Did Modern Warfare 2 steal from Homefront?Kaos Studios has its suspicionsInfinity Ward may have pinched a key element of Modern Warfare 2 from a demo of Homefront shown at E3 2009.
At least, that's according to the THQ title's dev Kaos Studios.
The head of the firm, Dave Votypka, has a sneaking suspicion that Activision's shooter has borrowed elements from the studio's yet-to-be-released apocalyptic FPS.
Votypka pointed out one feature specifically in last month's issue of PSM3 magazine:
"The level in MW where you're using the laser-pointer to guide the Striker (combat vehicle). We showed that mechanic at last year's E3, then it was in their game," he said.
"We were thinking 'Hmm, where did you get that idea from...' But, other than that, we think our concept is so unique we don't really see comparisons with other shooters."
Copy-cats or not, Modern Warfare's prominence in the FPS market isn't too much of a concern for Homefront publisher THQ, which has said that Kaos' new IP shouldn't be aiming for the top spot in the genre just yet anyway.
errrm laser 'painting' targets isn't futuristic ... it's Modern Warfare >_<
This whole "what if the other guys won the Cold War" thing is getting to be just as tired and played out as WWII video games.
Homefront release date confirmedTHQ FPS locked down for March 2011THQ has just announced that promising looking FPS Homefront will launch in the US on March 8, 2011, Australia on March 10 and the UK on March 11.
Developed by Kaos Studios, Homefront is set in a near future America. The year is 2027, ten years after the economic collapse of the US, and the game follows the American Civilian Resistance as they fight to reclaim their homeland from an oppressive North Korean occupation.
Earlier today, THQ launched a new Homefront trailer, explaining the back-story behind the intriguing title.
Haven't they already signed off on a sequel, before the 1st game has been released? Crazyness I tell thee!
True, but it is supposed to be very good wheather that is PR speak or not is another thing. Frontlines had some good ideas and if they expand on that well i'd be interested in it anyways
Homefront To Utilise THQ's Online Pass
Following in EA's footsteps with its $10 initiative - designed to recoup losses from the sale of used games - THQ is doing a similar thing with its Online Pass, last seen with UFC Undisputed 2010 own Online Pass and WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2011's 'Fan Axxess', which both unlocked additional content. Homefront will be the next game to require an Online Pass for multiplayer, otherwise the online experience will be relatively pared down.
Of course, new copies of Homefront will come bundled with a free single-use Online Pass code, which will also be available to purchase for 800 Microsoft Points for consumers purchasing a used copy of the game. Playing multiplayer without an Online Pass is still possible, but will limit the experience by offering only 5 levels of progression rather than the full 75 possible with the pass. All of the multiplayer maps will still be available though.
You could potentially play without an Online Pass for as long as you like, but you'll be unable to progress past the capped five levels and presumably end up missing out on a host of unlockable weapons and other perks. Homefront's single-player story won't be affected by the Online Pass in any way, however.
Homefront is set to launch in early March 2011.
hmm i like the look of the release date :D
The quote: "You have to stay and live with the things you did" - makes it sound like there's more to this than the typical "Mission 1 / Mission 2 / etc." structure.
Depending on how it's handled...this could be an interesting concept.
Homefront to use the 'Dreaded Online Pass'
Some evil passes stop you from playing online UFC 2010 ... or get you extra levels or DLC like BC2 or Mass Effect 2.
However, in Homefront's case, not having the Online Pass does not prevent the player from being able to play online. Players without the Online Pass will not be able to progress past level 5 in the game's multiplayer modes, which barely scratches the surface of the 75 total multiplayer levels. They will, however, be able to access all multiplayer maps. If you buy the game used and want to get past level 5, the Online Pass will run you $10, or 800 MSP.
I can see how a pass like that is a great idea for developers, and I can understand where they're coming from. But what the hell? Buying pre-owned games is part of being a gamer, and you shouldn't be punished for it by being forced to pay extra for the right to use multiplayer. That should be fully included in the price we pay for XBL to begin with. It would make sense to do that for PS3/PC owners who have free online services. But not on the 360 where you have to pay for just about everything online as it is.
Games producers make no money from 2nd hand games though, so they don't care what you think... :-\
Exactly, which is why I can see where they're coming from with the $10 pass thing. BUT, that shoudln't apply to 360 owners because we already pay more than enough for access to Xbox Live as it is. (Ok maybe not me as I wait til the £25 a year special offers come along, but for the rest of you guys ;D )
i totally agree, they need to start rewarding 360 customers, not punishing them
http://rewards.xbox.com ;)
In all seriousness though - that's probably why I'd rather buy new at a price-drop point. Patience and having a backlog of games helps.
call those rewards ppffttt..... ;)
Quote from: Legion on January 09, 2011, 12:16:05 AM
Exactly, which is why I can see where they're coming from with the $10 pass thing. BUT, that shoudln't apply to 360 owners because we already pay more than enough for access to Xbox Live as it is. (Ok maybe not me as I wait til the £25 a year special offers come along, but for the rest of you guys ;D )
What we pay is for dedicated LIVE servers, only EA uses it's own servers. If we didn't then games companies wouldn't be able to run there servers for long and we'd see a lot more servers shutting down (not just EA ones). Your £5 a month doesn't go to games companies either.
The problem with the online pass is that even if you buy the game new, It only gives one player the pass Eg. Dad buy's Fifa 11 new for £40 uses the pass to play online, His two sons want to play online have to pay an extra £10 each.
Back on topic.
Homefront seems to be shapping up nice.
Homefront DLC maps to debut on Xbox Live, 'Suburb' exclusive to Xbox
(http://www.blogcdn.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2011/01/homefront-covercrop-530w.jpg)
Homefront is following in Call of Duty's footsteps in more ways than one. As Activision has done for its FPS franchise, THQ is partnering up with Microsoft to offer Xbox Live members first access to all future downloadable content for Homefront, Xbox's Major Nelson announced today at a THQ press event for the game. In addition, the Xbox 360 version of the game will include an exclusive map at launch, dubbed "Suburb."
Additional details about the map and partnership will be revealed on "Inside Xbox" next week.
Achievements (http://www.xbox360achievements.org/game/homefront/achievements/)
Homefront campaign is 'five hours long'
But that's not a significant problem, says PSM3 Homefront review
Homefront's single-player campaign is five hours long, according to the latest review in PSM3 magazine.
Last week Official PlayStation Magazine Italy delivered its verdict (http://www.computerandvideogames.com/292017/homefront-review-9/10-in-opm/) on THQ's and Kaos Studios' upcoming shooter, awarding it an impressive 9/10 score.
This week PSM3 has put the FPS through its paces and given it a score of 83% in its six-page review.
And despite the campaign's length being on the short side, the mag says it doesn't feel it's a major problem:
"That short, short length of the main story may seem like a major sticking point, but it isn't as significant as you might fear," it says. "Homefront is relentlessly brutal and constantly puts you in new, unusual and memorable scenarios, varying the pace to keep things interesting."
PSM3 admits it was left wanting more at the end, "but not because we felt that the story was lacking or that we hadn't been playing for long enough - we were just keen to keep playing".
Multiplayer also fared well, with PSM3 praising guns that "really come into their own" and a battle point system ensures that games "rarely feel one-sided".
Homefront is already off to a good start thanks to record pre-order numbers for publisher THQ.
ouch! i was gonna buy this (using BS as leverage), but i think i might rent instead!
I've just picked this up for a tenner because I traded in TDU2 because the patch still hasn't fixed the casino and multiplayer problems. I thought I'd better get rid of it now before it dropped to a crappy trade in price, so Homefront you'd better be good... or else!
Its mixed reviews for this so far so depending which side of the line you sit on it could very well be the "......or else" scenario
i've eschewed this in favor of SHIFT 2
Finished the campaign on Normal in less than 3 hours. It's a poor mans' Medal Of Honor.
omg i just bought the game and im already
stuck wtf.
this will take me forever to play...
not worth the 65$ at all ._.
Quote from: citatscEellE on March 22, 2011, 03:33:26 AM
omg i just bought the game and im already
stuck wtf.
this will take me forever to play...
not worth the 65$ at all ._.
According to some, it shouldn't take longer than 3-4 hours...definitely not worth the full price, IMO.
What a steaming pile of dinosaur sh*t!!!
The single player is miniscule, even I completed it in 6 hours and I'm rubbish at shooters!!!
And the multiplayer servers are not working either!
How many more bloody games are they going to release glitched? This is going to be traded in for Lego Star Wars III on Friday, I'm sure LucasFilms won't let me down, will they?
Quote from: Jaynestown on March 22, 2011, 10:19:33 PM
What a steaming pile of dinosaur s***!!!
The single player is miniscule, even I completed it in 6 hours and I'm rubbish at shooters!!!
And the multiplayer servers are not working either!
How many more bloody games are they going to release glitched? This is going to be traded in for Lego Star Wars III on Friday, I'm sure LucasFilms won't let me down, will they?
It would've been awesome to have seen that on one of the many billboards / posters promoting the game, in
LARGE BOLD LETTERS! 8)
LOL... perhaps I should start my own magazine... honest reviews by a crap gamer!
Quote from: Jaynestown on March 22, 2011, 10:44:50 PM
LOL... perhaps I should start my own magazine... honest reviews by a crap gamer!
;D I'd be interested in reading it.
Quote from: Jaynestown on March 22, 2011, 10:44:50 PM
... honest reviews by a crap gamer!
(http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/facebook-like.gif?updated=1299860862970)
Strange enough, this game seems to have had some degree of promise. I can't give a verdict, since I've not played it, but from what I've been reading and seeing, it may turn out to be a good rental. Especially if the MP doesn't hold up, which I can't see propping this game up for a long run.
BTW - [Metascore = 71] (http://www.metacritic.com/game/xbox-360/homefront)
I'm sure JT's score would drop it down to the 40's, though. ;)
The frustrating thing is it has an interesting story premise which had the game been longer, and a little less heavy on avoiding being killed by the multiple explosions that seem to constantly be going off, could of lead to an intriguing game. If the multiplayer wasn't broken I'd stick with it for a bit but there's not much point keeping a game if it's one positive point (the 32 player multiplayer) doesn't work!
Definite rental for me then!
Quote from: GamerMan316 on March 23, 2011, 01:38:19 PM
Definite rental for me then!
I'd say the same thing, although I found out this morning that my local Blockbuster is closing shop this Friday.
Won't be a problem finding a new one, but it's still a bummer to see shops fold their tents. :(
Quote from: zerosum on March 23, 2011, 07:00:34 PM
Quote from: GamerMan316 on March 23, 2011, 01:38:19 PM
Definite rental for me then!
I'd say the same thing, although I found out this morning that my local Blockbuster is closing shop this Friday.
Won't be a problem finding a new one, but it's still a bummer to see shops fold their tents. :(
I think Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy recently. That doesn't always mean that a company is actually shutting down, but local stores closing definitely isn't a good sign.
All hail Netflix, devourer of all who bust blocks.
Yeah, Blockbuster's been staggering for a while now. I'll have to go through and check out the clearance deals.
In other news:
[HomeFront Patch Time (http://www.trueachievements.com/n3349/homefront-patch-details.htm)]!!
A new map pack is on its way for THQ shooter Homefront.
The Rock DLC adds two new multiplayer maps. Alacatraz is set in the infamous San Francisco island prison, while Bridge sees you attempting to secure the North Tower of the Golden Gate Bridge.
There are also two new Team Deathmatch areas - Waterway and Overpass.
Priced at 400 Points, it's "coming soon" to Xbox Live, with PC and PSN roll-outs to follow sometime thereafter.
Did this get a large enough MP audience to really warrant this?