[CVG's Homefront review is based on the Xbox 360 version]
Follow Connor. Follow Conner. Every five minutes with the Follow Connor.
Homefront houses an assortment of attention-grabbing treats - from stirringly evil antagonists to the fiery splendour of a phosphorous downpour; heartbreakingly childish reminders of your domiciliary surroundings to the bullet spray of Sentry towers that test every morsel of your flanking smarts.
But far too much of your time is taken up staring at Connor, being barked at by Connor and, naturally, following Connor. It's more than a little annoying - because quite frankly, Connor is a massive pillock. By the end of Homefront's compact campaign, you're likely to end up hating him almost as much as your conscience-free Commie enemy.
But his most imbecilic quality is much worse - a consistently infuriating habit of hogging cover. Not only does he steal your best tactical spots to shield from the enemy, he's also very hard to budge. You're often left performing a lifesaving Riverdance in the middle of vicious firefights, as bullets whiz past your ears and grenades are dolloped around your feet. Trust us; in most cases, you'll do better not to 'Follow Connor', and to follow your instincts instead.
Homefront review:FRAG LOT OF GOOD
There also exists the irritation that Connor - much like fellow freedom fighting ally Rianna - is pretty damn useless on the battlefield. He remains oblivious to and unharmed by ticking explosives, occasionally even instructing you to walk right on top of them. In addition, his bullets would struggle to crack porcelain and he's a complete stranger to tossing a frag.
You're supposed to bond with this pair, but between the belligerent, strategically incompetent Connor and lifeless, undefined Rianna, very little team spirit ensues; kind of a bummer during a national Resistance movement which relies heavily on compatriotism.
Okay, so the premise is very far-fetched. The rise of a United Korea, the powerlessness of a fuel-deficient US, the successful EMP blast which knocks out Uncle Sam's defences and the eventual occupation of the Land Of The Free; it's tough to swallow at first. But in a genre where worlds based on grotesque teleporting aliens and faceless interstellar plasma gunners are acclaimed as 'intelligent', a little suspension of disbelief goes a long way. And Homefront's is perhaps the realest unreal dystopia the FPS has ever seen.
The enemy, for one, are the most disgusting, savage scumbags you could imagine. Within five minutes of the campaign's opening moments - where you're bloodied, beaten and corralled onto a bus, then forced to witness the sustained slaughter of innocents mere metres from your window - you despise the Korean People's Army from your intestines upwards.
Comments
40 comments so far...
justforkicks101 on 14 Mar '11 said:
hmm.. ill pick this up
BenJy on 14 Mar '11 said:
Outstanding review for what appears to be an outstanding game, yet Black Ops, a medicore game at best scores higher? Come on CVG, pull the other one.
craiglackenby on 14 Mar '11 said:
Although this review started of pretty negative, reading on to the end somewhat re-enforced my buzz for this game.
Roll on Wednesday! Early Game delivery @ 36.99 - 5.00 (game points) = 31.99. Maybe a bargain
We'll see 
veato on 14 Mar '11 said:
This is on the list! Although I am suprised the rinse-and-repeat BLOPS scored higher. Really?
Imaduck on 14 Mar '11 said:
That was actually a really good review CVG, thanks. You've turned my initial disappointment back at the 5 hour campaign. BC2 has a really short camapaign, but it was fun, and got it right where it mattered. That idea mixed with a truely deep story and original theme intrigues me. Multiplayer always looked great for this too.
condemmedman on 14 Mar '11 said:
Can we please stop the crying about black ops reviews !! if you dont like it dont buy it ! how much difference is there in the scores 0.4/1.0 ? ?? really fed up with people moaning about review scores !! if you like a game, buy it , dont whine about a score one person gives , it's only an opinion not fact .
I may pick this up at a later date
chronicwombat on 14 Mar '11 said:
enjoyed reading the review. totally surprised that you reckon this trumps both cod and bf:bc2 online
that has definitely grabbed my attention but you havent really mentioned the pace of multiplayer or the size of the maps. what i love about bf:bc2 is that the maps are huge so you can run into a battle gung-ho if you like, but you also have the option to take your time and plan an attack if you want. unlike cod where the maps are so small you are in the scrum seconds after spawning in.
gmcb007 on 14 Mar '11 said:
Can't wait to get this on Thursday (game pre-order) and the multiplayer should have me palying it for a while
humanhand on 14 Mar '11 said:
I've never liked the art for this game, it's really recognizable, but really annoying.
EscoBlades on 14 Mar '11 said:
This is personal opinion based on my spending many hours on this game.....
COD beating multiplayer it is not. Even as crap as Black Ops is.
StonecoldMC on 14 Mar '11 said:
Yet again, with this Game.
Rock and a Hard Place
.
Bryanee1983 on 14 Mar '11 said:
Jesus CVG spoilers.
Whos dumb idea was it to spoil the final level? Tit.
Gaseous Snake on 14 Mar '11 said:
All I read there was "COD clone". Shame, this had potential.
ace9846 on 14 Mar '11 said:
ill pick this up when its £9.99
dangermou5e on 14 Mar '11 said:
Haters=fail
Very_Silver_Ownz on 14 Mar '11 said:
How much did THQ pay you for giving this a good review to this turd cvg ? must have been alot because at best this looks like a poor man's version of CoD BO and BO was terrible as it gets.
Mad Garrotter on 14 Mar '11 said:
Better than bfbc2? Can't wait to get this and see for myself. Hurry up Friday!
theblkwhsp on 14 Mar '11 said:
Really torn whether I should get this or not. I love a good FPS but that 5 hour campaign is a real deal breaker. I love multiplayer but a game must have a compelling single player for me. I get bored of MP after half an hour or so and look to the main game to fill the void, but if it's only five hours, I'll be selling this in a matter of days. Same fate fell upon CODBLOPS. The campaign just wasn't enough to keep me coming back.
Gonna have to give this a week or two to come down in price.
God I hope Operation Flashpoint: Red River gets good reviews.
Wakamusha on 14 Mar '11 said:
5/10 in EDGE.
gmcb007 on 14 Mar '11 said:
Ahh silver how I waited you for your comment. Why do you hate this game so much?
cloakedvengance on 14 Mar '11 said:
Not sure why CVG are banging on about the location, have they already forget MW2 and the battles in the suburban areas of the US
This looks interesting, but 5 hour campaign
really not acceptable, ok I realise the mp will add plenty of value but thats assuming it gets a good mp community and doesn't become another Medal of Honour, can barely get a game now at certain times of the day 
Jimmy Luxury on 14 Mar '11 said:
I remain sceptical about it being better than BC2, as I think the Battlefield series are the games God would make if he made games (slight exageration maybe!), but i'll give it a fair trial. I need there to be a multiplayer demo before i'm sold. Although, it is just £25 on the PC. Hmmmm...
Very_Silver_Ownz on 14 Mar '11 said:
'' Ahh silver how I waited you for your comment. Why do you hate this game so much? ''
because it looks average at best and doesn't do what other shooters like CoD or BF do a hell lot better.
there are also other shooters which are actually taking risks like Brink. Homefront looks like a expansion pack for CoD BO.
blackjack3578 on 14 Mar '11 said:
then you must be blind, battle commander,battlepoints,customization for infantry and vehicles,teamwork,large scale warfare with fast paced action,drones, and vehiclesface it homefront is taking big risk too and i don't see how it looks like black ops unless your talking about how they both have people with guns lol apparently it does what cod and battlefiled do and better
Malmo on 14 Mar '11 said:
really don't get the cod comparisons, I really don't see much resemblance, this is closer to battlefield than cod. I mean sure there are similarities but yeah, thats likely to happen in a first person shooter with a mixture of realism and arcade. Same similarities you see in the majority of shooters.
I thought black ops was good, not great, but because it barely works on ps3 its awful, a game that is barely playable for lots of people including myself. Homefront however looks a lot better providing it works alright. I like the customisation and battle point system, and i love the larger scale of the game and support for 32 players. Kinda reminds me more of MAG only better, cos it trades in the pointless 256 players for actual modern graphics and physics. I think this looks like a breath of fresh air in a shooter market overshadowed by bad company 2 (which is good but getting very stale) and call of duty games which has now fallen flat on its face. I expect more from BF3 but homefront looks to be a good game in the meantime, and who knows what staying power it'll have, roll on the DLC after release!
The_KFD_Case on 15 Mar '11 said:
Multi-player means nothing to me and will never score a game with a single player campaign extra points in my book. Thus there is no way in Hell that I consider a five hour campaign anywhere remotely close to being sufficient for the RRP. While I may well rack up more hours than that during the campaign because I like to take my time with such things, that doesn't change the fact that it's a short campaign. If I pick this up it will be when there's a discount sale on it, or when/if I find a low priced second-hand copy.
The_KFD_Case on 15 Mar '11 said:
"God" already did. It's called "Life".
SirFuzzyDunlop on 15 Mar '11 said:
This game really does look/sound very good indeed.
Had it on pre order for quite a while now and can't wait to start playing on Thursday!
JonnyCanonFodder on 15 Mar '11 said:
I pre-ordered this today and can't wait until Friday. I don't really care how long the story is, not to say that I won't enjoy it, but apart from a few rare exceptions, I generally buy FPS games for the multiplayer component.
Besides, although I may be in the minority, Medal Of Honor's campaign was even shorter, but I really enjoyed it. Kind of like playing through a Blackhawk Down style movie, but a bit longer and, given that the script was penned by John Milius, I expect Homefront's singleplayer will be similarly cinematic.
As people have already stated, I don't really see where the CoD comparisons are coming from, this seems very different to me from a narrative, gameplay and graphical standpoint. If I had to compare it to anything (taking into consideration that I think comparisons before playing a game are pretty retarded), I would say that the graphics are more akin to MAG, though more polished and the gameplay looks akin to the Battlefield series with a futuristic twist.
Nice, balanced review btw and given that this is an entirely new IP, future iterations can only improve on such a solid foundation.
craiglackenby on 15 Mar '11 said:
This game is sitting on an 88 meta score (not including Edge's 5/10) but one of the reviews that got my attention was Playstation Australia, it gave it 80/100 (-20 point if you don't play MP) So 60/100 at worst
SirFuzzyDunlop on 15 Mar '11 said:
I see IGN gave it 7/10 yet only really marked it down because of the 5 hour campaign (which he probably did on normal) and that fact that it did nothing new in terms of gameplay. What on earth do they expect from a military style FPS?
Awful really, but rename it CoD: Homefront Ops and they would give it 8 or 9 no doubt.
WHERESMYMONKEY on 15 Mar '11 said:
I think i'll rent this. I'm not a big fan of MP in fpss. I'm not that good and most public matches are full of arseholes.
But the setting and story intrigue me so i want to give it a whirl.
Currychips on 15 Mar '11 said:
I seem to remember Bad Company 2 getting similar scores to this and I'm still playing that now. MW2 was sold within a month and I only bought that on the back of the scores. Black ops I didn't bother with.
Funny how CoD gets marked up on it's multiplayer component and all other military type shooters have it ignored completely... strange that.
So knowing how biased the media are towards CoD games, if you like multiplayer gaming, add another 15-20% to the overall score of this. Pre-ordered.
anytime on 15 Mar '11 said:
Not really, you just have to look at the amount of people who play cod games online compaired to 'other military type shooters'
Even if the reviews were in the 7-8 band, they would still be a really popular. They must enjoy it.
veato on 15 Mar '11 said:
I need someone to play this and let me know. I could rent for the 5 hour SP but I want to know if it's worth a purchase for the MP - given that I currently play BFBC2 online almost exclusively i.e. is it good enough to replace it?
I also fancy Crysis 2 for the SP. Might wait for a price drop on that one.
theblkwhsp on 15 Mar '11 said:
I've read at least three reviews now that state the multiplayer takes all that was good in Bad Company 2 and expands on it such as the battle points you spend in-game to escalate a battle from a small skirmish to all out war come the final few seconds.
But I'm also torn on whether to buy it Friday. This 5 hour business has really put me off spending £40 on it.
Rafe71 on 16 Mar '11 said:
Oh dear... Another short single player game. I recall COD World at War, and the finishing sequence at the helicopter... Right , I thought getting comfortable in expectation of several more levels, only to stare open mouthed at my monitor when the credits started to roll.
So here we go again! Only this time even less hours! FIVE hours... Jeeze! This is gonna seem like an extended demo. Like so many other people on this forum, I shall wait until the price comes down before purchase... When oh when will developers realise that there are millions' of gamers who only ever single player games...! $60 bucks/£45 quid for five hours of gameplay is definately NOT good value for money... Even £25 for PC is still too expensive. As for promising to consider extending the sequel if enough gamers' complain doesn't hold water.... This should have been implemented in Homefront at the outset.
I'm sure that the multiplayer lives up to the hype, 'cos it'll be the only thing to save this game from gathering dust on gamer's shelves. Further: Fingers crossed that Crysis 2 does not follow this short single player format as well. As for Black Ops.... Pretentious rubbish, with cut scense so long that I dozed off for the first time ever when playing a game... It was no more than an interactive movie, and a bad one at that.
mccarthy on 17 Mar '11 said:
Just received advanced copy of homefront today, few problems with crashes in the larger battles, or characters will freeze on the spot preventing progression through the level. Only on the 4th mission but I cant get into the story, lack of excitement to continue, not because of the dull voice acting or graphics (which look normal, not dull nor exciting, don’t get what the fuss is about that), its because it looks rushed as if Thq stopped Kaos near the end of development and said that will do, its passable. homefront had the potential to be an amazing game, stick two fingers up at cod and battlefield and say bring it on, instead it just ends up being meh. Online servers are not up and running in UK yet so will have to wait till Thursday or Friday to find out if it saves the game from being returned. On the issue of story length I see no difference between this and cod seems standard mission length, the main problem I have with this game is I watched the adverts and hyped the game up with anticipation so much is why im so let down by it in the same way as I was after online play of black ops. If you can manage to pick it for under £30 well worth it, otherwise I would hold out for Crysis 2 next week, unless multiplayer grabs me which to be fair is what I really want from this game.
wishface on 22 Mar '11 said:
Avoid this game.
It's very very rough.
What you've seen in promo shots/footage is likely pc graphics since the 360 version has som very old fashioned textures. On top of that the gameplay just lacks the finnese you'd expect from a game as hyped as this trying to compete with the bigger titles. Average at best. Not especially balanced, though not as horrendous as CoD Killstreaks. However the connectivity is toilet; there aren't enough servers locally and it just doesn't work.
Do not buy this unless you can try it first would be my advice. Some people claim they like it, but believe me in a few weeks this game will be a footnote in THQ's history which, if they continue with overhyped underdeveloped products like this (complete with online pass codes!) is what they will be.
notalktalk on 25 Mar '11 said:
more afront..... than homefront....we have been had yet again..... wont we ever learn.after all the souped up hype over the last few months this is truly a bad game. homefront...2... anybody...not on your nelly.... go stuff it in your garbage compacts, and please gamers ...we have got to start to wake up and not let ourselfs to be conned, I shall be renting from now on, and if ok buy on price reduction.