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slindenMar 30, 2011
Great article. The key to a successful linear shooter is to let the player do awesome things but to also make them feel in control. In Half Life 2 you're breaking into prisons, driving vehicles, leading your own squad, etc. Games like Blops and MW2 are cool, but you have little sense of control over what you're doing.
maverick814Mar 30, 2011
I've personally never minded not feeling like I'm single handedly winning wars and they my efforts are just helping a larger, greater, effort (kind of like how CoD World at War / most WWII games do
But I could see it getting annoying if its as bad as this article makes Homefront out to be.
tfindlayMar 30, 2011
Well in MW2, because of its theme and setting, you don't have the freedom to wander around and press switches to see what they do. You follow orders along with a squad because that's the role you're playing. It doesn't make for the same expansive atmosphere as HL2 but it's still well done and fun as s**t.
rawlzMar 30, 2011
It's a balancing act, because even Half Life 2 had you picking up a soda can because the Combine ordered you to and waiting until you did it to move on, or standing around while Eli fills you in on details and sets up the transporter because Valve wanted you to take a moment to look at story clues around his office (you can't just run, flip on the machine, and jump into the transporter when YOU want to). Granted, Half Life 2 does not bog you own in these guided events through the game like Homefront does, but I still think it's a case of THQ wanting you to take the time to see what story they're trying to tell.
Also, I love the multiplayer.
keillrandorMar 30, 2011
What we're talking about here - is the foundation of what games are, as opposed to puzzles, art or competitions:
Games are about people WRITING their OWN stories, (in a structured, competitive environment), not merely interacting with a story being told, (puzzle), or competing to be told a story, (a competition) - or just being a passive audience for the story teller (art).
This is all a fairly simple matter of linguistics - (my blog):
http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/DarrenTomlyn/3291/Comment is buried, click here to see the rest.
kenjuraMar 30, 2011
Kaos, your game is bad and you should feel bad!
whiteravenMar 31, 2011
Yeah, this game was a disappointment. Linear as hell, way too many "Hogan's Alley" shooting galleries and the guns don't feel right. It's fun to look around and see how they're depicting the world but that's about all it has going for it.
If the game was any good, I would also complain that the campaign is too short but... meh.
lithdovMar 31, 2011
I'm curious as to how any of the complaints about Homefront's single-player campaign don't apply to the CoD franchise when they're just as prevalent and often worse there. Prime example being the campaign's length. Hey, to all you "professional" game journalists: what FPS series started the 5-hour campaign in shooters trend? Hint: you keep giving it perfect scores.
assassyn360Mar 31, 2011
I think this article is reading way too much into the intent of this game overall. A lot of criticism Homefront has gotten was directed at it's single player. I knew day one that this game was focused on providing the gamer a muliplayer experience more than a single player experience. The only reason it has a single player is to set the origin of the opposing sides, because kaos knows hardly anyone reads or cares to research a background story.