THQ is a name that I haven’t heard in a long time. They have been keeping a low profile for a while and finally they try to make a grand entrance into the competitive FPS genre with their highly anticipated COD counter Homefront. The question is, will they fall by the wayside like Medal of Honor? Or is Homefront going to be another contender for top FPS game along with Battlefield?
The answer is….. Medal of Honor. THQ launched this game way too late in the ….. “game”. And they were getting in way over their heads. The Last COD game I played was the last MW2 which was fantastic (single player). Very theatrical and very exciting. But Infinity Ward had been doing it for years and by MW2 they were the masters at it. THQ jumping into the race without really having a good handle on the genre was a dangerous move. I respect them for taking the chance, however they were not ready for it.
The multiplayer was a cookie cut out of each and every other COD style game out there. There was nothing wrong with it, it was nothing special either. It was the same godamned thing, no need to discuss it.
Homefront was full of bugs. Whether it be lag problems on the console versions, the disappearing walls, or the glitch movements, it seemed like the game was still in beta. Most of these bugs however only seemed to happen during the single player, multiplayer ran very well. Another problem was that I sat down at 4:30 and finished the campaign at 8:00. And I had trouble with it, I was dying constantly. It was way too, it was like Portal length. Now I am guessing that they were planning on making this an episodic series so I can understand making a short campaign and then launching a game every year. But 3 ½ hours is really cutting it short.
In those 3 ½ hours however, they did tell an interesting story. It is somewhat of the same concept as MW2 where you are fighting on our home turf but with a slight difference. The story is that The U.S. has been taken over Korean control and in the year 2022, the U.S. resistance set in motion a plan to take back the country, and that is where you come in. They game is written by John Milius, who wrote Apocalypse now and Red Dawn, so the games story has some girth to it. Unfortunately that is not enough to bring around success to this game.
At this point there is just not enough reason for you to play this game. Why play Homefront when you have EA and (Fuck)Activision who have been making these game for over 10 years. I don’t think that there is a place in the market for some amateur contending FPS. If someone wants to join in on this war of the war games, then they have to bring something new to the table. And it has to be big. It’s got to be something that really grabs the player and doesn’t let them go. And Homefront just doesn’t have that.
So I say “Cheers” to THQ for their gamble with Homefront, for it is gambles like this that true greatness comes from.
In my opinion, Homefront’s MP experience was as far from a cookie cutter copy of COD as it gets while staying within the bounds of the genre. A few features that really set this game apart from COD are the ability to earn credits to spend on perks/weapons/vehicles during the match. “You need an RPG? End a few lives and buy one!”
The vehicles add a massive layer of extra possibilities to the game as well as satisfy an itch that only the Battlefield series could previously scratch for some players. While some of the vehicles were overpowered in certain situations, being able to spawn in a little bird or a tank at will is fantastic in my eyes. The player gets to reward himself for good performance as well as fiscal responsibility by raining down terror and destruction from an AH-64 Apache helicopter.
Large, open maps are a refreshing change from fatal funnel after fatal funnel in the entire COD series. It’s tough to run rings around these maps and accomplish anything. UAV’s/UGV’s! Man! C’mon! A remote helicopter that shoots rockets!?! Gimme.
The battle commander game modes were my personal favorite. Players were given a star rating based on their performance. Think GTA, but instead of cops and army responding, progressively more of the enemy team’s players are alerted to your success as well as your position on the map. Sneaking up on the guy that has the entire enemy team hunting him and sliding a knife into his rubs is about as good as it gets. Not a particularly simple task though, as he’s granted perks during his climb to “stardom.”
Ultimately, the game did fizzle out and THQ shut down KAOS’ studio. Last time I played it was the same small group of players all day every day. But, I would pop this title in before MW3 any day. In fact, I’m sure I have more time logged on HF than the entire COD series combined.