Pros: Large scale battles, wonderful sound design, lots of vehicles, well implemented squad mechanics
Cons: Awkward vehicle controls, noticeable frame rate dips, class level mechanics need improvement, short single player
The Bottom Line: Frontlines is a reasonable large scale, tactical, first person shooter. Decent maps allow for strategic planning, while keeping it from being chaotic. Single player fans stay away.
The story behind this Tactical First Person Shooter is not groundbreaking, as Tom Clancy can state, but the premise and the way it's told is chilling. Whatever your political opinion is regarding the Iraq war and our use of fossil fuels, this game does leave you thinking about the possibilities for all out war over the very thing some of us protest... oil.
Set in the near future, oil prices have skyrocketed above their current $105 a barrel and well into territories that can cause economic depression or turmoil. As a result, an alliance is formed among the four major political powers of the world to preserve what little oil is left. The Red Star Alliance, comprised of Russia and China, form a military and mutual alliance on the basis of finding oil reserves and going against the other major alliance. The Western Coalition, comprised of the USA and the EU, form the same alliance in hopes preserving the little stability that remains in the globe. Due to the two alliances, the Red Star Alliance invades the Middle East to gain a foothold on the Arabian oil reserves. What first start out as skirmishes escalates into a full blown war.
We can all relate to this scenario, especially given current events. The execution in this game is intriguing though at times flawed. The game is developed by KAOS studios, the same studio that helped develop the Desert Combat mod for Battlefield 2. Much like Battlefield 2, the game is strongly embedded in the emphasis of large scale, multi squadron combat and multiplayer play. The squadron mechanic in this game is well implemented, as it strongly encourages you to find a squadron to join (or build one yourself) to communicate an attack or defense against the enemy. In order to reduce the amount of cross chatter, you will only hear the talk from your squad. This helps immensely, as you don't have to listen to some 11 year old singing some off key song throughout the entire length of combat... unless he's in your squad (though you can quickly change that).
The large scale of combat (which can be up to 50 players for both sides) necessitates the use of vehicles and a new mechanic... frontlines (hence the title). The vehicles that you will find in this game are near futuristic, with one class of player being able to use drones to their advantage. Unfortunately, the controls of these vehicles are rather clunky and can be a major cause of frustration as you aid your side to victory (or accidentally shoot your friends to defeat). Hopefully, KAOS studios can work on this issue in future patches so that vehicular combat on this scale can be a bit more enjoyable and less tedious.
The other mechanic is the "FRONTLINES" mechanic. Rather than capturing disjointed flag or control points, it is necessary for you and your teammates to hold well placed points to advance your front. This allows the combat to be more focused, rather than extremely (and less fun) chaotic, though snipers and others can use strategic planning to flank and cut off player groups. I applaud KAOS studios for putting together this decent mechanic, because the gameplay is a little more unique as compared to the blockbuster shooters Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3.
In order to enjoy such large scale combat, the maps MUST be large enough and balanced enough to not offer the other side a huge advantage. Furthermore, the size of a map must be large enough to allow for all the vehicles included (such as jets) to roam around comfortably... rather than being told you are out of the combat zone. The designers do an average job on this front, no pun intended, though some of the maps feel far too small to use the vehicles with much effectiveness. At times, jets quickly reach the edge of the combat zone, requiring lots of maneuvering that is entirely unnecessary and can lead to you being shot down easily. The other problem is that not all maps are entirely balanced. Some maps do have zones for snipers that are FAR too advantageous to them, allowing some snipers to see well over half the battlefield and pick off the opposition at their leisure. These sniper points can sometimes be located in corners, making the balance even less favorable for the opposition. Though to some, this is great, to others, it is a major frustration that could lead players to quit altogether.
A much more common feature in first person shooters include the ability to choose a class unique to your interest. Call of Duty 4 brought forward a decent mechanic that allowed players to choose perks (skills) that fit their choice of gameplay while allowing players to level up higher to represent (sometimes) skill. In this game, the classes are still there and the ability to level up is still there, somewhat. The problem is that your level does not carry over into other games, like other FPS's in this genre. This is a quirk that should be given consideration, but currently it is something that was shortsighted on the developers part. The classes are your standard choices, in some form, in other FPS's. They are as follows: anti-vehicle, heavy assault, sniper, special ops and close combat. From there, you can choose your role that you desire to be. You can be ground support, EMP tech, drone tech or air support. The drone tech, for instance, deploys a drone that is ground, air or anti-personnel based but leaves the player vulnerable to being shot. This role is the most hyped by the developers and is the most commonly shown in trailers of the game.
The graphics are decent during gameplay, but suffer from deficiencies that prevent this from being Call of Duty 4 or Halo 3 graphics killer. The visuals are noticeably grainy and intense battle sequences suffer from frame rate drops. This seems to be a continuing problem for developers with games of this scope or caliber. The graphics are not too terrible or distracting to the point of ruining gameplay, but they are also nothing to write home about.
The sounds in this game are wonderfully implemented and definitely deserve praise. You will like the intense sounds and immersion that a theatre of war can bring, though at times the voice overs are somewhat cheesy. The implementation of the multiplayer mechanic also makes it sound somewhat like you are in a combat zone, and the sounds associated with each weapon or vehicle is pleasing to listen to.
The longevity tilts heavily towards multiplayer. The single player campaign feels much less like a well thought out and immersible experience and more like a training ground for the multiplayer campaign. The AI in the single player could use a bit of work, and is hardly a substitute for human players. The downside to this is that you cannot co-op the campaign in single player and must rely on the multiplayer (non-scripted) mode to get your true experience. If this is not your thing, then I will state right now that you are NOT going to enjoy this game very much. This game is strongly meant for those players who enjoy a thoughtful, large theatre multiplayer experience and is definitely geared towards that at the expense of all other options.
The multiplayer, despite this being the main mode of the game, also suffers from "Downloadable Content" obviousness. Only 8 maps shipped with the game, with the developer stating that more maps will become available over XBox Live. This is an unfortunate, and continuing, trend of nearly every game that has XBox Live capability. Eight maps is hardly impressive, and should have shipped with at least 12 or 16 to allow for more diversity. Alas, an opportunity lost at the expense of the player's wallet.
Frontlines: Fuels of War is a decent large scale combat experience, with major emphasis on multiplayer squadron play. There are deficiencies in this game that might give some players pause, such as a lacking single player campaign or few multiplayer maps. However, if you enjoy this sort of gameplay (and have money for downloadable content) you will find that the experience is worth the price of admission. This game deserves a recommendation to tactical FPS fans, and those who did not enjoy the extremely unorganized combat in Halo 3 or Call of Duty 4. All others should be aware that the single player experience will not make you happy and the story is not well thought out.
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