Post by Anthony on Apr 6, 2016 14:36:02 GMT
GUERRILLA warfare comes to consoles this May with the new Homefront release which is already a huge improvement on the original game five-years ago.
It’s been five years since the first Homefront game was released and upon hearing about a sequel fans (rightly) had mixed responses.
The first game recieved very negative reviews and primarily the weakest element was the story and short campaign.
Dambuster Studios have promised that all is fixed as they prepare to release Homefront: The Revolution. A spiritual successor to the original that's done away with many of the weaker elements of the first game for a far more streamlined first-person shooter.
Set in 2029, two years after the events of the original Homefront, the United States had been invaded by the Greater Korean Republic who are using Philadelphia as their base of oportations.
The new Philadelphia is a city of fear. There is heavy policing and constant oppression by the Korean People's Army (KPA) as they patrol the city districts.
However a second rebellion is brewing and the resistance silently grows.
You play as Ethan Brady, a relative rookie joining the resistance and looking to claim back the city once and for all.
Daily Star Online was lucky enough to attend a super-secret hands on and here are seven things we learnt from playing the games addictive new campaign mode
1. This huge open-world isn't all that daunting
As many might expect the open-world gameplay means that the map is pretty big.
That's something we've come to expect with most open-world releases these days.
But thankfully everything is broken into zones (red, yellow and green) making it more manageable than the likes of Far Cry's seemingly endless landscape.
The red zones are the big no no areas. This is where a lot of the city was destroyed during the war and civilians are not allowed to go. So keep your head on a swivel because it's a straight shoot on sight policy for the enemy KPA if they spot you.
Yellow zones are the slums where the majority of the oppressed population lives, with the KPA keeping a close eye on the inhabitants and ruling with a iron fist at all times.
Lastly are the green zones. These are the opulent areas in which KPA officials live, and generally the most tricky areas to navigate due to the increased patrols and security presence.
The aim of the game? Try to capture as many of the zones as possible to take back the city
2. You can play the first two levels of TimeSplitters 2
For those who don’t know Homefront: Revolution is developed by Nottingham-based Dambuster Studios.
Before this they were known as Free Radical Design, and depending on how much you remember about those PS2 days, these guys were the shooty geniuses behind the TimeSplitters franchise.
And if you're diligent enough you can find a sneaky Easter egg in the form of a arcade cabinet hidden in the city.
On it, you'll be able to play the first two levels of TimeSplitters 2 (Siberia and Chicago).
So while we may not be getting a TimeSplitters sequel anytime soon, some nostalgia is definitely appreciated.
. All your favourite games rolled into one
While playing the game we noticed a lot of similarities to several of the biggest franchise releases. You might argue one too many.
The overall gameplay is very similar to the Far Cry series. You scavenge the open world and craft items out of the materials, primarily follow the main storyline but also capture enemy strongholds/zones as you please.
Certain missions require you to sneak among the citizens and blend in with them to get past the KPA. If they spot you then an alarm begins to go offer, alerting other KPA members. You must run and/or hide to break their line of sight and stop the alarm. Which again, is fairly similar to the Assassin’s Creed series.
Then when it comes to the general hacking of transceivers you are likely to know what you are doing without a tutorial, because if you've ever played a Rocksteady Batman game. It’s the same mechanics.
The familiarity should make for a easy to enjoy experience for any casual gamer, as so much of the core mechanics feel borrowed from pre-existing top 10 charting series.
The only issue with this, at least from our short time with the game, was that we couldn't identify all that much which made the game truly unique.
. Weapons conversion and customisation
Who can lead a resistance without weapons? The number of firearms you can purchase is pretty basic (assault rifles, pistols, etc.).
It’s the conversions and customisations that make the game and unlike most first-person shooters.
You can add a heap of attachments to various parts of your weapon to turn your basic assault rifle into something entirely unique and pretty bad ass.
The best part is that these conversions and customisations are super-fast. Potentially the fastest we've seen in a game yet.
On the fly you can rapidly change that pistol to a silencer and sneakily take out the KPA in a flash. Pair this with crafted IED’s and Molotov’s and you will be unstoppable.
5. Environment changes as you progress
A major aim of the game is to win the ‘hearts and minds’ of the oppressed citizens.
You want them to rise up and join your resistance. You can do so through a variety of tasks and collectables in the game such as turning resistance radios, killing KPA officials and helping out citizens in trouble.
As you win the support of citizens in each district you'll also notice the environment begin to change.
KPA flags are ripped down, graffiti covers the walls and buildings become absolute wrecks. Which is a nice touch for the already realistic Philadelphia setting.
Another cool aspect of the environment to remember is that all the citizens are actually real life people.
Dambuster made an appeal to the public for models who were turned into extras in the game- the characters that wander the street.
Models were asked to pull different faces in pictures which were later converted into 3D images
6. It's still a bit buggy
Granted we were playing the unpolished version of the game, so we wasn't expecting perfection by any stretch.
Manuvering through windows without bouncing continually up and down like a rubber ball looked suspect and at one point I had to blow myself up with a grenade because our character miraculously transported himself across an impassable fence.
In other occasions objects simply moved around randomly and characters hands miraculously passed through weapons.
Many of these performance issues we fully believe will be fixed by the games final release, but for all the time spent on Homefront, it was slightly worrying at the amount of issues we ran into in such a short space of time.
7. Guerrilla warfare at its best
This is a pretty exciting aspect of the game.
You're encouraged to experiment with various combat strategies and use all the tools at your disposal to overcome challenges.
But usually the best method will be using your environment to your advantage to get the drop on unsuspecting KPA forces.
Having only played a couple of hours of the game we didn’t get to explore the full myriad of ways to take down the KPA with our surroundings. But what we did do, was really enjoyable.
From dropping fiery death on the enemy forces from above to flipping convoys using hidden street traps.
It all add's that little bit extra to making the games grounded guerrilla warfare narrative that little bit more believable and interesting
Homefront: Revolution is due to be released on May 20 2016 in Europe on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
But for anyone wanting to push the boat out, you can still pick up the extravagant limited edition version of the game that comes with all the bells and whistles.
Alongside a boxed copy of the game, the Goliath Edition includes:
• A radio controlled scale replica ‘Goliath’ Drone, with working lights and six-wheel suspension.
• An exclusive Steel Book
• A 32 page Art Book featuring Resistance-themed concept art and cutting edge Apex weapon and vehicle technology
• The ‘Revolutionary Spirit’ pack (details below)
• The Homefront: The Revolution Expansion Pass, entitling access to major single-player expansions
It’s been five years since the first Homefront game was released and upon hearing about a sequel fans (rightly) had mixed responses.
The first game recieved very negative reviews and primarily the weakest element was the story and short campaign.
Dambuster Studios have promised that all is fixed as they prepare to release Homefront: The Revolution. A spiritual successor to the original that's done away with many of the weaker elements of the first game for a far more streamlined first-person shooter.
Set in 2029, two years after the events of the original Homefront, the United States had been invaded by the Greater Korean Republic who are using Philadelphia as their base of oportations.
The new Philadelphia is a city of fear. There is heavy policing and constant oppression by the Korean People's Army (KPA) as they patrol the city districts.
However a second rebellion is brewing and the resistance silently grows.
You play as Ethan Brady, a relative rookie joining the resistance and looking to claim back the city once and for all.
Daily Star Online was lucky enough to attend a super-secret hands on and here are seven things we learnt from playing the games addictive new campaign mode
1. This huge open-world isn't all that daunting
As many might expect the open-world gameplay means that the map is pretty big.
That's something we've come to expect with most open-world releases these days.
But thankfully everything is broken into zones (red, yellow and green) making it more manageable than the likes of Far Cry's seemingly endless landscape.
The red zones are the big no no areas. This is where a lot of the city was destroyed during the war and civilians are not allowed to go. So keep your head on a swivel because it's a straight shoot on sight policy for the enemy KPA if they spot you.
Yellow zones are the slums where the majority of the oppressed population lives, with the KPA keeping a close eye on the inhabitants and ruling with a iron fist at all times.
Lastly are the green zones. These are the opulent areas in which KPA officials live, and generally the most tricky areas to navigate due to the increased patrols and security presence.
The aim of the game? Try to capture as many of the zones as possible to take back the city
2. You can play the first two levels of TimeSplitters 2
For those who don’t know Homefront: Revolution is developed by Nottingham-based Dambuster Studios.
Before this they were known as Free Radical Design, and depending on how much you remember about those PS2 days, these guys were the shooty geniuses behind the TimeSplitters franchise.
And if you're diligent enough you can find a sneaky Easter egg in the form of a arcade cabinet hidden in the city.
On it, you'll be able to play the first two levels of TimeSplitters 2 (Siberia and Chicago).
So while we may not be getting a TimeSplitters sequel anytime soon, some nostalgia is definitely appreciated.
. All your favourite games rolled into one
While playing the game we noticed a lot of similarities to several of the biggest franchise releases. You might argue one too many.
The overall gameplay is very similar to the Far Cry series. You scavenge the open world and craft items out of the materials, primarily follow the main storyline but also capture enemy strongholds/zones as you please.
Certain missions require you to sneak among the citizens and blend in with them to get past the KPA. If they spot you then an alarm begins to go offer, alerting other KPA members. You must run and/or hide to break their line of sight and stop the alarm. Which again, is fairly similar to the Assassin’s Creed series.
Then when it comes to the general hacking of transceivers you are likely to know what you are doing without a tutorial, because if you've ever played a Rocksteady Batman game. It’s the same mechanics.
The familiarity should make for a easy to enjoy experience for any casual gamer, as so much of the core mechanics feel borrowed from pre-existing top 10 charting series.
The only issue with this, at least from our short time with the game, was that we couldn't identify all that much which made the game truly unique.
. Weapons conversion and customisation
Who can lead a resistance without weapons? The number of firearms you can purchase is pretty basic (assault rifles, pistols, etc.).
It’s the conversions and customisations that make the game and unlike most first-person shooters.
You can add a heap of attachments to various parts of your weapon to turn your basic assault rifle into something entirely unique and pretty bad ass.
The best part is that these conversions and customisations are super-fast. Potentially the fastest we've seen in a game yet.
On the fly you can rapidly change that pistol to a silencer and sneakily take out the KPA in a flash. Pair this with crafted IED’s and Molotov’s and you will be unstoppable.
5. Environment changes as you progress
A major aim of the game is to win the ‘hearts and minds’ of the oppressed citizens.
You want them to rise up and join your resistance. You can do so through a variety of tasks and collectables in the game such as turning resistance radios, killing KPA officials and helping out citizens in trouble.
As you win the support of citizens in each district you'll also notice the environment begin to change.
KPA flags are ripped down, graffiti covers the walls and buildings become absolute wrecks. Which is a nice touch for the already realistic Philadelphia setting.
Another cool aspect of the environment to remember is that all the citizens are actually real life people.
Dambuster made an appeal to the public for models who were turned into extras in the game- the characters that wander the street.
Models were asked to pull different faces in pictures which were later converted into 3D images
6. It's still a bit buggy
Granted we were playing the unpolished version of the game, so we wasn't expecting perfection by any stretch.
Manuvering through windows without bouncing continually up and down like a rubber ball looked suspect and at one point I had to blow myself up with a grenade because our character miraculously transported himself across an impassable fence.
In other occasions objects simply moved around randomly and characters hands miraculously passed through weapons.
Many of these performance issues we fully believe will be fixed by the games final release, but for all the time spent on Homefront, it was slightly worrying at the amount of issues we ran into in such a short space of time.
7. Guerrilla warfare at its best
This is a pretty exciting aspect of the game.
You're encouraged to experiment with various combat strategies and use all the tools at your disposal to overcome challenges.
But usually the best method will be using your environment to your advantage to get the drop on unsuspecting KPA forces.
Having only played a couple of hours of the game we didn’t get to explore the full myriad of ways to take down the KPA with our surroundings. But what we did do, was really enjoyable.
From dropping fiery death on the enemy forces from above to flipping convoys using hidden street traps.
It all add's that little bit extra to making the games grounded guerrilla warfare narrative that little bit more believable and interesting
Homefront: Revolution is due to be released on May 20 2016 in Europe on PS4, Xbox One and PC.
But for anyone wanting to push the boat out, you can still pick up the extravagant limited edition version of the game that comes with all the bells and whistles.
Alongside a boxed copy of the game, the Goliath Edition includes:
• A radio controlled scale replica ‘Goliath’ Drone, with working lights and six-wheel suspension.
• An exclusive Steel Book
• A 32 page Art Book featuring Resistance-themed concept art and cutting edge Apex weapon and vehicle technology
• The ‘Revolutionary Spirit’ pack (details below)
• The Homefront: The Revolution Expansion Pass, entitling access to major single-player expansions