Frontlines: Fuel of War

"Not bad, but not great."

This game is unfortunately very average. Average gameplay, graphics and online.

The game's setting is the only thing which excels in this game. A bleak future on which an energy crisis sets East vs West in a global conflict is chillingly possible. However the plot of the game which follows a group of soldiers through the war from initial engagements in the Caspian sea through to the streets of Moscow is bland and unexciting. It's never quite clear which one of the 'Stray Dogs' you actually control. Not that it matters, the few cut-scenes have them all looking identical. Interestingly, the main character who supplies the narrative of the game is a reporter who joins your crew of soldiers and he is the only character in the game who isn't a standard cutout.

The initial few levels set in the oil fields of the middle east fail to impress. You progress through the game capturing checkpoint after checkpoint in a very linear fashion. The advanced weaponry you seem to have been supplied with is quite ineffective against enemy troops. The enemies can take quite a few rounds before biting the dust. The sniper rifle is amazingly weak taking several shots to fell an opponent. The AI on the other hand seem to be all crack shots with an assault rifle, being able to hit you from afar with little effort.

The game only picks up by level 5. An assault on a mountain stronghold allows for some good moments. Levels 6 and 7 are similarly as good. However just as it starts to get fun, it's all over. The single player is very short. Taking only about 4-5 hours for one run-through. The game even hints at the end that the battle may have been won but the global conflict has expanded further. Why his was not shown in more levels is unclear.

The main selling point of this game was the online 32 player battles. With a variety of vehicles, maps and weapons this could have been a real alternative to COD4. But it's a big disappointment. Laggy servers, difficulties accessing a match and large empty maps mean you'll rarely get a decent game. There also seems to be only one game mode "Frontlines" in which you have to capture enemy positions (Like team objective). Which is a shame because a 32 player,lag free, team deathmatch or capture the flag on these maps with this range of vehicles would have been fun.

In summary, the single player is too short and the multiplayer not really good enough to warrant paying full price. If you see this cheap, or fancy renting this then you could do worse. However given the technical problems with the multiplayer I can forsee the online being dead for this game once Rainbow Six 2 appears.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 03/03/08

Game Release: Frontlines: Fuel of War (EU, 02/29/08)