A decent online multiplayer doesn't save Homefront from being just another bland shooter that could have been much more.
To start off, the single player campaign takes you through a few locations in America, which recently was invaded by a now unified Korea, who in a fictional future rose to power under Kim Jong-un. The entire background story of how this became so is quite interesting. What's not so interesting on the other hand are the actual characters in the campaign. The protagonist is Robert Jacobs, a former pilot in the marines. However, that's all you really get to know about him. From the beginning, Homefront displays a grim and gloomy take on the occupation of Korean forces. American citizens are being thrown into large prisoner camps, being executed in the streets in front of their own family members, and so forth. It's attention grabbing at first, but after a little while you'll probably lose touch on the story, and instead be focused on stale objectives. There are a few cutting moments here and there, but it doesn't really add up to much once the extremely short campaign is over.
There isn't really anything new or overly exceptional as far as the gameplay goes for a standard first-person shooter. Most of it involves traveling in a linear fashion with a few of the other characters. Said characters are so forgettable, I don't remember their names, not that they are really all that important. The campaign does take you through a few neat locations, but mainly towards the end. At times it does kind of feel like you are in the middle of the chaos that's going around everywhere, but not enough to make it a truly captivating experience. There is the occasional change of pace from being on ground, but again, none of the gameplay goes outside of the typical first-person shooter experience. Enemies hit hard at times, and with them infinitely spawning and chucking random, yet dead on grenades, it can feel cheap from time to time, but on the other hand, enemies can also be rather dumb. Friendly AI is about the same, and not too helpful at times. After quickly loses its initial appeal and excitement rapidly, the campaign does begin to build up at the very the very end. Unfortunately, the conclusion is seemingly hurried and unsatisfying, which was a shame for a game that appeared to be working on something big and exciting.
The overall presentation of Homefront wasn't all-that impressing either. Graphics, while not distractingly atrocious, simply looked outdated. Character models weren't terrible, but again visually speaking, the game just wasn't astonishing. There were a few pretty cool sights, but of course that was towards the end. Almost unsurprisingly, Homefront suffered from some technical faults. The game froze entirely a few instances, but mainly at the same spot. Sometimes the dialogue is off from the character who is supposed to be speaking. Additionally, there are a few other various technical hiccups, but aside from the occasional crash, nothing too devastating.
The words "Lasting appeal" obviously shouldn't be associated with the single player campaign, but luckily there is a decent online multiplayer portion of the game. Of course it is another aspect in regards to a first-person shooter than can be described as (once again) typical, but it does do some things well, and others, not so much. The multiplayer modes are too few and basic, with the exception of Battle Commander, which is a bit unique. First off, there's standard Team Deathmatch, and then a standard capture-and-defend-the-area-mode called Ground Control. As for Battle Commander, it's essentially Team Deathmatch, but with a minor twist. In it, top priority enemies (those who go on certain killstreaks) are marked, and addition Battle Points are earned for killing them. The online mechanics are basic, but thankfully the leveling and unlocking system is rewarding. With some vehicles and other cool gizmos and gadgets, there's a nice variety of ways to kill people. Doing that and other things earn Battle Points, which help unlock some vehicles and equipment in the middle of battle.
Sadly, the multiplayer also has its fair share of issues. Many of them are technical, including glitches, lousy servers, and other miscellaneous downfalls. The most pathetic part of the online portion of this game, however, is the inclusion of an Online Pass, which comes with a retail copy of the game. Without the pass, you cannot rank up past level 5, which takes no more than just a few matches. This is downright despicable for those who rent the game, or choose to buy it used, which they would then have to shell out an additional $10 just to play past level 5 in the online multiplayer.
In a nutshell, Homefront is one of those games that ends up going into the "bland shooter" pile once it's all said and done. The promising story gets overshadowed by overall dull gameplay that makes you forget about the too few exciting moments. The campaign will probably only last you roughly four hours, which is ridiculously short, even for first-person shooter standards. The lasting appeal depends on how much you can get into the online multiplayer portion of the game. The ranks go rather high, and there is plenty to unlock, but it's more probable for someone to lose interest after a short while. The online is good, but definitely not great or really all-that intense considering its arcade-styled run-around-and-shoot-people people gameplay. The maps aren't amazing either. Still, it can keep you busy, which is nice, because it's the only part of the game that will do so. Overall though, it's barely even worth a rent considering the short campaign and its level-capped online without a pass.
Overall score: 6.7/10