BlackDots
Shared on Sun, 01/20/2008 - 20:26My brother-in-law tipped me off to the Frontlines demo on Live. I checked the website, and liked the premise, so I downloaded it this morning and gave it a whirl.
It's...OK. First off, I think it looks good. The Unreal 3 engine is a pretty thing, and I think this demo shows us what we can expect in terms of visuals. I also liked the idea of being able to control combat drones. That should add some interesting gameplay elements, especially in multiplayer.
Unfortunately, there are a couple of problems. Before getting into it, let me say I understand this is a demo and the final product is still a month out. Anyway, the AI is stupid. Like, stupid stupid. They don't move much, they don't track you very well as you move around them, and they don't seem to work together. Second, the weapon selection system sucks. It's similar to what was in BF2:MC. The system in the original Xbox version of BF2:MC was OK, but for some reason, the 360 version of the game had a slightly tweaked version of the selection system that drove me nuts. Frontlines' system, unfortunately, is like the 360 version of BF2:MC. Also, the characters are annoying. The jacked-up "let's kick some ass" dimwit character might work in Gears of War, but that's because everything in that game is over the top (e.g. chainsaw bayonet). It might sound boring, but given that the story is meant to be plausible (and I think the cinematic at the beginning of the demo does a great job of setting things up), and we are dealing with the end of the world as we know it, I'd imagine the tone of the game would be a bit more somber and fatalistic. Then again, what the hell do I know?
I'm sorry there was no multiplayer available in the demo. The Battlefield-style play sounds interesting, if they can pull it off. As I've stated before, I love that gametype and I hope it can be faithfully brought to the console at some point. I guess we'll have to wait until next month to see how this all comes together.
It's...OK. First off, I think it looks good. The Unreal 3 engine is a pretty thing, and I think this demo shows us what we can expect in terms of visuals. I also liked the idea of being able to control combat drones. That should add some interesting gameplay elements, especially in multiplayer.
Unfortunately, there are a couple of problems. Before getting into it, let me say I understand this is a demo and the final product is still a month out. Anyway, the AI is stupid. Like, stupid stupid. They don't move much, they don't track you very well as you move around them, and they don't seem to work together. Second, the weapon selection system sucks. It's similar to what was in BF2:MC. The system in the original Xbox version of BF2:MC was OK, but for some reason, the 360 version of the game had a slightly tweaked version of the selection system that drove me nuts. Frontlines' system, unfortunately, is like the 360 version of BF2:MC. Also, the characters are annoying. The jacked-up "let's kick some ass" dimwit character might work in Gears of War, but that's because everything in that game is over the top (e.g. chainsaw bayonet). It might sound boring, but given that the story is meant to be plausible (and I think the cinematic at the beginning of the demo does a great job of setting things up), and we are dealing with the end of the world as we know it, I'd imagine the tone of the game would be a bit more somber and fatalistic. Then again, what the hell do I know?
I'm sorry there was no multiplayer available in the demo. The Battlefield-style play sounds interesting, if they can pull it off. As I've stated before, I love that gametype and I hope it can be faithfully brought to the console at some point. I guess we'll have to wait until next month to see how this all comes together.
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