Although they have pervaded the market, many gamers are no longer content with simple war shooters and mindless combat, but require unique gameplay mechanics and deep storytelling in their fps games. Homefront is an upcoming game from THQ and Kaos Studios that aims to cater to both of those needs.
Homefront boldly brings the fight home to American soil -- something videogame storytellers have tended to shy away from until now. Apocalypse Now and Red Dawn author John Milius is no stranger to this sort of theme, however, and is responsible for penning Homefront's script, as well. The game is set in a North Korean-occupied United States (or shambles of what once was) after a global energy crisis, 20 years in the future. The formal U.S. military has been effectively disabled, and citizens are either imprisoned, working for the enemy, or aiding in the resistance. That's where the player comes in.
The game's protagonist becomes the newest member of the resistance upon his arrival at one of the many safehouses that dot the U.S. countryside. These walled-off, self-sufficient communities are the last asylum for free Americans, and are the headquarters from which the resistance operates, although constant pressure from outside military forces keeps them constantly on the move.
In addition to the game's narrative, which clearly highlights a seasoned author's touch judging from the dialogue and scripting seen in the presentation at E3, a brand new and original game engine will help to set Homefront apart from other games in the genre. The appropriately named Drama Engine has been created to bring all of the action much closer to the player than in an average action title. The game limits its use of cutscenes, instead opting to use environmental narrative and scripted events to drive the story. Unlike most other games that use this strategy, however, Homefront will activate these events only once a player is focused in the proper direction, making sure as little as possible escapes their view eyes. In this way, the narrative can be both cinematic and dynamic with very little sacrifice on either end of the spectrum.
The gameplay demo at E3 was indeed very cinematic, and showed attendees a safehouse invasion where the player had to quickly take up arms with his fellow citizens and fight off the attack. One very special weapon that Homefront introduces is the Goliath tank, an unmanned, remote-controlled all-terrain vehicle with a deadly cannon. Players will be able to call upon this machine in the game and mark targets during firefights. The Goliath will then find the quickest way to obliterate said target. In the demo, these were mostly heavily armored trucks and military vehicles. It was like the fourth of July in a way.
Another unique feature of the Drama Engine is the way it "magnetizes" the protagonist, so that players always feel like they are at the center of the action, and keep a steady flow of adrenaline pumping. A good example of this in the E3 demo was when the Kaos representative shot and blew up a fast-moving truck, causing it to swerve and flip out of control. In this situation, the truck will always be drawn to the player, forcing him or her to quickly dodge out of the way; there is no set path.
The last thing mentioned at the show was that Homefront will feature a competitive multiplayer mode, with heavy vehicle use. Multiplayer details are very limited at this time, but when I asked about the way it will fit into the main storyline, the Kaos people said that there will be an interesting explanation for that, to be revealed at a later date.
Homefront is still a long way off, and will be released on the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 sometime after 2009. As of right now, though, it looks to be coming along very nicely.
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