Frontlines: Fuel of War

"One Step Closer to Fun.."

Kaos Studios is not unknown. Battlefield 1942 players will remember the legendary Desert Combat mod made by Kaos, then Trauma Studios, still played today. Later, Trauma Studios was hired to help work on Battlefield 2. Today, Kaos Studios has made its own gamed based on Battlefield. People who felt disheartened by Battlefield 2: Modern Combat, here is your savior.

Gameplay and Story

The campaign mode starts off leisurely, then instantly switches to a bang. The game is set in the year 2024, and oil has been running out. A second Depression has started, which, as the game states, "makes the one in the 30's seem easy.". Russia and China have banded together to form the Red Star Alliance, while Western European nations and North America have formed the Western Coalition. A war has erupted over the last remaining oil nodes in the Middle East. Is it World War lll? Silence always follows that question.

You are a member of the 125th "Stray Dogs" of the Western Coalition. You've been ordered to relieve Alpha Company of their guard duty. Tagging along with you is a press reporter, Wayne Andrews. As your squad trades jokes and conversation, your helicopter is suddenly under attack and shot down. The Red Star has taken over this town, and its time to take it back. The combat is sort of like Call of Duty 4 on the harder difficulties; You must take cover, with no cover button.

There is a large variety of weapons, from pistols to rocket launchers to drones. Drones are a very interesting addition to the game. Imagine those RC cars you always see in commercials. Now picture it being driven under a tank and exploding, causing the tank to explode. Great. Other drones include a mini-attack helicopter, suicidal helicopters (like the car), and even two drones that shoot machinegun rounds and mortars.

The main feature of the game, the Frontlines system, is based off of Battlefield and its many clone's systems. Points are scattered over the battlefield you must control to win. However, only a few nodes are available at first, and you must capture them all to advance to the next point, moving the Frontline forward. If you die, you pick one of the points you control and respawn there. There is no timetravelling back in time to avoid your death. Destructible environments accompany this, so you can be prepared for some fun.

In the game's short campaign, clocking in around 7-8 hours, you travel all over the Middle East with the Stray Dogs, and eventually into Moscow itself. The game's ending leaves huge ground for a sequel, and we'll wait for one.

Sound and Graphics

The sounds are very impressive. Distant gunfire will be heard as you rush forward, getting pelted with bullets as you hear your heart beating fast. The game follows the real element of light traveling faster than sound, so if you see a bomb drop across the battlefield, you'll hear the explosion a few seconds later. Some great music will play in your conquest to defeat the Red Star Alliance, and the song in the credits is simply fantastic. Whether a jet is zooming over your heard, or you're blowing up buildings with a tank, the sound is amazing.

The visuals are fluid and fantastic. Character expressions are done perfectly, and the various doodads look great. The ragdoll isn't overly exaggerated, so no enemies flying twenty feet for you. Vehicle destruction is marvelous to look at, a plethora of destruction and awe as you stare at its flaming corpse while the mangled pieces lay limp on the ground. You won't mistake this game for Gears of War, but nevertheless, the graphics are stunning.

Controls

The default controls are a bit awkward. Pressing the right analog stick will make you crouch, and pressing again makes you go prone, therefore making it a hassle to get up or go prone. A great feature is reload sprinting, pressing Left Bumper to reload and then holding Right Bumper to sprint is a good tactic for speed running. Other than these minor issues, the default controls are adjustable to and playable.

Multiplayer

The game supports System Link and Xbox Live, so sorry Split-Screeners. On the Xbox Live menu, you have four options: Quick Match, Custom Match, Create Match, and Leaderboards. Quick Match lets you pick the gametype (Currently only Frontlines), ranked match or not, and if there is aim assist. You will be brought a list of games to scroll through. Kaos has dedicated servers that can run 32 players, while if you're hosting one the maximum is 16. Occasionally, a 50 player game will pop up, but it is pretty rare.

Custom Match lets you set a lot of details, such as if you want a specific map. Other than that, its like Quick Match. Create Match is self-explanatory.The Leaderboards let you check how you're doing out all of players in nonranked or ranked games.

The game ships with eight maps as of now, all very well done. Frontlines is a game meant for fun, and the multiplayer helps stretch it much further. Team chat is disabled, the only way you can speak is to invite other players to join a squad, a 5-player team that can communicate, issue orders, and actually works unlike other games where you hear 9-year olds screaming over team chat.

There is some customization to your character. You can pick six Loadouts, from the standard Assault to Close Combat or Sniper, and four Roles. The Roles are Ground Support, EMP Tech, Drone Tech, and Air Support, each very different. These Roles can be advanced to Level 3, while you gain levels from getting points, which is capturing objectives and killing enemy players. Each team has different things for each role. A Western Coalition Level 3 Ground Support can deploy a powerful Rail gun, while a Red Star Alliance Level 3 can deploy a AI sentry gun. Your levels are reset each map though.

The multiplayer is stunning and fantastic in every way. Whether you're doing an epic helicopter jump on Invasion, or having your entire team be Snipers and snipe off a jet flying in the air, you will have some great fun.

Overall

Frontlines: Fuel of War is a fantastic start for a company that has had only a bit of game developing experience before, and a must-have for Battlefield fans.

Score: 9/10

Reviewer: ChaosEmeraldLol

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/03/08

Game Release: Frontlines: Fuel of War (US, 02/25/08)