, creators of Desert Combat (one of the most successful mods of all time from the original Battlefield) and the R&D team for DICE’s Battlefield 2. The 50-person team includes additional members from the development teams of other acclaimed shooters, including FEAR, Medal of Honor and Doom 3. More information about Kaos Studios and its products can be found at www.kaosstudios.com.

About THQ
THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) is a leading worldwide developer and publisher of interactive entertainment software. The company develops its products for all popular game systems, personal computers and wireless devices. Headquartered in Los Angeles County, California, THQ is a top producer of original intellectual properties including titles such as Destroy All Humans!TM and JuicedTM as well as the upcoming Saints RowTM, Titan QuestTM and Company of HeroesTM. THQ, THQ Wireless, Kaos Studios, Frontlines: Fuel of War, Destroy All Humans!, Juiced, Saints Row, Titan Quest, Company of Heroes, and their respective logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of THQ Inc.