W
ith the price of oil surpassing $100 a barrel, the apocalypse imagined
in Frontlines: Fuel of War may not be so far away. In this vision of the
future, the world’s remaining superpowers—split between two factions—
clash in a winner-take-all war for Earth’s last oil reserves. Lucky for us, this
makes a great backdrop for some intense multiplayer skirmishes.
On each map, teams of up to 32 players scuffle for control of capture
points, which connect to create a “frontline” that divides the map between
friendly and enemy territory. In order to win a match, a team must take
control of the entire map by either moving the shifting frontline to the end
of the level or killing enough enemy troops. While the premise is similar to
Battlefield’s, the frontline concept prevents lone wolves from infiltrating
enemy territory and capturing points away from the action.
In addition to selecting a weapon, players choose one of four roles,
each of which comes with unique abilities that must be unlocked. An air-
support player can call in air strikes, while a ground-support player can
deploy mountable turrets. Our favorite role is drone technician, which gave
us control of remote-controlled mini cars and helicopters to zoom around
the map. These killer drones (which can self-destruct) were perfect for
fishing out snipers hiding in the ruins of a fallen skyscraper and blowing up
APCs filled with enemy troops.
Of the nine maps included, we favor the ones set in abandoned urban
metropolises because they better accommodate infantry combat. Frontlineslets you pilot helicopters and jets too, but only one map was spacious
enough for fun aerial dogfighting.
While the combat here feels solid, widespread bugs prevented us
from joining servers, and glitches often crashed the game. Lack of joystick
or voice-com support is unacceptable, and squad management feels like an
afterthought. But if you can bear these frustrating shortcomings, Frontlines
will adequately scratch your multiplayer itch until the next Battlefield
game is released.
—NormaN ChaNFrontlines: Fuel of War
This is what happens when you don’t listen to environmentalists
reviews TesTed. Reviewed. veRdicTized
7
frontlines: fuel of war
$50, http://www.frontlines.com
ESRB: TIf you hear a buzzing sound, a suicide drone is probably nearby.