Frontlines: Fuel Of War - Hands On Pt2 Preview

After a four week armistice over Christmas, the war is back on in Frontlines: Fuel of War, which is heading to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC next month. Having started the struggle against the combined might of the Red Star Alliance of China and Russia, TVG led the Western Coalition's 'Stray Dogs' through battles in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in a bid to capture strategic locations and the last vestiges of oil reserves.

In the second part of our Hands On preview, TVG follows in the footsteps of Napoleon into the very heart of Mother Russia...

Fuelling the fire.

There's little doubt that KAOS Studios is aiming to carve their own niche into a genre already occupied by the likes of the Battlefield series and Enemy Territory: Quake Wars, and it's easy to see why given their past. What Frontlines will be offering come next month however is a Campaign more developed than its contemporaries, one that follows a storyline jarringly close to a path that the real world finds itself treading upon today. As gamers anticipating Fuel of War will undoubtedly know, the story of the Stray Dogs and their path to Moscow is seen through the eyes of Wayne Andrews, an 'Affiliated Press' journalist newly embedded with the group. More than just individual 'pieces to camera', the relationship between the soldiers and the broadcaster during the cut scenes will also be attempting to create a sense of empathy and storytelling for the player.

Following the defence of a key position mid-way through the Campaign the true endgame of the Stray Dogs' missions in Central Asia emerges. But before that comes a 2,000 mile ride north to the objective, the Russian capital, Moscow. A frantic bid to deliver a knock out blow against one of the halves in the Red Star Alliance, the insurgency into the southern suburbs of Moscow and then the centre of the city itself certainly brings both the narrative and this part of the war to a head.

Before the assault however, the Stray Dogs (with Andrews in tow) have to storm and destroy the Russian equivalent of Mount Cheyenne in the United States, a seemingly impenetrable nuclear bunker that's also home to a couple of rather mean looking ICBM nukes that could decimate Coalition forces wherever they are in the world. Tearing up the opposition in a frantic bid to capture key positions and push the frontline up to the warhead before it explodes is exciting enough, even though the addition of a countdown appearing on screen could enhance the tension even further. It's a memorable moment in a campaign that already promises a healthy dose of set pieces.

Besides an increase in ferocity, later missions also include a rather fearsome Apache-like attack helicopter, complete with rapid-fire missiles, and new drones such as the Mortar Drone, cousin to the Gatling Gun mounted Johnny Five we mentioned in the first part of the preview. The ability to parachute out of the helicopter is a nice addition to include, despite our concerns over the real world practicality...

Red versus Blue

It's fair to say the build we saw such a long time ago was still in need of some fine-tuning, with the occasional iffy smoke effect and texture pop on display. Hopefully in the weeks since we saw Frontlines, KAOS Studios have managed to bring the overall visual quality up to the same standards as the stylish rag-doll animations that capture every bullet to visceral effect

The latter half of the campaign promises to bring many standout moments to keep an eye out for next month, most notably when the Stray Dogs find themselves in a spot of hot bother (literally). From our experience throughout Frontlines, one thought continues to push forward: that it's developing into a solid foundation for future instalments to continue the story of the Stray Dogs. Whether the brand continues to use the Fuel of War subtitle is unclear (we kinda like the idea of changing it with every release rather than use what would otherwise be a mouthful of a name), but all THQ and KAOS need to light that fuel is a positive response from gamers come February.