Such A Serious War Shouldn't Be This Much Fun!

Words: Phil

This review was going to be late but everything’s a bit late around here (sleepwalking after all) but I (Mav-editor) felt that you should see the heartfelt apology our writer Phil came out with anyway:

“This review is a bit later going on the site than we wanted. Unfortunately, it just so happened to coincide with my (Phil- to rhyme with scum!) moving house. So apologies for that. However, here it is, for your viewing pleasure.”

Lovely! Anyway here’s the rest courtesy of Phil the scum:

Frontlines: Fuel Of War is mainly a multi-player game (although there is a single player campaign of sorts), that's based in a frighteningly near future where the politicians of the world have continued to utterly dismiss the issue of the world's limited oil supply reaching critically low levels. What happens next? Well, the Chinese and Russians emerge as the Red Star Alliance, (Can you say, 'Commies?') and the Western worlds form the Western Coalition. They then proceed to shoot seven shades of shi... err, stuffing out of each other; last person left standing gets the oil. Pick a side, fight a pointless war and ultimately have a lot of fun doing so.

However, the game's highly detailed timeline (available in the Extra Content menu) describes food riots, oil rationing, city wide blackouts and ultimately the downfall of civilisation as we know it. It is very serious and dare-I-say, relevant stuff considering this future seems nail-bitingly closer to reality than the snooty Politicians would like to admit. (“Yes, the president is aware of the oil crisis and that we should be putting funds into finding other sources of energy, but he likes his new Yacht, the 'Costahellofalot2000' and will not be giving up his private island in the Bahamas anytime soon.”) It almost borders on the likes of Call Of Duty games playing homage to the brave fallen of the world wars. It seems to be a game saying, 'Ooo, watch out, this could be the future you know! Oh yes sir!' However, at the same time, the game can be so much fun, and I mean laugh out loud fun, that it sometimes feels like its cheapening its own concept.

One moment, you’re running along the frontlines, rockets literally flying inches away from your face (more than once I've reflexively ducked down with a breathless cry of 'Whoa!' as a sodding great rocket flew past the screen with a roar. If you're playing in surround sound, I suggest keeping a fresh pair of pants nearby...). Bullets are flying, you can't seem to move without a hail of hot lead taking out everyone around you. It's tense, its gritty, it's war.

But then...

A small remote controlled kamikaze helicopter flies through a window and blows a bunch of Red Star Alliance soldiers (you really want to say Commies!) out of every window. They fall rag-doll style, much to the guilty laughter of the other side. Tanks run people over, helicopters fall out of the sky. Sometimes the pandemonium is just so funny its difficult to take the game seriously. However, the most important thing not to forget is just how fun the whole gaming experience is. Not to mention, addictive.

The single player campaign is pretty much multi-player with bots and occasional radio chatter to help keep a plot going. Although the plot is nothing more than 'Heck yeah, we're Americans, we rock, lets kick those Red's into kingdom come!' it's still got a good flow and energy that keeps you interested. The missions are pretty much always go here, capture objective move to next area, capture objective, repeat until victory or death. This should be boring but being as every time you play a mission it always turns out so much different, it manages to steer well clear of becoming tedious. However, despite having very intelligent bots on your side throughout the single player campaign, there are a few moments when you wonder where they all went. Storming the plaza, ready to take on wave after wave of Red's, you look around and realise, you're the only one. Why this happens I'm not quite sure. Also, it would appear that your Bot friends have no ability to take out anything except infantry. I have stood to one side and watched an AI solider shoot rocket after rocket at a tank non-stop. Nothing happens. Eventually the tank returns fire and creates an even shade of western blue emulsion on the wall. Despite all this though, it doesn't remove from the fun of the game.

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Now the multi-player. The game's main strength. This is fun! Just like the single player, there's all kinds of vehicles to drive and fly. Automatic turrets, air-strikes, remote controlled tiny helicopters armed to the teeth. Shotguns (that can kill from surprisingly far away!), sniper rifles (ouch!), assault rifles, rocket launchers, bunny rabbits with dynamite strapped to their faces and a screwkasporkstick (copyright Sleepwalkers – Mav) for all your dining needs! (Okay, maybe not the last two...) This is Army gaming that's so addictive and fun. The maps are huge. You can be running along the catwalks as other allies are running underneath you, over the top of you, the sun glares down. Hell, there are moments the multi-player is genuine top gaming. And for those of you out there that hate listening to all the tiny-dick-insult-throwing-pre-pubescent-cheeto-eating-low-life-assholes who just seem to play multi-player games to insult people from afar in order to make themselves feel marignally better about their sad little lives (I really don't like them...), you can throw the headset aside and pretty much fight alone. The game is good enough to support running around with your friends and getting some real tactical shooting going. Or go it solo as the special op, with your silenced SMG, C4 and air-strikes from hell. Alternatively, get a big gun and go all Arnold Schwarzanegger on everyone's ass (Jennyyyyy!). Of course, once you climb into a helicopter or a sodding great tank, you can really deal out some punishment.

So, despite the slightly confusing, 'Should I be taking the gritty possible reality based first-person shooter war game seriously or laugh heartily as I launch that Red into the sky with a rocket?' and some minor problems, the multi-player is solid, fun and supported by a competent single player campaign. It's mighty addictive and you can happily play this game for hours until your eyes bleed! Although why precisely you can't play it split screen is a mystery. It’s just begging for a cooperative split screen version of the single player campaign. Where have the days gone where we all sat around one TV screen and laughed as we fragged each other into next Tuesday? Sigh.

One last thing to point out, although not entirely a bad thing, is the game's, um, shall we say, borrowing, from other games. Lets start with the look of the soldiers. Can you say Clancy's GRAW? Complete with the little blue HUD screen over the eye of the character and the little red icons that appear when an enemy is near. When you get shot, the screen does dark and you can hear your own breathing and heart beat. Can you say, Call of Duty? Arguably they’re good ideas that should be used, and they do nothing but add to the game really. So as I said, not a bad thing, just worth noting.

The real question is will this keep up with the likes of Unreal Tournament Three, Call of Duty 4 and other such first person shooters that have come out around the same time? The game is very good and it will keep you more than entertained but it’s up against some serious contenders! Still, this is certainly worth a look if you’re looking for a multi-player game which is a) not a sequel or b) yet another crap imitation!

3 out of 5 Z's.

- For remote controlled kamikaze helicopters.
- They're not Commies. They're the Red Star Alliance... honestly, no connection! (Subtle!)
- Being able to ignore 14 year old dickless idiots and still be able to kick some ass!