Homefront - Gut Reactions

Even though I should probably be writing a paper for school right now I just played the first 30-45 minutes of Homefront and decided I would take this chance to start (what will hopefully be) a new series here on the blog that I'm tentatively calling "Gut Reactions." Basically I'm going to spew out my thoughts on the first thirty minutes to an hour of games I play and hopefully form some sort of opinion that will help you judge if you want to give the game a shot or not. I'm thinking that this format (without previously used ratings scales or lengthy and formal prose) will allow me to actually update more often and quicker than a full review. Make sure you let me know what you think. Without further ado: enjoy!

Homefront - Gut Reactions

The game begins with actual video of US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a press conference discussing a North Korean attack on South Koreans that occurred not too long ago. Homefront uses this incident and other similar ones as a jumping off point and spirals through years 2012-2027 (the latter being when the game takes place) all the while showing various clips, news reports, and stock war footage in order to weave a story of North Korea eventually occupying the United States. While the concept is tied together well enough there are certainly some gaping holes and the intro really felt more like a xenophobic conspiracy theorist's dreamworld than an overly realistic outcome of the next quarter of a decade.

Directly after the video intro you are placed in the first person perspective of the narrative's protagonist. Very soon after getting your bearings you are beaten and arrested by Korean soldiers in slick body armor and uniforms. From here the game takes a sort of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare approach of familiarizing you with the game's world by having you sit in a vehicle while you are driven through a war-torn Colorado. THQ definitely doesn't pull any punches here and shows several civilians being executed (some even in front of young children). Maybe it was just me, but I felt like they were almost trying too hard here and it all came off as a sort of intentional prodding of the media - perhaps hoping they would get some community outrage and subsequent free advertising for the game.

Anyway, before you can say "I didn't see that coming" you are saved by a couple of freedom fighters and dragged from the wreckage of the bus. Your saviors introduce themselves briefly, tell you to grab a gun and you are then quickly tossed into block by block confrontation. I'm going to take a brief aside here to say that this is where the gritty, supposedly realistic mood really fell through for me. One of the freedom fighters is, of course, a stereo-typical attractive woman with her midriff showing. Now I'm not saying this is a bad thing but when she starts shouting lines like "this was supposed to be a simple snatch and grab!" I feel like THQ crosses the line into hokey action flick from gritty war drama (supposedly written by the mind behind Apocalypse Now).

On the positive side, now that I was able to really get into the gameplay (with only a very bare-bones tutorial - which was good because controls are standard FPS fare) I was taken aback by the smoothness and slickness of the controls. When I saw that the title was being published and developed by THQ and some lesser known/established companies I had my doubts - but they have certainly proven me wrong here. Not only are the controls very solid for an FPS but the graphics are surprisingly smooth and impressive as well. I only wish there was a bit more to the actual gameplay other than some standard run-and-gunning. There is an unmanned tank-like vehicle that you can control and mark targets for near the end of the first chapter but unless there is a very big tweak to the system introduced later on I'm guessing most of the game is pretty standard FPS stuff. Once again, this is not necessarily a bad thing - heck, it's actually nice to see an FPS without a lame overused gimmick like stopping time - but it can cause the gameplay to get a bit repetitive.

After playing through the first chapter of Homefront I can't help but say I'm surprised. While I expected an intriguing and gritty story coupled with poor gameplay and graphics I was met with just the opposite. If you are a big FPS fan and don't mind your action summer-popcorn-flick-ish then I would certainly suggest giving Homefront a try. Though I didn't try it yet I also imagine that the online multiplayer would be very solid considering the variety of weapons, weapon attachments, explosives, and smooth controls that I met within the single player campaign.