Frontlines...

I finished the Frontlines:Fuel of War SP campaign. I recommend playing using the Hardcore setting as the lesser settings are really for grannies and timmies.

The game storyline is based on a worldwide shortage of oil after the middleast and assorted smaller fields dry-up. Gas prices skyrocket, then rationing, then none. Cities go dark after there is no oil to burn or feed/lube machines to support power generation. Choas rules the civilian population.

At any rate, you are a member of a scrappy little squad of soldiers dispatched to guard one of the few remaining oil refinaries. In Turkmenistan. Just a stones throw from Uzbekistan. And directly in the path of a Russian-Sino alliance advance.

Apparently we are supposed to not think this through that somehow the military manages get enough oil to keep the war machine fully greased and fueled enough to use VTOL craft, helicopters, jets, tanks, HMMWVs, and small fueled UCAV/UGV all over the place. Yeah, the world has run critical on oil and the military transports small squads via inefficient VTOL and helicopters. Hmm...

Getting back to things...Um...Right. You go where they take you, you kill those attacking you, and you capture/secure what they tell you. Easy, no? Well, it could be easy, if the interface was a bit more intuitively designed.

My big gripe with the interface was that although you could carry a lot of gear, selecting said gear was a bit of a PITA. The designers implemented a segmented circular weapon selector that appears when you press and hold the Y key. You then rotate the left stick to select the weapon you want. I found it a bit difficult due to over-/under- steerage - I would either not go far enough around, or too far around and be left holding the wrong weapon. Remember kiddies, don't bring out a pistol in a battlezone.

It was particularly vexing that there was not a default for your standard assault rifle, so if you were holding something else and wanted the rifle, there was no easy way to get to it. Press Y, left stir, release Y and...well, better do that from cover, son.

The vehicle control was another area that wasn't particularly great. The tanks were a real PITA to control and with no auto-center it was easy to get turned around and completely out of sorts. The HMMWVs were better, but still had annoying controls. The UCAV/UGV craft were okay as long as you watched the signal strength and used the right one for the right job.

There were a few frustrating fire-fights where you have to be careful and make the correct choices with weapons and ammo available. But for the most part there is plenty of weapons and ammo spread around the fields. Also noteworthy is that you are not in control of your squad, so they do what they will, usually poorly, and you get to play lone-wolf-Rambo when they all go elsewhere or get killed-off.

Almost all the enemies are scripted and follow whatever pattern they are programmed. The remaining few aren't exactly exhibiting the best, or any, AI, so you'll mow them down eventually.

Although I didn't get into the MP much, I did look at the server settings and was pleasently surprised to see PC level settings. You can setup your server to a very detailed style of gaming with customized map rotation, vehicles, weapons, ammo, rankings, win conditions, etc. It looked all very detailed compared to some other more popular games.

Overall it was an okay diversion. It is a game to take up your time while waiting for a more popular game to be released. Got a long weekend to yourself with nothing much to do? Here you go. Buy it? Nah! Rental fodder.