Homefront (video game)

Homefront is a first-person shooter video game developed by Kaos Studios and published by THQ, in which players play as members of a resistance movement fighting against a near-future Korean military occupation of the United States. It was released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Microsoft Windows, and also made available through OnLive on March 15, 2011 in North America, March 17, 2011 in Australia, March 18, 2011 in Europe,[5] and April 14, 2011 in Japan.[6][7] Its tagline is: "Home is where the war is."
Contents
1 Overview
2 Synopsis
2.1 Plot
2.2 Timeline
3 Gameplay
3.1 Single Player
3.2 Multiplayer
3.2.1 Server Overload
3.3 Plot & Online Pass
3.4 Freezing Issues
4 PC version
5 Homefront: Songs For The Resistance
6 Controversy
7 Reception
7.1 Sales
8 Downloadable Content
9 References
10 External links
11 See also
12 References
[edit]Overview


This section may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this section if you can. The talk page may contain suggestions. (March 2011)
Homefront is set in the in a near future America in 2027 when a nuclear-armed Korean People's Army invades the United States. The story is written by John Milius, who co-wrote Apocalypse Now and wrote/directed Red Dawn, which depicts a resistant movement against a Soviet-led invasion of the United States. The opening is set in Montrose, Colorado.[8]
One of the major portions of the story arc is not only built around the development of a Korean republic over the years preceding, but the economic downfall of the United States of America, and the resulting unrest that grips the entire nation prior to an invasion by the new Korean Republic.[9] The main cause of the economic collapse of the US being rising oil prices that pushed gas prices up to $20 a gallon, and an Asian Bird Flu epidemic which kills millions.[10]
Homefront is speculative fiction, set in a near-future, post peak oil world that features a significantly diminished United States, and a united Korea that has built a massive alliance in East Asia. The Gate Corporation (a major private military company) also plays a minor role. The game focuses on the collapse of the United States, subsequent occupation by the Greater Korean Republic—a united Korea under the rule of North Korea—and the American Resistance that fights said occupation. The player is invited to join the American Resistance, "using guerrilla tactics, commandeering military vehicles, and utilizing advanced drone technology". The player may join the Korean Forces in multiplayer matches. The game also features vehicle-based 32 player online warfare using dedicated servers. The game shipped March 15, 2011 on Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.[11]
The cover art depicts San Francisco in the grip of war, with smoke rising from the skyline and the Flag of North Korea hanging from the Golden Gate Bridge and Transamerica Pyramid.
[edit]Synopsis

The antagonists in Homefront were originally intended to be Chinese, but were later replaced by a unified Korea for two reasons: a possible backlash by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and the reality of economic interdependence between America and China that made the Chinese "not that scary"[12] said Tae Kim, a former CIA field agent on the game's backstory, and a consultant: "we went to a very rigorous, academic research process to make sure to not only look at North Korea's current state but to look at historical examples how things could parallel and turn events. History repeats itself. From today to the day the invasion starts in the game, if you combine everything, the odds are very very slim this becomes true. But when you look at the storyline step by step, every step is a coin flip but a plausible step. So once you get there, it's plausible. And from there the next step is plausible as well. Even though the whole thing is fictional, it comes with plausible baby steps."[13]
The finalized version of Homefront's timeline was released at end of January 2011.[14]
[edit]Plot
The game introduces the timeline, and acknowledges that the Greater Korean Republic has taken over all US states west of the Mississippi river. Protagonist Robert Jacobs, a former Marine helicopter pilot, is woken in his make-shift house in Montrose, Colorado and ordered to be sent to a re-education camp in Alaska for failing to answer draft orders from the occupation forces. However, Jacobs's trip is cut short when his bus is ambushed by American Resistance fighters Connor Morgan and Rianna. Jacobs is led to Oasis, a Resistance hideout led by local state policeman and Resistance leader Boone Karlson. Boone, Connor, and Rianna are aware of Jacobs's background as a pilot, and recruit him to help recover fuel for the US military in San Francisco. Boone initiates the operation with himself, Jacobs, Connor, Rianna, and Hopper, a Korean-American technical expert.
They plan to steal several tracking beacons in a school used as a concentration camp. To do this they contact an inside man named Arnie who knows Boone. However, Arnie betrays the team to protect his children, forcing the team to kill the contact and eliminate all forces in the camp. They discover a mass grave and narrowly escape Korean reinforcements by hiding among the bodies. Shortly after Jacobs, Connor, and Rianna succeed in locating the trucks and planting a beacon on one of them, Connor and the team return to Oasis only to find that Boone and all of the inhabitants of the Resistance base have been killed by Korean troops. They narrowly escape with other Colorado resistance fighters by breaching the fortress wall used to keep people trapped in the town.
Jacobs, Connor, Rianna, and Hopper are able to escape from Korean forces with information that a helicopter that they can use in the operation is located in a survivalist base in Utah. The team infiltrate the headquarters and manage to steal the helicopter, pursuing the fuel convoy nearing California. With the convoy successfully hijacked, the team continues their journey to San Francisco where they deliver the fuel and aid the US military.
As the team and the military close in on San Francisco through the Golden Gate Bridge, they encounter heavy Korean resistance. Nearing the other side of the bridge, the helpless team encounters a large Korean convoy trying to push the resistance fighters and US military back. With no other choice, Connor advances towards the convoy with a flare and orders a successful air strike, sacrificing himself in the process.
The news of the operation is then reported by the British media, reporting that the battle could be a turning point for American forces, with the European Union calling for a meeting to initiate talks for helping the Americans.
[edit]Timeline
The Homefront website features a timeline of events from 2010 to 2027 leading up to the main storyline. [15]
2011: North Korea faces another UN sanction over its latest nuclear test.
2012: Kim Jong-Il dies and is succeeded by his son Kim Jong-un.
2013: Kim Jong-un unifies North and South Korea to form the Greater Korean Republic. He is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his accomplishment of achieving Korean reunification.
2014: The United States military withdraws from the Korean Peninsula. General Motors declares bankruptcy for the second time.
2015: The effects of peak oil are felt as gas prices reach up to 20 dollars a gallon due to a war between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Russia cuts off all oil trade with Europe. Survivalist literature become bestsellers in America. China's influences diminish.
2016: The United States withdraws its military from Japan and other countries overseas, focusing on its instability back home.
2017: Martial law is declared in the United States as its infrastructure crumbles due to financial deficiencies.
2018: After the destruction of one of its nuclear facilities by Korean special forces, Japan surrenders to the Greater Korean Republic and is capitalized into a vassal state.
2019: The UN goes out of commission.
2020: Canada closes its borders to Americans. The US military takes over the functions of many emergency services, as well as the distribution of basic goods. This causes many Americans to abandon the suburbs in exchange of the military-managed urban centers.
2021: Korean forces succeed in annexing many countries in Southeast Asia. A new pandemic known as the Knoxville Cough, a type of bird flu, begins to spread in the United States.
2022: To prevent the contagion of the Knoxville Cough, Mexico closes its borders to Americans. Hyperinflation pushes the US dollar to the edge of collapse.
2023: The Knoxville Cough ravages the American public. The Korean People's Army reaches 20 million total personnel.
2024: Using the captured M-V rockets at the Uchinoura Space Center, Kim Jong-un announces a new space satellite program, under the pretense of replacing the decaying GPS, which America could no longer afford to maintain.
2025: A thermonuclear device is detonated by one of the Korean satellites 300 miles above Kansas, blanketing America with an EMP that wipes out its power grid and all the electronics above ground. The US infrastructure is virtually in ruins. This is followed by the Korean seizure of Hawaii and landings in San Francisco. Korean paratroopers are dropped into central United States. The economic downfall in Europe prevents its nations from intervening.
2026: The United States is split into two as the KPA irradiate the entire Mississippi River, as a fortification for their control of the western side.
2027: The United States Armed Forces are completely scattered.
[edit]Gameplay

[edit]Single Player
Homefront's gameplay has been completely reworked from its origins in Frontlines: Fuel of War, focusing on a more cinematic, character driven experience.
David Votypka, the design director of Homefront, stated in an interview with G4TV that the gameplay will be based around guerilla style tactics, inspired by Half-Life 2.[16] The same interview also contained information stating that one of the important facts concerning your surroundings is that they are built to try and establish a connection with the user by using real companies and brands.[17] The campaign is said to be 5–10 hours long depending on experience.[18]
[edit]Multiplayer
The multiplayer component of Homefront is focused on large-scale vehicle based combat reminiscent of Kaos' first title, Frontlines: Fuel of War. The defining innovation of Homefront's multiplayer is its battle points system, which is an in-game currency that allows a player to purchase weapons, gear and vehicles. Players earn points by taking objectives and getting kills and are forced to choose between many small purchases such as weapons versus larger, higher cost items like helicopters and tanks. It has been confirmed that the multi-player will support up to 32 players in one match, with 16 players on each team. According to rumors, there will be 7 maps for the PS3 and PC and there will be 8 maps for the Xbox 360. Nothing has been confirmed.[19] Homefront on Xbox 360 will be getting a limited exclusive map called "Suburbs", which will be set in the Suburbs of America and will be infantry / drone only.[20]
[edit]Server Overload
When the game was released, the Online Multiplayer Servers were overloaded, and Online Gameplay had to be shut off. Users were only allowed to play Private Matches.[21]
[edit]Plot & Online Pass
The Multiplayer takes place in the period before the U.S. Armed Forces were completely scattered.[22]
Each new copy of Homefront contains an online pass, enabling users the full multiplayer experience. Although the online pass is not required to play multiplayer, those who play without an online pass will be capped at level 5 (out of 75).[23]
[edit]Freezing Issues
Following the release of the game, several freezing issues have arisen. The issues were widespread, affecting Xbox 360, PS3, and PC versions of the game. Also the game's multiplayer component was barely functional at release. Both the Xbox 360 and PC version received patches that mitigated most of these issues. However, the PS3 version has yet to be patched and is still mostly non-functional online. Many players are unable to get online at all. Those that are report that the game's party system does not function correctly and most matches end in a hard freeze, requiring a hard reset of the console. Although many PS3 users have complained about these issues on Homefront's own forums, Kaos (the studio that created the game) has yet to announce a date or a timeline for a PS3 patch, saying only, "it's right around the corner". [24]
The issue has been addressed by THQ in an online statement. "We have received several reports of freezing occuring on Xbox 360 version of Homefront. Players were able to successfully play the game (singleplayer or multiplayer), but when starting a new game, they are met with a hard freeze at the THQ or KAOS loading screen. We are aware of the issue, and have communicated the problem to our Development teams. We are awaiting an ETA on a fix at this time. The problem is not your Xbox 360 hardware, nor the game disc. Once a fix is communicated to THQ Customer Support, this knowledge base article will be updated. As well, the Homefront Community Forums will also be broadcasting the fix when it occurs: http://www.homefront-game.com/forum. In the interim, players are able to create a second profile on their Xbox 360 and play the single-player component of the game. Our apologies for the inconvenience; we're working hard to get this fixed for you."[citation needed]
[edit]PC version


This section's factual accuracy may be compromised because of out-of-date information. Please help improve the article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page. (April 2011)
Homefront's PC version was ported to Digital Extremes, a Canadian developer responsible for numerous Unreal Tournament games and Bioshock ports. Frank Delise, the executive producer of the PC version has stated that the PC version of the game will feature exclusive content and dedicated servers. Additional exclusive features include clan support, DirectX 11 graphics, and first person vehicle cockpits.[25][26] It has also been confirmed that Homefront will be released on Steam,[27] as well as the OnLive gaming service. Also, spectator mode and demo recording will be included along with a dedicated server executable, server tools and RCON.[28][29]
[edit]Homefront: Songs For The Resistance

Executive Producers
Kyle Mortensen/the NEW SCIENCE agency
Derek Brewer/Traxion Control
Mastering
Greg Reely
Track Listing of Soundtrack
"War Ensemble" - As I Lay Dying (Originally by Slayer) (4:51)
"Fight the Power" - The Dillinger Escape Plan featuring Chuck D (Originally by Public Enemy) (3:57)
"Uprising" - iwrestledabearonce (Originally by Muse) (4:16)
"War Pigs" - The Acacia Strain (Originally by Black Sabbath) (8:15)
"One" – Periphery (Originally by Metallica) (7:12)
"Fortunate Son" – The Ghost Inside (Originally by Creedence Clearwater Revival) (2:29)
"For What It's Worth" – Winds of Plague (Originally by Buffalo Springfield) (2:40)
"Us and Them" – Misery Signals (Originally by Pink Floyd) (7:41)
"Masters of War" – Arsonists Get All the Girls (Originally by Bob Dylan) (4:15)
"War" – Oceano (Originally by Edwin Starr) (3:58)
"Sunday Bloody Sunday" – Veil of Maya (Originally by U2) (4:25)
[edit]Controversy

Advertising for Homefront has simulated a declaration of war in mainstream websites and media, creating confusion amongst many non-gamers. The nature and timing of the advertising created concern in the wake of the ROKS Cheonan sinking and the recent artillery strike on Yeonpyeong Island, causing mainstream media coverage of the advertising campaign.[30]
For sales of Homefront to Japan, the game has been censored by removing all references to North Korea including pictures of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.[31] The changes are replaced by a "A Certain Country to the North" and the "Northern Leader".[32] Spike, the game's Japanese/Asian publisher, justified the censors because they said to "use their real names would have been 'malicious' to an 'existing person' and an 'existing country.'"[33][34]
The game has been banned from all types of sales in South Korea.[35][36]
THQ has denied that the game was developed to piggyback off the tensions on the Korean peninsula, saying that "Homefront is a work of speculative fiction, set in the year 2027. Recent real-world events on the Korean peninsula are obviously tragic and, like everyone, we hope for a swift and peaceful resolution."[37]
THQ's promotional balloon stunt for the game at the GDC angered San Francisco residents after 10,000 balloons fell into San Francisco Bay.[38]