Initial Impressions of HOMEFRONT®: THE REVOLUTION
By Paul Fiander
So it was with a sense of trepidation that I loaded up Homefront for a 40 odd gig install and a day 1 patch it took a while to begin playing but thankfully there were no issues when the game was ready. The reason for my hesitancy were the reports and reviews that have been flying around the internet before today. I have read some but for the most part I have tried to keep my eyes and ears clean so I can judge the game fairly. To that end I will report back on the game at set intervals as I work my way through the game.
I have only played the single player to this point so that's all I’ll speak about now. To be fair straight off the bat this game has some issues. Some are petty like the videos we have attached and others are more of an warning for what is to come. Off the bat the story is told in a series of flashbacks centred around a technological takeover of the American military by Apex a North Korean company. It is a great set up and makes sense as to why we find ourselves in the situation. This leads us to our story as we find ourselves waiting on the leader of the Resistance.
I have only played the single player to this point so that's all I’ll speak about now. To be fair straight off the bat this game has some issues. Some are petty like the videos we have attached and others are more of an warning for what is to come. Off the bat the story is told in a series of flashbacks centred around a technological takeover of the American military by Apex a North Korean company. It is a great set up and makes sense as to why we find ourselves in the situation. This leads us to our story as we find ourselves waiting on the leader of the Resistance.
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I’m not going to spoil the story so do not worry,
Through a series of unfortunate events we finally find ourselves becoming a thorn in the side of the occupying force of Philadelphia. Now the location has obvious overtones for Americans but a s Brit my main association with the city is the Rocky films. However I can appreciate the historical significance of the city and this may feel a bit flag waving to some but it fits into the narrative. Unfortunately your interactions with your fellow Resisters comes off a bit odd, from one moment to the next you go from a baddie to a goodie. I use those terms intentionally as the transition from one to the other felt very clichéd. In this section though we get to the best part of the game so far, the weapon customisation.
I love playing with guns and toys in games, from crossbows to drones everything has a use and some games (looking at you Borderlands) are elevated by their weapons. Whilst I have not experienced enough of the guns to really comment I have however had the fun of customising a few. This is done through a weaponsmith or a locker in his absence and while the mods are so far basic the animation that surrounds them is tonnes of fun as you break down your weapon before attaching the new component. As for the actual use of the weapon it feels pretty standard the Crossbow is fun as you go for a stealth kill however you don't get much recoil and the reload is very quick. As for your side arm it feels pretty strong and has quite a bit of stopping power but again the recoil makes the shooting pretty generous.
I love playing with guns and toys in games, from crossbows to drones everything has a use and some games (looking at you Borderlands) are elevated by their weapons. Whilst I have not experienced enough of the guns to really comment I have however had the fun of customising a few. This is done through a weaponsmith or a locker in his absence and while the mods are so far basic the animation that surrounds them is tonnes of fun as you break down your weapon before attaching the new component. As for the actual use of the weapon it feels pretty standard the Crossbow is fun as you go for a stealth kill however you don't get much recoil and the reload is very quick. As for your side arm it feels pretty strong and has quite a bit of stopping power but again the recoil makes the shooting pretty generous.
My biggest issue with the game is the walking it feels like you are gliding and I know that sounds strange but it is a thing I notice more than anything else. You will be spending a long time walking in this game so this basic mechanic is rather off putting. There is also an issue with loading between areas, for a PS4 title it is a bit on the slow not the worst but certainly not the quickest. That said the areas are pretty big to traverse and there is a lot of debris and buildings to wade through not to mention Norks. Now for a stupid issue the term Nork in the context of the game is used as a derogatory term for North Korean people. I can understand that a conquered population would want to attack their invaders in any way they could but the term to me a 37 year old Brit means Boobs. It unfortunately makes the more aggressive speeches from the resistance sound rather peculiar. Now this is not the games fault it is just one of the oddities of language that can sometimes crop up.
So the word so far is that this is not a terrible game by any stretch but it does have issues. There has been a promise by the developer to patch some of the issues out of the game but on my experience so far I'm not overwhelmed by what I see. I will however continue on my quest within the game and report back later.
So the word so far is that this is not a terrible game by any stretch but it does have issues. There has been a promise by the developer to patch some of the issues out of the game but on my experience so far I'm not overwhelmed by what I see. I will however continue on my quest within the game and report back later.
