Developed by Kaos Studios, Frontlines: Fuel of
War is an upcoming tactical shooter game being published by THQ. The game will
be released on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC later this year. GameZone was on hand to try
out the game’s single and multiplayer portions, and discovered that Frontlines
should be a pretty exciting romp into the realm of near-future tactical combat.
The game opens with a cutscene that feels very
inspired by the film Black Hawk Down, which helps set the stage for what’s about
to take place. You are a soldier onboard of a helicopter when you get shot down,
losing a good portion of your squad mates, as well as a war journalist who gets
captured by enemy forces. You then embark on completing a series of goals in
order to forward the story and rescue your comrades.
The gameplay will instantly be familiar to those
who’ve played games like Battlefield 2142. You fight across the map capturing
spawning points which correspond with certain goals. The storyline unfolds as
you capture these points, introducing you to new elements in the plot and
eventually completing the mission and moving onto another area.
The multiplayer modes operate on much of the same
lines as the single-player games, although even more closely related to the
capture of points on the battlefield. This time, as you vie for spots on the
map, your online enemies will also be fighting for them at the same time,
resulting in a give and take between you and your online opponents. The game is
being worked for a 32-player maximum on all three platforms.
Graphically, the pre-alpha build looked pretty
good, showcasing a modified version of Unreal Engine 3. The environments had a
distinct desert combat feel to them, albeit with a bit of a futuristic touch.
The desolate landscape feels like a futuristic Somalia, with broken-down
buildings and sandstorms blowing. The special effects were pretty nice looking
as well, with some cool explosions and smoke effects.
While still in pretty early stages Frontlines:
Fuel of War is looking to become a solid tactical shooter that pulls some great
elements from the genre and will feature some great multiplayer elements. Look
for it later this year.
