Capable Counter-Offensive: Homefront Review

The title’s geopolitical impetus commences with the recent real-life aggressions committed by North Korean Forces, culminating in a devastating EMP attack and subsequent invasion of a weakened United States in the year 2027. With an opening cinematic which natures political intrigue by combining clips of Hillary Clinton, Kim Jong-il, sweeping pictographs, and snippets of escalating violence, Homefront certainly generates a compelling and plausible backstory. Once control is handled over to the player, the game delivers its most poignant impression.

Recalling Half-Life‘s opening tram ride, a player’s first look at the devastation of America is delivered as they as transported via prison bus. Here, we get our first harrowing look at the atrocities inflicted by the enemy as we hear Homefront‘s signature audible- a baby crying. It’s a haunting sound remarkably absent outside of the horror game genre; a primal wail effortlessly conveys the both barbarity and desolation of war.

Once the action kicks in, the title sends gamers through besieged schools, rebel compounds, and surmounted structures, recalling Modern Warfare 2‘s skirmish in Washington D.C. Unlike the Call of Duty franchise, Homefront‘s product placements lends the proceedings a dose of authenticity, as the game’s silent protagonist battles past gutted White Castle restaurants and Tiger-Direct warehouses. Regrettably, the game’s sense of immersion is stymied by a few hiccups. Although teams stack up convincingly at doors, there’s an awkward pause before they initiate a breach, as if they are awaiting players to trigger the event. Although the your comrades make mention of the scarcity of arms, there’s rarely a moment when you can’t salvage a rifle from fallen enemies. 

Despite a handful of role-playing like sequences where you can walk around freely and talk to allies, most of Homefront follows the basic tenets of the modern military FPS. Forsaking a cover system, nuance is found looking down the iron, reflex, or ACOG sights of the game’s ballistic hardware. Although the title’s rifles recreate precision, recoil and stopping power proficiently, Homefront‘s firefights are markedly similar to its competitors, giving players a comparable amount of auto-aim. As the protagonist moves through the winding battlegrounds, perceptive players might notice the game’s linear structure; attempts to flank foes are often prohibited by invisible walls. Of course, with the title’s abbreviated five hour length, it’s possible that the single player campaign is complete before the observation is made.

Consolation for Homefront‘s truncated story can be found in the game’s proficient online multiplayer arenas. Two elements elevate the heated competition from contemporaries- the Battle Points and Battle Commander components. The former rewards every kill, assists, or capture with currency, allowing participants to purchase additional weaponry for each match, while the later provides additional goals outside of your main objectives. Typically, these include taking out a player who is on a killing spree, effectively helping to balance matches. With the ability to accommodate thirty-two simultaneous combatants, Homefront aspirations were high. Hopefully, the game remedies their current launch-week server issues, as I had the title lock up the console on a couple of occasions.

With an evocative setting and a satisfying multiplayer mode, Homefront delivers in areas often overlooked by the genre. Yet despite these merits, the title’s fleeting single-player mode and similarity to contemporaries belie the game’s sixty-dollar price (Editor’s note: the game has been discounted by a number of retailers during its inaugural week). For players who haven’t grown fatigued by the flood of militaristic first-person shooters, the title is a surprisingly promising effort. Hopefully, Kaos will be given a chance to deliver the sequel which Homefront‘s conclusion unmistakably suggests.