June 11, 2009 - Amid the orgy of self-adulation that is E3, it's rare to hear a company admit their own faults, but THQ seemed genuinely humbled by the last couple years. Several times during the tour of booth we heard their staff say that they know that THQ hasn't held up their end of the bargain lately, but all that was going to change. We appreciate the contrition, but we were still skeptical when we entered the demo room for Homefront.

Headed up by THQ's New York-based Kaos Studios, Homefront follows Frontlines: Fuel of War as the developer's second game based around an energy crisis, but where Frontlines tried too hard to divide its attentions between team-based multiplayer and a solo campaign (at the expense of both), Homefront is focused squarely on an immersive, cinematic, single-player experience. To bolster the narrative component, they've tapped John Milius, writer of classic war films like Apocalypse Now and Red Dawn, to pen the screenplay, which follows a North Korean invasion of the US following a global economic collapse.

This isn't a "cinematic" experience in the same sense as Metal Gear Solid 4, though. It's actually uniquely interactive in the grand tradition of Half-Life 2, staying locked in first-person mode, without any discrete cutscenes (at least as far as we could see). The visuals looked absolutely gorgeous, far beyond anything the studio has previously attempted. We were told it was based on the Unreal Engine 3, but it was immediately apparent that the lighting engine had been heavily modified to support the kind of brightly lit outdoor environments that make up much of the game. The suburban backdrop made for a visually interesting setting for a war, at once familiar and strange. It was still a colorful world full of plants and gleaming solar panels, but the events transpiring were bleak enough to kill the wholesome mood.

Kaos are breaking a bit of ground with the event system, which blends scripted events with dynamic variables, freeing up the design, while still allowing the developers to plan cinematic events and plot points. What this means is that an event is scripted to happen, but exactly where and how it happens will depend on you. This means they won't have to funnel you into narrow locations or artificial stoppages like Half-Life 2 just to give you a good "wow" moment. We also got a taste of the game's vehicular system, which allows you to control a six-wheeled tank remotely and actually bring it along with you, using it for cover or to take on bigger enemies.

Homefront is showing a tremendous amount of polish that we never expected from Kaos Studios. The biggest problem it will face is the sheer amount of competition coming this year. The number of shooters we played at E3 is staggering, and we're not sure if Homefront will have what it takes to separate itself from the crowd. There isn't anything revolutionary here, and the whole demo felt very familiar, but if the script and the level design can keep up with the game's potential, it could be just the redemption THQ and Kaos are hoping for.

By Travis Fahs
CCC Freelance Writer