There's no genre in gaming more derivative than the first-person shooter. And as time passes, it's difficult to believe that much more can be done to make one FPS feel fresh or different from another. There are man-versus-the-world shooters, squad-based shooters, shooters that cover real-world wars and shooters that work off of fictional worlds. But every once in a while, something different emerges in the realm of the FPS.
Kaos Studios' upcoming game Homefront is all about story, which already separates it from most shooters that tend to rely heavily on trite, over-the-top action. Based on a somewhat obscure subgenre of fiction known as future history, Homefront tells an interesting (albeit far-fetched) story designed by John Milius, a name you may recognize from the classic Vietnam War movie Apocalypse Now, and the future history cult classic Red Dawn, both of which he penned.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/115/1150569/homefront-20110217030121230-000.jpg)
The core fiction of Homefront has proven to be contentious message board fodder since the reveal of the dramatic story trailer last year. Homefront takes place in the 2020s, in a world climate that's barely recognizable today. Victimized by a costly drop in the Dollar and a war between Iran and Saudi Arabia that sees gas prices rise to $20 a gallon, the power and prestige of the United States has fallen precipitously. Meanwhile, a resurgent North Korea has managed to reunify the Korean peninsula under Kim Jong-Il's son, Kim Jong-Un. With newfound economic and military might, and with America concerned with domestic problems of its own, North Korea doesn't intend to stop its conquest.
In a scheme reminiscent of Japan before the outbreak of hostilities with the United States in the early 1940s, Korea begins to annex weak countries around it, taking advantage of resource-rich locales that no longer enjoy American military support. With power consolidated in eastern Asia, North Korea spreads out to the other side of the Pacific, taking Hawaii, as well as the west coast of the United States. In a Red Dawn-esque move, the North Koreans also send paratroopers into the middle of the country. They even eradicate American electronics en masse with an atmospheric EMP explosion. And to add insult to injury, they irradiate the Mississippi River, segmenting the country between east and west, with a no-man's land in the middle.
Does this sound unlikely? It no doubt is. But then again, it sets the stage for an exciting story-driven game that feels unique. Your character, and the characters you deal with (at least during the first three stages that I was able to play) aren't soldiers. Many of them aren't even properly trained with the weapons and tactics of war. Rather, these people represent a resistance cell that might have more in common with the hit-and-run strikes of Al Qaeda than the overt organization of a proper military outfit like today's U.S. military (which, as the game explains, is disorganized, scattered, and completely ineffective).
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/115/1150569/homefront-20110217030123683_640w.jpg)
As soon as you begin exploring Homefront, you'll realize that the major set-pieces of games like Call of Duty and Medal of Honor don't exist. You're not fighting a typical war in Homefront, so the combat doesn't feel typical. Instead of battling through dense jungles, desolate deserts or other common theaters of war, you'll be fighting in suburban America. Fights take place on cul-de-sacs and in destroyed buildings that once housed American families. When you arrive at an internment camp full of American prisoners on a football field behind a high school, you'll come to terms with the fact that Homefront is a serious game that hits close to home. This is a battle of insurgency, and for once, the Americans are the insurgents -- and on their home soil no less.
The presentation of Homefront's story doesn't pull any punches. Two minutes into the game, you'll see North Korean soldiers execute the parents of a young child right in front of him, leaving the kid hysterically crying in the street. You'll find mass graves full of Americans, and you'll hear chatter about work camps. You'll even find yourself in a fierce firefight as a young mom cradles her infant behind some nearby cover. This is occupied America. And although it's clear that not every American is part of the resistance (in fact, there are plenty of collaborators and fence-sitters all around you), it's the resistance that aims to take America back from the invading horde.
The game's reliance on a compelling story doesn't stop it from getting into the personal politics that often emerge from such an unusual and dangerous situation. The resistance cell you're a part of deals with its own internal strife. A gung-ho man wearing a Gadsden Flag shirt has no problem mowing down enemies and using incendiary rounds to cause maximum pain. But a female bleeding-heart member of the resistance prefers to keep things more civil. When you storm the aforementioned internment camp during the game's second stage, you'll meet prisoners of the North Koreans who are resigned to their fate. Some of them are even ready to sell you out to the enemy. The nebulous, uncertain and hazardous nature of everything you do in Homefront is constantly at the forefront of the experience.
![[IMG]](http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/115/1150569/homefront-20110217030114449-000.jpg)
Unfortunately, while the build I got to play conveyed Homefront's story, feel, and characters very well, there were quite a few technical problems worth noting. There are typical problems like framerate dips and textures that slowly pop-in, or never render at all. But there were more serious issues, too, and ones that I hope are fixed before we receive our review build of the game in the coming weeks. The most glaring technical glitches I encountered were associated with scripted events. I often found that when a character was supposed to kick open a door or shove some debris out of the way to continue, it would happen extremely slowly. There were a couple of times where the game simply didn't advance, and I had to reset my console. I even respawned after perishing during a firefight, only to find that my character refused to budge from his starting position.
Gameplay is what's most important in any game, and the technical issues I ran into can certainly hinder the final product in serious ways. Yet, with the game about a month away from launch, I'm sure that Kaos Studios is attempting to get it running better. And I certainly hope that they're able to do so, because Homefront's presentation, story, and characters can very well combine to create one of the most compelling and memorable shooters I've played in a long time.
