Lock and load soldier! Its time to take the battle to your living room in Frontlines: Fuel of War. Players will be thrust into the near future as they battle in an epic struggle over earth’s last oil reserves in this innovative new first person shooter from THQ and KAOS Studios.
As our economies and our way of life tumble into chaos, the superpowers clash to gain control…
System: Xbox 360, PC (DVD & Steam)
Genre: First-Person Shooter, Action
Release dates: February 25th 2008 (USA), February 29th 2008 (EURO), March 6th 2008 (AUS)
Players: single player, 2-50 online multiplayer (1-12 system link)
Developer: Kaos Studios
Publisher: THQ
Origin: America
Set in the near future, Frontlines: Fuel of War asks the plausible question “What would happen if our oil reserves were about to run out?” As man kind is starved of one of its most important resources two super powers face off over the last reserves in intense futuristic warfare. Starting on the oil fields of central Asia this game takes players across the globe and right into the heart of Moscow itself.
As society succumbs to a worldwide energy crisis, a new global depression takes hold. Amidst this desperate backdrop, two superpower alliances emerge. Join the battle on the frontlines of tomorrow as the Western Coalition or the Red Star Alliance. Single-player mode limits the players to the fictional Western Coalition, while Internet modes lets players play as either the Western Coalition (WC) or Red Star Alliance (RSA).
Created in collaboration with a team of military advisors this game features over sixty different weapons and vehicles all based on real world technology being developed by the modern military. Players will be able to take the war to their enemy using everything from guided smart bombs and remote control combat drones to the good old fashioned assault rifle. The unique Frontline mechanic employed in this game ensures that the gameplay is intense and fast-paced at all times as well as giving players the freedom to explore the maps fully.
Watch the Frontlines launch trailer.
The gameplay focuses on a central mechanic, the frontline. This is designed to keep the action in one place, by focusing objectives closer together on the battlefield. The frontline also has bonuses. By moving it back and forth across the battlefield, the player may gain or lose weapons and equipment. The frontline mechanic will be used in all gametypes, which forces players to choose which objectives they will pursue or defend, adding a tactical level to the gameplay.
The UAV Drone will play a crucial role in gathering information in real time on the battlefield. The drone will reconnoiter enemy units, which are visible through walls, and then show them on the player’s HUD and map. Some drones can also be used as a kamikaze bomb, by running them into enemy infantry and self destructing them. There are three other drones, the Assault Drone, a small treaded vehicle with a mounted Gatling gun, a Mortar Drone, with a mounted four barreled mortar, and the RC drone, which can be packed with C4 and used to destroy armored targets.
Unit classes: You have six weapon classes to choose from that have four different roles.
* Anti Vehicle: Rocket Launcher, Pistol, Anti Vehicle Landmines; Designed to combat enemy armor, the Anti-Vehicle class is armed with anti-tank landmines capable of dealing serious damage to enemy armor unfortunate enough to drive over them. As well, the Anti-Vehicle class utilizes a rocket launcher that allows him to track the target, lock on, and select the rocket’s trajectory before firing.
* Assault: Assault Rifle with grenade launcher, Pistol, and Frag grenades; A standard loadout, the Assault classes comes equipped with a standard Assault Rifle, as well as a grenade launcher that allows him to deal with lightly armored threats.
* Heavy Assault : Heavy Assault Rifle, Pistol and Frag grenades; A heavy hitter, the Heavy Assault class trades mobility and accuracy for firepower. Their heavy assault rifle is capable of firing a constant stream of bullets, helping suppress enemy soldiers. By using the crouch or prone position, the Heavy Assault soldier can become more accurate at the cost of mobility.
* Sniper: Sniper Rifle, Pistol, Frag grenades; Perfect for infantry maps, the Sniper uses his sniper rifle to locate and pick off enemy soldiers before they even know what hit them.
* Special Ops: Sub Machine Gun, Pistol, C4; Armed with a scoped Sub-Machine Gun, the Spec Ops class is designed for both short and medium ranged combat. Spec Ops classes can also use their C4 to destroy armored vehicles. In the single-player campaign, the C4 can also be utilized to destroy cover and some barricades.
* Close Combat: Shotgun, Pistol, Frag grenades; Armed with a shotgun, the Close Combat class excels in close-quarters situations, but is very vulnerable to both medium and long range fire due to the shotgun’s lack of range.
Watch a Frontlines battle gameplay video.
What are the main features of Frontlines?
* Tomorrow’s weapons, today: As depicted in Frontlines, the Western Coalition (the United States and the European Union) and the Red Star Alliance (Russian/People’s Republic of China) have combined their military research and budgets, and the result is over 60 next-gen vehicles and weapons inspired by military designs for the near future. This includes remote controlled drones, gun cams, and next-generation counter-measures systems, all of which are player-controllable.
* Advanced information sharing: Use high-tech combat systems to collect and relay recon, targeting, and threat information between team mates. Target acquisition and sharing between vehicle occupants is just one example of F.O.W.’s focus on an advanced team play experience.
* Customization: The customization system allows players to grow their soldier to fit their play style by choosing a weapons loadout, as well as a technical specialization (role). As the game progresses each role will upgrade, providing advanced equipment and abilities. The system is a mix of RPG-like depth but with the accessibility of a fast-paced FPS.
* Frontline combat system: The main game mechanic featured in F.O.W. in both in single player and multiplayer, is the ability to join the forces on the frontline. This front expands across large portions of a mission and will require a strategy to achieve the contextual objectives in order to move this front forward. Not only does this system keep the battle centric and players in the midst of the action, it gives a unique sense of advancement as your Division is rewarded with territory for their victories.
* Choose your path to victory: Within the front, players can take advantage of a sandbox of destructible elements and various weapons of war to create their own unique paths and strategies. Instead of failing and re-playing the same sequence of events, players can ‘chip-away’ with varied approaches, allowing diverse missions with high replay value.
Watch a Frontlines vehicle gameplay video.
How much fun is Frontlines: Fuel of War on a scale from 1 to 10?
FUN FACTOR – 8.0
Imagine the immersive combat of Call of Duty with the non-linear sandbox gameplay of Battlefield. Developed by Kaos Studios (previously known as Trauma Studios), the team behind the popular Battlefield 1942 mod Desert Combat, you’ll be getting that signature Battlefield experience for the first time on the Xbox 360. While the non-linear single player story offers an interesting World War 3-esque scenario, as a squad-based shooter, you’ll find most people fighting each other in the online multiplayer’s open world combat that concentrates you and your friends on one united action-packed explosion-heavy front. All the weapons are actual present and prototype models. There are some seriously cool gadgets for you to play with in both main modes, the tank and hover drones are especially fantastic! I also had a lot of fun jumping out of helicopters and if you’re falling from greater heights like that you can even deploy your parachute. There are lots of little touches like that, that are a big deal in making the gameplay immersive and fun. To all you FPS fans out there, you’re going to have a lot of fun with this game’s massive battles!
Graphics – 7.5
The graphics look good running on the Unreal Engine 3.0. There certainly are times when there’s lots of action going on that you’ll see textures pop up in the background or sometimes they’ll have jaggy edges on them or even look flat. But at the same time most of the game’s huge levels look very realistic with lots of destructible elements that make everything look like a believable near-future world. The User Interfaces (menus, HUD, on-screen instructions) are well thought out and aid the gameplay tremendously.
Audio – 8.0
The action-packed music score for the game is mainly made up of rock music, which suits the scenarios well. As far as sound effects are concerned, the gunshots sound real and give a satisfying “oompf” to every impact! The weapons fire have various realistic effects that place their impact from the direction it hit in surround sound with accompanying after effects like ear beeping and rumbling. There’s lots of voice over chatter with credible dialog mingled in with the game as you’d expect in an ever-changing war zone.
Ingenuity – 8.0
For a game that has so many varied roles, character classes and vehicles to control, the gameplay is quite intuitive once you’re accustomed to it, which won’t take long for most thanks to tight controls. If you’re an FPS fan you’ve probably been playing these sort of squad-based shooters for years now, so you should have no problem exploring this sandbox of destructible elements with plenty of firepower.
Replay Value – 7.5
Depending on the difficulty you choose, you can either “run and gun” rush through the single player story in under six hours, or if you’re more of a tactical thinker, you’ll move through the missions on a more fun pace in about 12 hours. Most FPS fans will like this for its multiplayer though, advancing their side’s frontline into enemy territory with up to 32 players (or 50 players via dedicated servers) at the same time creates massive warzones. If you can find that many people, the 8 maps and online support are good enough to keep you entertained for months to come. That is, when they fix the reported lag in unranked matches on dedicated servers and connection issues when people play ranked matches. Personally I have had none of these issues, but for those who do the developer has promised to roll out a patch (auto-update) within the next week to fix the problems.