Game:

Frontlines: Fuel of War (2008)

Duration: 15:01

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Frontlines - Fuel of War [2008]

I feel like I hear this all the time, but first-person shooters really are a dime a dozen these days, especially on PC which has always been the true home for FPS titles. With so many similar products vying for attention it certainly takes a special gaming experience to impress the masses. Call of Duty 4 was able to do it, BioShock certainly pulled it off, and now it's Frontlines: Fuel of War trying to make its mark on sales charts. It's a game rooted in present day headlines as the world is being torn apart by warring nations competing for the coveted oil that has been the bane of our existence here in reality for far too long. While the timeframe for Fuel of War is set a bit in the future, the issues that it tackles certainly hit home. Now the only question is if the gameplay can do the same.

Those who have played past Battlefield titles will feel right at home with Frontlines' core gameplay mechanic. Essentially the maps are riddled with predetermined capture points. As you steal them from the enemy you advance the frontline of the battle more and more until you eventually own the map. Some points require you to stand next to a satellite for a certain amount of time; others have you planting C4 to take down an enemy installation, but working through each of the missions never quite feels like an engrossing campaign. Instead, it feels too much like a series of bot matches. Not to say that there isn't plenty of intense moments throughout the roughly 6-8 hour (three difficulty levels extend it a bit) set of missions, it just doesn't feel as natural as other games on the market.

The war that rages on throughout Frontlines is between the Western Coalition Army (United States and European Union) and the Red Star Alliance (Russia and China) with the bulk of the action happening throughout the Middle East. The cutscenes which bookend each mission are delivered from the perspective of an embedded journalist reporting on the war. While you don't have a defined squad with character names and specific personalities you still get to hear inspirational speeches and be a part of other moments of reasonably effective drama, but it never reaches the bar that has been set by others.

The real issue with the single-player gameplay isn't its storytelling, after all Frontlines isn't supposed to be a story-driven FPS, but instead the main problem is its lack of originality. If we had seen this game released a year ago we'd be singing a different tune as there are moments when you're repelling a massive enemy force across a monstrous battlefield that you can't help but define as "cool" but it doesn't separate itself enough from the shadow of the giants of our industry to cross the void from being a "good" to a "great" solo experience.

Luckily for Fuel of War the main attraction isn't its campaign. The real hook, the reason why there are going to be people playing Frontlines for quite some time, is its 64-player multiplayer. If you can manage to find a massive group of friends and have a solid connection at your disposal then there's the potential for a great online experience. With planes, helicopters, tanks, and the myriad of drones and devices doing battle at one time on a few of the massive landscapes the action is undeniably fun and fast paced.

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-OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x86
-CPU: AMD Sempron Single Core Le-1100 2.4GHz
-GPU: SAPPHIRE RADEON X1550 256MB
-RAM: 4096MB DDR2 800MHz
-HDD: 160GB
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Settings:
Resolution: 1024x768
Settings: Very Low
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Fps:
With Fraps: 10-15
Without Fraps: 15-30
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-DRUIDKG

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