Whether or not the neo-conservative themes that emerge in Homefront were intentional, it does seem to be one of the demographics the game would appeal to.
It is the ultimate fantasy for the flag-waving American, to stand up and defend the country should it come under attack by foreign invaders. In truth, these plot elements are just there to set up the action and don’t come up much while playing the game, but can be seen as inflammatory. Others are just standard scaremongering in keeping with the zeitgeist of the time, such as casting North Korea as politically correct supervillains. Some events of the game’s backstory turned out to be surprisingly accurate though – the death of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il in 2012, the subsequent takeover by his son Kim Jong-Un, America devastated by a deadly virus. This doesn’t hurt the gameplay but in an age where jingoism is rife in America, it could make for a little discomfort that would affect its longevity, particularly in those who don’t share its outlook. Both can also be said of Homefront it is violent and it is sensationalist. When it was first released, Red Dawn was criticised both for its excessive violence and apparent nationalist viewpoint. Flash forward almost three decades and the everyman heroes of Homefront are fighting off a different kind of red menace. That film saw Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen lead a group of small-town dwellers becoming freedom fighters on a mission to thwart an attempted invasion of the US by the Soviet Union. It should be pointed out that Milius served as Homefront’s story consultant, not writer, though he did pen the tie-in novel, The Voice of Freedom, with Raymond Benson. Among his credits of Apocalypse Now and Conan the Barbarian is the original Red Dawn from 1984, an important reference point for this game. One of the biggest boasts made by the game makers was that assisting with the game’s story was renowned screenwriter John Milius. The plot of Homefront is worth particular scrutiny. Gun battles here take place in mini-malls and cul-de-sacs, all of which are nicely designed and well-detailed, effectively completing the illusion of a more dystopian version of a normally glamorous location. Popular locations for first person shooters such as Russia and the Middle East are eschewed in Homefront for small-town America. It does, though, have its own USPs, one being the setting. Here though the less polished presentation and more sluggish character movement already put Homefront in the shadow of the games that it is aspiring to. While comparisons to Call of Duty, which set new standards for the genre, may not be fair for a new game seeking recognition, they are also inevitable, particularly as CoD is a clear aspiration for Homefront. There is nothing really that the game gets wrong, but it in no way re-defines the wheel and there isn’t much about it that is exceptional. From there, playing Homefront will feel very familiar to anyone well-versed in games of this type, with its first-person setup and recognisable controls – right trigger to fire weapons, X button to pick up items. Gameplay begins with a closed scene of the playable character, Jacobs, saved from being taken to a ‘re-education centre’ and thrust into the heart of the action – picking up a gun and taking up the fight against the Korean oppressors.