John Millius is no stranger to great story-telling. He’s the screenwriter behind Red Dawn, Apocolypse Now and even Conan the Barbarian. These days, story is king of the video game – if we aren’t personally invested in our characters, we have no desire to fight for them.
Welcome Home, Now Embrace Your Hell
It’s 2027. A strategic EMP blast has crippled the US and thanks to a swift invasion, you’re living in the New Korean Federation of Occupied America – “Bringing America Back to Greatness.” Just peachy.
Your name is Jacobs – a Korean-American born and raised right here in the good ol’ US of A. He’s managed to scrape by in the apocalyptic world of Montrose, Colorado, despite the violent occupation. When he refuses to join “his brethren” in the invasion, Jacobs is beaten and taken to a work camp. Much as we learned in WWII, those who go to “work” never come back.
While on the bus, you have little to do but look out the window. In a powerful and gut-wrenching set-up, all you can do is sit and watch as countless people are lined up and executed in front of their children, beaten and separated from screaming loved ones. Citizens have been disappearing at an alarming rate and in a twist of irony, Mexico is full and has closed its borders to any more refugees!
Just when you think all is lost and that you might hurl your cookies all over the prisoner in front of you, fate steps in – or rather, a gigantic truck that wrecks your transport. Huzzah, you’ve been rescued by the Resistance fighters. Luckily for you, you having flying experience and they need a pilot. You’re free (sort of) but running from the Koreans is a bloody and dangerous endeavor – which you’ll be doing throughout the game.
Which leads me to wonder – is Homefront banned in Korea? How do Koreans and Korean-Americans react to the story? I think it’s a nice touch to have the lead character be Korean-American. it reminds me of the Japanese-Americans who enlisted after the attack at Pearl Harbor and all the prejudice they received, regardless.
Like I said…very thought-provoking.
Controls
Jacobs answered his door, was beaten up and dragged out to a converted school bus with a one-way ticket to hell. Your introduction to Homefront's controls will be no different. There is no tutorial, period. RT is not even shoot! (It’s R1) To make matters worse, you’re constantly under heavy fire and your NPC saviors are barking orders at you every few seconds. Get ready for chaos and trust me – read the instructions for your controls BEFORE you begin. It will save you a rage quit.
The Sounds of War
The gunfire, voice acting and soundtrack are all appropriate to the game’s genre. The soundtrack, I would say, is on par with any big-budget move score.
“Homefront is so rich and compelling that creating the score to support it was both rewarding and challenging,” says composer Matthew Harwood. “I would ask myself, how would I feel if this were to actually happen, how would I live, what would I do to protect my family, would I stand by and watch, or would I fight? The world of Homefront posed these questions to me in a way I was not initially expecting. Those questions were the cornerstone that I used to form an emotional compass for the compositions.”
You can listen to samples and download the soundtrack here or on iTunes.
Gameplay – Depressing, or Inspiring?
It could go either way, really. One minute you’re blowing up a tank and sniping enemies from across an abandoned baseball field and then the next, you’re watching helplessly as thousands of bodies are dumped like trash into a mass grave. Honestly, as Americans we’re raised to believe that we’re the best of the best – and in many ways, I still agree. However, Homefront dares to not only invade America, but threaten to destroy it. Sure, the story is sad, enraging and yet inspiring, as well. The human spirit lives on, no matter what – and we fought for independence from the British, we’ll do it from the Koreans as well. Only this time, our enemies are armed with nuclear weapons.
Speaking of weapons, Kaos Studios had some fun with near-future weaponry; specifically drones. They will become your best friend or take you out just when you thought the close was clear – so be alert!
32-Person Multiplayer Madness
In order to access full multiplayer, you have to enter a code from your brand-new game case or…buy a new one. I hardly think that’s fair, IMHO. If you’re lucky enough to jump into the multiplayer mode, you’ll have a few modes to choose from: Ground Control, Team Deathmatch and Battle Commander. Battle Commander creates an AI Commander that sends you on missions during Ground Control or Team Deathmatch. Accomplishing these missions earns you bounties and special points.
Battle Points
Earn Battle Points by scoring kills, assists or achieving your Commander’s objectives. Spend these points for awesome gear and even tanks. Nice thing is, you can purchase them instantly, woo hoo! Instant kill gratification!
Overall, I Want My Mommy
I hold my own in a FPS, but being thrown in without a clue as to what controls did what was more than a little frustrating. As in any game where I can tell it will be loud and chaotic, I turn on subtitles so I catch all the important dialogue, but the print is in a special font and so small I can’t read it! The graphics are not as pretty as I would have hoped using the Unreal Engine, but it’s not bad at all – to be fair, it’s hard to stand up to anything after you watch an L.A. Noire trailer and then pick up a game. Kinda not fair for other developers, ha ha. Homefront is a fast-paced marathon of a shooter. It’s emotionally driven, hardcore and not for the weak at heart. The sheer determination of the human spirit remains the theme throughout, and it’s up to you to keep that hope alive.
