The single player side does fall a bit short of of Duty 4 and Halo 3 but it's not bad. The game doesn't quite stack up to Call of Duty 4 or Halo 3 but it's worth playing for the level design and the re-spawning single player twist. The game does have one or two solid signature moments and much like Call of Duty 4 they involve nuclear weapons. Honestly the single player game isn't really the main reason you want to buy the game. No, the real gold is to be found in the game's amazing multi-player component.
It's important to note that Kaos studios was developed by the people behind the excellent Desert Combat mod for Battlefield 1942 and that game's signature's are found all through out Frontlines. This is a great thing if you're a BF fan like myself as this is really the first time the Battlefiend experience has been done one the Xbox 360.
First things first, the game supports 50 person multi-player on Xbox Live. That's more than three times what you get in Halo 3 and twice what you're going to get in Call of Duty 4. This means ginormous maps to support all these players and the vehicles necessary to make getting across these maps easier. This is something that Kaos understands and the maps are well laid out and there are enough vehicles to make getting from point A to B easy. As a hedge against not being able to find a vehicle the developers allow you sprint as much as possible which is a nice touch for when you're the last guy to spawn and there are no vehicles left to take. There is still that frustration of running all the way across a map only to get felled by a sniper before you can fire a shot but that's one of the things you have when you have this kind of game and the unlimited sprint goes a long way to alleviating some of that frustration.
The big difference between Frontlines and all the other multiplayer modes is the frontlines system in the game. Rather than fighting it out for a set of disconnected control points across a map you have to control a series of control points which form the Front of the battle in the game. In order to move the front forward your team has to control all three points of the map which adds a whole new level of strategy to the game as you can't just march from capture point to capture point but rather capture a point and then defend it. I really like this system as it forces a whole new level of co-operation and teamwork across the team.
In order to manage the chaos you can form squads with the squad leader able to mark objectives on the map. If another nod to Battlefield you can spawn on your squad leader which helps for coordinated attacks and defenses assuming your squad commander has decent survival instincts.
Another nice feature of Frontlines is that in addition to a class (sniper, assault, heavy assault, sniper, and special ops) you can choose a role (ground support, air support, drone technician and countermeasures). Within each sub-class there are three levels you can gain as you play the game. Each adding a new ability rather than replacing an old one. These sub-classes add a ton to the game as you can really flesh out your role so much better than just a straight class. For me I found the mix of heavy assault and drone technician to be perfect as I could scout out and soften my opposition with the drones and then march in guns ablazing to finish them off. The sniper/countermeasure is also a good combo as you can find a nice hiding spot and then cloak yourself from radar.
The vehicles in the game are what you would expect as you have tanks, armored jeeps, APC's, tanks, planes, and anti-aircraft vehicles at your disposal. I always had a problem flying the helicopters in the Battlefield game but I found I was able to fly the ones in Frontlines without much problem. The vehicles are powerful but balanced out well by the countermeasures and rocket launcher in the game. You don't seem to have the problem that Battlefield 2 did where one player in a jet or helicopter could dominate the entire game as you can use the EMP weapons in the game to take down a good pilot.
From my time playtesting the game with the other media and THQ staff I had a great time with the multiplayer side of the game. It will be interesting to see how the general population of Xbox Live takes to the game as it requires a lot of teamwork not just straight deathmatch skills. The Frontlines system really forces you to think about offense and defense at the same time and it players the tools to do so but whether or not they do so is up in the air.
The game uses the Unreal Engine 3 and while the game doesn't look as good as Gears of War or Bioshock the scope of what Kaos is doing is a lot larger. Instead of rendering small indoor areas the folks at Kaos are dealing with large outdoor areas and city areas. That's not to say the graphics are bad they just had to spread to looks around a bit. There are some great levels in the game and the last battle through the streets of a Moscow is very well done as you really feel liked you fighting in a bombed out city.
All told Frontlines is a great first effort for Kaos and they've done a great job of bringing the large scale battles from the Battlefield games to the console and added their own twist to the genre. The mutliplayer action is top notch and while it's not perfect I think a lot of people will dig the experience of playing with 49 other people.
B
Kaos brings the Battlefield experience to the console and delivers a solid single player experience to boot. It's not a perfect game but it's something that FPS fans should check out.
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