Potential wasted !
Homefront, is set in the near and Shockingly believable future. A unified Korea, under the rule of Kim Jong-il's son, Kim Jong-un, invades and commits genocide against the people of the United States of America. The world of has fallen apart, the opening scene of the game depicting the rise of gas prices to horrific heights, and war erupting everywhere as a result. It was this opening that brought the desire for me to play the game, and the constant reminder to what I was fighting for through each level, that kept this game above the other first person shooters out there.
You play the role of a pilot , who is en-route to a Korean P.O.W camp , when suddenly on the way you're rescued by the Resistance to fight by their side.
Graphics -
They're ' OK ' would be the best way to sum it up . they're not ugly but i wouldn't exactly call them great either , they do their job but better textures and lighting would have been appreciated though , The animations presented in Homefront are also far from perfect. Characters received choppy movements from too few frames, giving them an almost comical behavior. The Jumpy movements pulled from the mood, giving me the impression I was saving puppets instead of people. Mixed with low quality textures, the game feels and breathes a few years late of where the quality should have stood.
think of playing Call of duty : Modern warfare 2 at 800*600 with 2AA , that would be your graphics ...
on the other hand the atmosphere is amazing , you actually feel that you're fighting against an actual invasion . you see bodies of countless civilians lying in a dump , you children begging for food and water .. you see places like White Castle and the Golden Gate Bridge,all these help anchor the game to the real world. Seeing these landmarks destroyed, with piles of bodies and rogue groups of Americans left through the country made me wonder if this could be reality.
Even the safe house you visit looks very believable .
Sound -
Audio is very good , all the post effects of guns and explosions sound just as they should .
The background score is excellent , and does have a ' freedom-fighter ' feel to it , voice acting too is solid but yet again the protagonist remains mute.
Gameplay -
At its core , Homefront is a great FPS , shooting feels nice and the mechanics work well...but the problem is its too familiar to COD , very very Familiar ... the objectives , the variation in gameplay , even those scripted moments you have all remind you COD .. this is where i think homefront loses points.
even the multiplayer ,dont get me wrong here multiplayer is good , easy to kill, easy to die lets the game run quickly, requiring you to change tactics at the blink of an eye. Multiplayer reflects the singleplayer story. the weapons are not too fancy, nor too low grade, concluding in believable, future warfare. but at no point of time does it ever distinguish itself .
Verdict -
With some changes Homefront could have been something truly special , i honestly hope THQ make a sequel to this game with all of the mistakes corrected
Pro's -
+ Brilliant atmosphere
+ Good music and great voice acting
+ Good story
+ Decent Multiplayer
+ Gameplay is good while it lasts
Con's -
- Somewhat Dated Graphics
- Too familiar , and hence feels somewhat repetitive
- 4 hours gameplay and i was playing on hard