Homefront®: The Revolution

Pros: Has Timesplitters 2. Decent shooter if you need a little Far Cry-lite. Diet Far Cry. Turn off the minimap and the game goes from 6/10 to an 8. Cons: Embracer Group has been buying up IPs and doing nothing with them, choosing instead to hire, then fire people, build teams, "restructure" them, and never do anything worthwhile with the IPs they hold. Timesplitters is among them. Embracer Group is a cancer and suits are morons.

Genuinely underrated. I’ll admit that the storyline is fairly short and the mechanics aren’t perfect, but the story itself is actually well thought out, and many of the gameplay elements are interesting and engaging. Even if you don’t feel like a super-soldier, that doesn’t mean the game isn’t fun. The developers did a solid job of making the experience enjoyable without relying on power trips, and the mechanics make you feel like a revolutionary rather than someone who can just walk into an area, mow down hordes of enemies, and escape without consequences. The plot stays focused and doesn’t wander down random, pointless paths, which helps keep it consistently enjoyable. It may not be a great fit for everyone, but if the idea of playing as a revolutionary is not your kind of game, there are plenty of other games out there. That said, paying around $20 might be a bit much given how quickly you can get through the main storyline, and the gameplay can still have some bugs, so it’s probably best picked up on sale, especially if you cant just drop 20 bucks at will. However, that shouldn't be a point to call this game bad, and its given an overall poor taste by many reviews here. Overall, it’s a solid and enjoyable experience that knows its audience, unlike plenty of modern AAA studios now adays.

So far, so good. I actually got this many years ago and tried it out, but didn't get more than a couple hours in before dropping it, because both the story and gameplay felt boring and uninspired. I decided to give it another try recently. Given the state of the world currently, both the premise and atmosphere feel much more relevant than before. (Not to mention it's set in 2025-2027, which was 9 years in the future at the time of this game's release!) What you're getting as far as gameplay is pretty standard CoD-style fare. However, although the gunplay may be generic, it becomes kinda satisfying if you can get past the tutorials and the initial learning curve of the open world mechanics. I'm starting to have more fun with it as I get farther along. Gun attachments and customizations are always nice, and the way you can tackle different situations through stealth, combat, or sabotage is fun. The vibe and gameplay of this game remind me of a cross of Crysis - which, since this was made in the CryEngine, shouldn't be too surprising - and Borderlands 1, oddly enough. (That's a good thing.) If you've played both of those games, try this one out and you'll see what I mean. To sum up, there is absolutely nothing groundbreaking here, but it's not too bad if you're willing to get just a little bit invested in the world and gameplay. Oh, and it has TimeSplitters 2 built into it, so that's cool.

The American S.T.A.L.K.E.R with elements of Far Cry, married with what is basically the best tribute to Terminator besides the actual Terminator games. All thrown together with Metro, by Metro's publishers. As if that wasn't enough, it is built on the crytech engine, an engine whose light-engineer cut his teeth on super-modding gold source for the Russian Paranoia mod, which became the blueprint for STALKER and Metro. And of course, those who loved the last third of Half Life 2, this game was made and expanded on that love just for you. Everything has come together for a perfect storm, but it is still, very, very jank. But is the game bad? No, actually, in fact, the game is really good but is limping most of the time due to some critical flaws. But is the game, from beginning to end, as a complete experience, dreadful? Apparently on release, it was utterly unplayable. It works now and very well, but its also very affordable, has a lot of content and... believe it or not, one of the best story DLCs in gaming. Homefront: The Revolution is overly ambitious and underdelivers what it promised, but it still provides a very fun experience. This is, by far, one of the best depictions outside of milsim sandboxes like Arma, that emulates and presents asymmetrical warfare at its finest. It is mostly entirely urban combat, which they had a wealth of influenced to draw from, considering its development from 2014 to 2016. The Russian annexation of Crimea and subsequent operations in Donbas, as well as Russian intervention on the behalf of the Assad government in Syria, all provided a wealth of inspiration for what a conventional, albeit insurgent-lead war would look like. There is this rather dangerous misunderstanding that insurgents are stupid or they are fighting in cowardly ways because they are incapable of fighting conventionally, or 'fairly', if you consider blowing up a clayhouse with million dollar ordinance to be fair. But the reality is, terrorists are actually very, very smart, many of them have engineering degrees and they are often trained highly in both technical and mechanical knowledge. In fact, compared to the conventional motorized infantry they are facing, they tend to be min-maxxed in certain stats that make them a successful deterrent to occupation and war. Terrorism is war of the poor and war is the terrorism of the rich. This imbalance is best portrayed by how the player is constantly fighting routine patrols of motorized and mechanized assets. You are constantly at a disadvantage, regardless of your difficulty setting. And even when you can John Rambo yourself up and you become a John Connor tier figure (to the point fellow resistance members sing your praises by name, which is a great detail to see) you can still easily get smashed for trying to fight these guys and their quick reaction team reserves without a full squad backing you up, or at least without you being in an advantageous position. The gameplay loop is addicted as long as you play the part. The game will be quickly boring if you use the same tactic over and over again, but really, the joy of this game is customizing your weapons and scouting out an outpost, surveying patrols and equipment with a smartphone camera. And then gathering a bunch of hard cases from a recently liberated strong point and then causing a massive fire fight. Your recruited randoms can hold their own surprisingly well, using AT against vehicles, engaging multiple opponents at once and with extreme prejudice and can take a serious beating before dying like a true urban warrior. Complete with phrases that both inspire vigor in your righteous cause to liberate yourself from an oppressive, autocratic government that is asset stripping your country, while also suddenly and jarringly striking you in the face with some more jingoistic and nationalistic overtones, as one of your buddies screams "America for Americans!" Meanwhile, you plant some explosives on a vent and detonate it via your phone, while the entire compound is balls deep in full bodied combat, you run in, find an advantageous firing position and start laying down a large cone of fire that drops even heavily armoured enemies. You wipe out the rest and begin to sabotage the resource extractor, while dozens of your boys (and gals) swarm in to get in on the fight. In the next area, you are operating in plain sight, in arguably the best 'hide out in the open' stealth gameplay since the Hitman games. Intervene, observe, subvert, attack and run and hide. Whether you are in a red zone or yellow zone, the game is filled with a unique urban atmosphere, claustrophobic streets and wide open local centers violated by brutalist, near-future military infrastructure. And gas! Gas attacks that harbour back some of the deeper lore of the Escape From New York-verse and a surprisingly competent, alternate history plot about North Korean Far East that has effectively co-opted America as the silicon giant and primary military global police force. Oh and honestly, a lot of the aesthetics and the prevalence of a certain motorcycle, honestly makes me think this was intended to be a Terminator game at one point. Even one character has a Connor-like reputation which is subverted later. The base game story is... pretty good! It won't amaze you too much, but the DLCs really start cooking and are far more linear. And honestly, the linear nature of the DLC makes you sort of wish the entire game was like that. Personally, this game would be legendary if it was structured more like the Metro games. The DLCs know this, the publishers Deep Silver know this and it shows in how the DLCs are basically American Metro, down to tunnel-dwelling bandits, a literal intertunnel armoured vehicle fight... I mean, most of the central mechanics of the gameplay are basically the prototype of Metro Exodus'. Is this a bad thing? No, the final DLC is especially great. With an intriguing story to cap off the experience, a new diverse environment that somehow is more effective than the urban ones you are used to, a bit of Half Life 2 energy in there... and an outright cool as hell final hook + environment to explore. Really, the final DLC feels like another game and it really shows how much better it could have been with a lot more linear, polished areas like this. If they ever made a sequel, keep the action linear and confined to how the DLC operated and keep the open world elements like the Yellow Zones, and you'd have a stellar game. All that being said, I really enjoyed Homefront: The Revolution. It is really rough around the edges like a homemade throwing knife, but when it hits, it sticks. Get it cheap, it is often on sale and give it a solid playthrough. Humorously, one of the achievements is bugged, because it requests you to liberate a certain number of strongholds... which is impossible, because there are not that many strongholds in the entire game, lol. Alas, starting a new game will unlock it once you make up the number gap. Its a terrorist simulator. It does a good job of making you second guess your methods. One memory I will carry on from this game forever, is that in the first areas of the first red zone, I saw some KPA with a few civilian prisoners. I routinely, not wanting to lose my squad or die before my next objective, would sent them ALL on fire with a Molotov. At the time, a few non-combatant civilians were a worthy sacrifice instead of possibly losing valuable resistance fighters, or myself, to a combat patrol of the occupying force. But as Walker himself in the game says, "If war was easy, everyone would be doing it."

Game stays true to its core. Its in an alternate timeline where Americas technology shrank and became obsolete in regards to the new Korean regime - a sort of a domino effect just like the Soviet Union in our time, only that Korean technology grew as the nation became united, and developed it's own version of todays "Silicon Valley". The game revolves around you trying to help resistance retake key control points in Philadelphia - what is truly unique in this game is how it blends a view of how America used to be to how it is under control of Korea that is far technologically superior. The game suffers from poor optimization and bugs, but don't let that distract you; its amazing atmosphere is truly something to take in. It also gives you a glimpse into what our world could look like under an oppressive regime and how the American spirit of freedom is always surviving, regardless of how dire the situation is. You take key missions in order to restore a small part of Philadelphia; battling important question of morality; is killing right? Does the enemy deserve to die? If I kill like the enemy, how am I better then they are? Am I truly a hero in all this? - - - Seeing your fellow country men and women suffer in horrible conditions gives you a sense of purpose that you are doing the right thing, but its always the same.... the price of freedom is always paid in blood.

usually, revolutions do not end well. so, in that sense, they did it right.

Нормальная игра, гораздо лучше, чем о ней рассказывал 10 лет назад антиигровой портал СтопГеймСру. Картинка приятна, особенно ночью в дождь, озвучка без пафоса и переигрывания, поддержка 5.1 звука имеется. Не RX6750XT при ультра-настройках в 4К стабильно 60 fps Есть какой-то сюжет (хотя он нах тут не нужен), внятные мотивации, в отличие от "Дальнего сральника 6", небольшая прокачка и чуть-чуть крафта, а ещё кооператив! Из минусов: непропускаемые кат-сцены и система сохранений. За 1.2$ можно взять, чисто позачищать аванпосты.