Despite middling reviews, Homefront has still managed to shift an impressive amount of units. Aron Quigley was one of those folks that took the plunge on the game, and now he’s here with an impressive reader review.
Thanks to Madman – the best written Reader Review receives a selection of the latest DVDs and Blu-rays from their selection.
Take it away Aron
‘What if?’ is a question often raised in games these days. What if we were living in a post-apocalyptic wasteland? What if man were living amongst alien races in outer space? The question Homefront raises is ‘What if the USA was crippled and overrun by a more dominant force?’ Set in the year 2027, when America has been invaded and controlled by a united North and South Korea, you are an American citizen drawn into the battle to re-claim your homeland. The question we ask though, is ‘what if Homefront was good enough to rival other FPSes?’
Loved
Story and Setting: Homefront’s drawcard is its story, penned by the author responsible for Red Dawn and Apocalypse Now. You play a helicopter pilot hijacked from captivity and teaming up with American resistance fighters. You aren’t a super soldier or aided with military equipment and backup, you’re just a man with a gun, trying to fight back against invading terror.
You really feel like you’re a small group in the middle of a larger war. While you get more involved towards the game’s explosive climax, the most part of the game is spent trying to sabotage and survive. There’s action, emotion, twists and turns, and generally the story works well if not for the abrupt ending. Collecting informative newspapers provides interesting backstory and fleshes out the world that’s going on around you.
Multiplayer… Concept and Potential: A mix between Call of Duty and Battlefield, Homefront offers large-scale battles filled with perks, upgradeable weapons and vehicle combat. This is the game’s strongest point, offering tons of customisation and great ‘capture and hold’ and deathmatch options. You earn Battle Points as you kill and capture, allowing you to purchase upgrades on the fly like Flak Jackets and RPGs; though saving your points can net you helicopters and tanks to wreak havoc with. It’s really well done, if only it weren’t for…
Hated
Multiplayer…. Technical Issues: At time of writing the multiplayer is still crippled with bugs. Sure, we have dedicated servers in Australia, but finding a game with anything but a red connection is nigh on impossible. Lag is through the roof, and there are times when you can kill an enemy only to have them run another ten feet before dying. At one point I was killed and enjoyed watching another player run around for three minutes before eventually respawning. It’s something that is being fixed, but the problems are unfortunately turning many people away.
Unpolished/Short: Yes, the campaign is short. 5 hours short. But the real letdown is the general lack of polish. It looks three years old, with murky textures and a general lack of sheen over the whole game. Maybe we’ve been too blessed with all the Mass Effects, Uncharteds and Call of Duties, but Homefront’s visuals leave a lot to be desired.
Homefront is tough to recommend. The story and multiplayer definitely should be experienced, but it’s technical problems are a turnoff. When the severs are running as intended and we get the full multiplayer experience, it’s one to check out.
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