Crytek UK and Deep Silver take over the franchise from Kaos Studios and THQ and bring it home to the cradle of the American Revolution.
People loved the concept for Homefront. Back when it was widely marketed at E3 2010, most gamers were giddy at its vow to approach the American military shooter from the opposite angle of fighting against a fearsome occupation with very little resources. And with the tensions between the U.S. and North Korean being high, as well as a fascination with the reboot of classic 80s film Red Dawn, the landscape seemed perfectly primed for it to sell like gangbusters. But when Homefront came out in early 2011, it didn’t really live up to that promise. The most common criticism was that it didn’t feel significantly different than contemporary shooters like Call of Duty, and that the missions lacked cohesion between the awesome premise and the events of the game. After its lackluster sales, Kaos Studios folded, and when THQ imploded, the IP ended up in the hands of Crytek’s UK studio backed now by the publishing muscle of Deep Silver.
Today, they announce the next game to us the intellectual property will be called Homefront: The Revolution and it will abandon the western states to be set in urban Philadelphia. The new Homefront will be out in 2015 on the PC, Xbox One and PS4 – no plans for release on the Xbox 360 or the PS3.
Check out Andrea Rene’s excellent interview with Fasahat Salim from Crytek UK for more details.
At the presentation at Deep Silver’s Pre-E3 event in May, we got to see Homefront: The Revolution in action and it looks pretty dang spectacular. The CryEngine’s rendering of water effects and wind on fabric are definitely impressive, especially when compared to games on the last generation. You can see why the developers decided to abandon older consoles and concentrate on optimization the game for what most will be playing on in 2015.
Narratively, the game lets you play as Ethan Brady who was described in the presentation as a “normal every day dude.” He is involved in an organized resistance against the KPA who have superior technology and firepower. The American resistance must scrounge whatever resources they can to fight back against their oppressors – using anything from spare bullets and homemade explosive devices to remote controlled cars.
“It is asymmetric warfare,” said Fasahat Salim from Crytek UK. “You must use guerrilla tactics to prevail against a much stronger foe.” Salim mentioned most missions will involve hit and run attacks, with the player melting back into the population after completing objectives.
Homefront: The Revolution looks like it might take the property into new generation. North Korea may not be the threat it felt like in 2010, but that doesn’t mean the dystopian future of Homefront can’t be an awesome game. I’m looking forward to seeing more of it as we get closer to its 2015 release.
