An absurdly short campaign and lack of variety make Homefront bland and boring.
Warning: There are many spoilers featured about the game "Homefront" in this review. Read at your own risk.
It is the year 2027, and Unified Korea is on the rise for world domination. With soaring gas prices over the years, and Americans fleeing the country, Korea invades America, and launches a country wide EMP bomb, thus disabling almost all of the electricity. That is where you come in when you first start up Homefront, a first-person shooter from THQ. You play as a pilot named Jacobs who is recruited by the Resistance, a group that is hell-bent on taking back America by any means necessary. Did THQ do enough to make Homefront one of the better shooters in today's crowded genre? Grab your rifles and find out in this review for Homefront.
As soon as the game begins, you are discovered by a group of the KPA, and are taken to what you believe could be a labor camp, or even your very own death. Death did not want you on that day, as the Resistance stepped in to reclaim you for America. You join up with squad mates Rianna and Conners, and are immediately thrust into the action. You meet up with the leader of the Resistance named Boone, and are briefed on a plan to take back America. Throughout the game's story, you will see gruesome images, and hear about ever more gruesome stories. This game is definitely for "Mature" audiences only due to its content. A major turn-off from Homefront is the length of its single-player campaign, lasting only about 4-6 hours in total. For a game with so much hype, I was expecting a lot more, as I am sure everyone was, but THQ has us fooled in the case. The voice acting is okay at best in some areas, but will not "wow" anyone at all.
As for the actual gameplay itself, Homefront offers some good action. Early on there are a few dull moments that won't really grip you or satisfy you. After the first two missions, the action begins to pick up. You will start to gain better weapons, and have much more difficult firefights. Your squad mates overall do a good job of assisting you; that is whenever they aren't trying to stand right in front of you. You will see a small, yet welcomed variety of places throughout the short campaign. The small variety mainly is included in the final three missions, where you will have to use a chopper to protect your squad, snipe enemies from a faraway bell tower, and use a UAV to destroy enemy APCs in the heat of battle on the Golden Gate Bridge. There is just too much of the same shooting in the first half of the campaign, and this really brings the game down.
Also included in Homefront is the online mode for up to 32 players. It was fun for a brief while, but like the saying goes in this game, "All good things must come to an end."
On the visual side of the spectrum, Homefront looks pretty nice overall. Buildings in towns have the Korean symbol on them; houses are beat to nothing but splinters; citizens look like they are starving for freedom and balance in a world with tyranny and control. There are noticeable hick-ups here and there, but it doesn't turn your attention away from the action. These graphical issues mainly occur in large areas with a high amount of activity going on, especially in the game's final two missions. The framerate will dip down, even with the game installed to your console's hard drive. These visuals would have been great had we not already been six years into the Xbox 360's life right now.
Homefront is on the verge of greatness, while being on the verge of mediocrity. There are a lot of things to like about this short-lived title, and unfortunately those good things barely outweigh the bad. With a longer campaign, more variety, and more additions to the online mode, Homefront could be a solid game in today's crowded shooter genre. Although, with too many key features that are present in today's top shooters missing in Homefront, it is hard to recommend or encourage a purchase at its current price. As a used title maybe a couple of months from now, this game may be worth it, but until then, go to Blockbuster or GameFly and keep this game at rental status for as long as the action will take you.
(Overall Score) 6.5/10