Homefront

First of all, let me just scream when will people stop comparing EVERY SINGLE FPS to CoD!? Now that that thought is out of my system, I can proceed with my review... full of comparisons to Call of Duty.

Likes
• A new IP - it's not a repeat of the same game released last year on March 15th and this automatically made me like it a bit more. You may disagree but this earns points for me. Maybe I've played certain IPs too much and am burned out them.
• Setting - from Red Dawn to Freedom Fighters, I love the idea of America being invaded by a foreign country, in a "real" way, not some pop-arcade arnold movie. Even though this game out later than MW2, I feel that CoD ripped this game off. If that makes sense...
• Shock - this game will really shock you. Without spoiling anything, there was one part that really got to me, tugged at the heartstrings in only a way that a movie or book has before. Certains instances feel more "real", more a part of war than some effort to make you go "woh" and remember a scene from the latest pop-action flik. One scene in particular reminded me of Behind Enemy Lines.
• Graphics - people are complaining that they are outdated while they sink hundreds of hours into the same IP that has produced the same graphics since 2007 (right year)? The way the graphics were done and pictures placed over objects (I have no idea what technique or drawing method this is) reminded me of HL2 and Max Payne 2. A little dated but worked great for me since I enjoy that style.
• Vibe - I really got a HL2 vibe while playing the game (maybe it was the graphics) but this drew me in too. On the run from an evil empire...
• MP - the multiplayer is surprisingly good and very smooth! No lag, low pings, hits register. The MP is fast and furious and you die QUICK, which some people may not like. I enjoy it because it doesn't take an entire magazine to kill an enemy. And compared to other large IPs, this game has an amazingly smooth release. While you play, you level up and earn different unlocks, including the ability to add perks to vehicles. You can customize your kits with some pretty familiar perks. There is a point system for the kits so some may have 2 perks, others may have 3 (not sure if you can have more than 3). You earn Battle Points as you play which can use in game to unlock two abilities that you have or vehicles upon respawning. There is a personal UAV scan for 400 BPs that is pretty effective. RPGs are 250BPs so if a tank rolls up, bust that out and take out the tank. The vehicles can be annoying but there seems to be easy counters for all of them, except the chopper. The one time I bought the chopper I was taken out quick so I think I just need to figure out which launcher to use. :P It's a great blend between the two big IP franchise FPSs.
• History - the fictional future history of the world is done AMAZINGLY well. To the point where you honestly begin to believe that NK could invade the US someday. As unlikely as that sounds, the events put together in the story (and easter egg newspapers you find) really fleshes out the world. I've heard people bash the mere thought of NK invading the US. I assume these people read biographies and nonfiction books about Obama's childhood. I enjoy science-FICTION and fantasy and other FICTION so I'm in full support of a FICTIONAL story.

Now, the dislikes...
• Length - It's true, the campaign is super short. I think I completed it on Normal in 3 1/2 to 4 hours and it just... ends. Almost like they planned more missions but stopped. I really enjoyed the missions and the progression leading up to a big finale but then... it's done. Even 6 hours would have been acceptable but 4, or less than 4, is pushing it. Maybe it was a budget issue or whatever but they need to work on this for the second game. For an excellent length of an FPS, see HL2.
• Disconnected - as much as I loved the story and the atmosphere and fighting NK soldiers in neighborhoods and department stores, I still felt disconnected. I didn't connect with the characters or anybody I met along the way. Honestly, with some longer "down" time and drawn out scenes, maybe they could've built up some character development. You could have added an hour to the game easily by padding it with character back story.
• Too late - this game falls short because it's released AFTER another large IP that set the (very low and poor) standards for FPS shooters these days.
• Filling the wrong shoes - Though it isn't quite as bad as Medal of Honor, it still attempts at times to fit the shoes of other IPs. Game developers should consider coming up with their own ideas instead of attempting to copy (crappy) ideas from other developers. Homefront isn't too bad in this area but there is one part where you jump in a chopper and some oldy sounding music starts playing and it just irritates me cuz it's been done so many times. Freaking pick another song and I'll be okay with it. Play some melodic Enya or something, just for a break from "Hey, I'm in a chopper going to war so we must, Must, MUST listen to CCR." (I don't think that was the song but it was pretty much the same).
• Bugs - SP had some bugs and frame rate drops. However, I believe this was mostly due to me running Fraps as I recorded me playing through the SP campaign. I did the first two missions again (achievement hunting on Steam) and it ran smoother. Still some bugs though.

All in all, I'm not sorry I spent my money on this game. The SP fell a little short of what I expected but was still enjoyable and I'm still eager to finish a second, possibly third, playthrough. The MP is good, much better than expected, and this will fill in the tiny gap where the SP fell short. Good new IP and I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do with a second game. Not sure how long the MP will last me but it's a great break from the complete lack of MP shooters I've not been playing lately... since I'm burnt out on CoD.

Also, all the reviews are a little harsh on this game, and it's honestly because it doesn't have CoD in the title. Once people can get past that, it's a good game.