UK EXCLUSIVE: Frontlines: Fuel of War Review

Fashioned from the ashes of former Battlefield and Digital Illusions collaborator Trauma Studios, New York based KAOS Studios' first title under the wing of THQ is finally upon us - unless you're a PlayStation3 owner that is.

Remaining in familiar territory to the Battlefield series, Frontlines: Fuel of War is a military first-person-shooter set in a near future bearing uncanny similarities to events currently unfolding on the global stage. Having exhausted the Earth's supply of oil, Frontlines: Fuel of War portrays a world divided over the little resources that remain, fighting in former Soviet colonies such as Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan while blackouts and riots break out across the globe. Referencing the likes of Bush and Putin, Frontline's split between East and West, the United States and Europe's Western Coalition against Russia and China's Red Star Alliance, provides a genuinely intriguing backdrop to plenty of action along the way.

Fighting On The Frontline

Designed around the titular gameplay mechanic, Frontlines' mission objectives revolve around securing various checkpoints dotted around the line between the two warring factions, in an effort to push the frontline forwards and advance the mission. The frontline and its associated checkpoints provide the solitary task throughout the game, although Frontlines' eight different chapters mix up the challenge with a good sense of variety. Typically centered upon taking control of strategic buildings further challenges diversify the task such as rescuing the journalist that tags along for the ride, defending a town's checkpoints for a certain period, and destroying a nuke-drenched battlefield full of Red Star tanks.

Occasionally the Red Star will force you back and gain control of one of the checkpoints, creating an enjoyable dynamism to the proceedings. It's a shame that this doesn't really happen enough on anything but the harder difficulty setting, as it's the one element of defend and attack that helps to distinguish Frontlines from the mass of shooters available on both formats.

With a range of futuristic weapons and drones, Frontlines: Fuel of War certainly packs enough ammunition to keep the crowd of 360 and PC shooter fans happy. Featuring the customary range of assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, pistols, and rocket launchers (plus plenty of variations of each), there's a strong sense of impact and individuality behind every weapon in the game, which coupled with the high intensity ensures that combat never becomes dull.

The drones are another element that helps to separate Frontlines. Both the Western Coalition and Red Star Alliance have a variety of land and airborne units, each with very distinctive advantages to offer and goals to achieve. Whether it's rolling under a tank with an explosive charged door wedge on wheels, or rising above the hills and launching a barrage of rockets into an enemy installation with the little chopper, using the drones is often the key to dealing with the game's trickier challenges and adds a subtle layer of subterfuge to the action.

A Few Things...

Despite delivering an intense and refreshing spin on the military shooter genre, there are a couple of issues that suggests the game could have benefited from a few more weeks of development. There's every chance the few glitches and bugs that occurred in our older review build have been ironed out ahead of the game's release next week; issues such as tanks respawning upside down and the occasional rag-doll death sequence looking a little too dramatic.

Unfortunately, there's probably not enough time to cure some of the AI woes that were evident throughout our playtest. Although Frontlines manages to effectively portray a dynamically changing conflict on large battlefields, closer encounters with the Red Star troops suggests that there's perhaps not too much to concern ourselves with if the Red Star ever coming knocking in the real world. RPG-wielding combatants often choose to launch their rockets in enclosed areas and close proximity, blowing themselves to smithereens in the process - perhaps somebody should give these guys pistols? Frequently we also found ourselves lining up a shot only to watch in disbelief as the guy stared blankly back, never contemplating an attempt to shoot beforehand.

Nevertheless, these are very minor complaints, focusing on the little details when Frontlines: Fuel of War specialises in war on a grander scale than one-on-one encounters. They're also complaints that have no consequence on the game's most enjoyable element.

Two Players Twice The Fun, 50 Players...

Somewhat expectedly, given KAOS' history with the Battlefield series, Frontlines' multiplayer is where it's at. Boasting the first Xbox 360 title to feature 50 player battlefields (for North America at least, seems we've got to wait until the last minute to see if that figure makes it to Europe), multiplayer easily makes amends for the slightly short single-player campaign.

Utilising the same frontline dynamic, multiplayer presents a constantly changing battlefield that provides greater tactics, intensity, and challenge than the traditional deathmatch offering. Provided THQ and KAOS Studios can amass the same level of popularity as the likes of Halo 3 and Gears of War, we'd expect this to become a firm fixture in the Xbox Live most played list for months to come. Choosing between weapon loadouts and roles such as Ground Support, Air Support, EMP Tech, and Drone Tech, Frontlines doesn't become too bogged down in the 'classes' issue, which should go a long way to enhancing its appeal and popularity amongst 360 fans.

With the initial selection of eight multiplayer maps, Frontlines multiplayer is a lot closer to Battlefield than its single-player offering. Vehicles such as tanks, jets, and helicopters play a more predominant role, while the tactical element bestowed by the role that 'roles' play compliments the blistering pace and intensity. The now customary leveling-up feature makes an effective appearance, expanding inventory and weapons for each role.

A case of style over technical achievements, Frontlines' use of moody visuals and an emotive soundtrack help to overlook the slightly iffy visuals. Further post-processing effects, depth of field, and filters would have gone along way to softening the somewhat overly defined visuals.