Frontlines: Fuel of War Review

Game:  Frontlines: Fuel of War
Year (s):  2008
Company:  dev.  Kaos Studios
            pub.  THQ
Engine:  Unreal Engine 3
Type:  First-Person Shooter
What I Paid:  maybe $5
Game Time:  7-8 hours, first time, default difficulty

Obligatory Trailer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c28AduI09cQ


Plot

"America, fuck yeah!"  Set in the near future, Frontlines shows a world nearly out of oil.  The Western Coalition is at war with the Red Star Alliance over the last reserves in the middle east.  You are part of the Stray Dog squad. 

There are cutscenes before and after each mission which don't add much to the above.  It would have been better to just copy and paste clips from war movies.


Who is Kaos Studios?

Initially known as Trauma Studios, this team created a popular mod for Battlefield 1942, released in 2004.  After that they were bought by Digital Illusion CE (the developers of Battlefield 1942).  After working there briefly, Trauma Studios was shut down in 2005.

In 2006, the team, now under the name of Kaos Studios, was bought by THQ.  They developed two games: Frontlines and Homefront.  A few months after the release of Homefront, Kaos Studios was shut down.


Graphics

Perhaps because they went from making a game mod to developing an entire game, the graphics aren't great.  The Unreal Engine 3 is definitely underutilized here. 


Crysis

While playing this game, two small things kept making me think of Crysis.  Small buildings, like sheds, can be knocked down.  Second, half of the enemies are Asian.  There is no resemblance other than that.


Combat

Combat is easy.  If you get shot, find cover for a few seconds and you're good as new.  You can't save, but you have several lives ("redeployments") for each mission.  Enemy AI is pretty basic, and the only trouble you'll have is finding out where the damn snipers are in some of the later missions.

Weapons are pretty standard.  Crouching increases accuracy, a prone position increases it even more.  Nice idea.  Makes sense.

You have a squad that follows you around.  Unfortunately, they are just like the GI Joe cartoon.  They fire a lot of bullets and catch a lot of bullets, all without killing or dying.  For practical purposes,  your squad is animated scenery.


Vehicles, Drones, etc.

Vehicles are standard, except that nobody can figure out how to pilot the helicopter without crashing.  Drones are the most interesting thing this game has to offer.  Drones are remote controlled miniature vehicles.  Some of these are just mobile explosives.  Others are weaponized engines of miniature death.

Airstrikes are also occasionally available.  There are a few different kinds but they all do pretty much the same thing.


Final Thoughts

This game is easy.  "America, fuck yeah!"  These cutscenes are cheesy.  I should go play Crysis.
This game is fast paced, so it'll keep your attention.  Unfortunately, it's easy and incredibly short, so it won't keep your attention for long.  I wouldn't recommend this one, even if you get it for just a few bucks like I did.  There's just not enough content.