Frontlines gets multiplayer demo for limited time

by Justin McElroy { Feb 11th 2008 at 12:45PM }

When we played the single-player demo of Frontlines: Fuel of War we, well, to put it kindly, we didn't really "get it." To put it not so kindly, it was almost oppressively mediocre and so generic as to accurately be called the Muzak of futuristic first-person shooters. "But hey," we thought, "maybe this is just a bad demo. Lord knows there have been a few of those lately. Maybe this is an inaccurate sample."

But, alas, now we come to the unavoidable drawback to being the Pollyannas of the video game blogosphere: There's a new sample of Frontlines, a multiplayer demo this time, and the cup-half-full part of us feels that we have to play it. Why? Because we believe in second chances. ... And, yes, so we can make fun of it on the podcast if it's bad.

Tags: demos, frontlines, frontlines-fuel-of-war, thq, xbox-live

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

A-Troll-Named-Slickback (Yes the A Troll Named part, and yes every time!) @ Feb 11th 2008 1:01PM

¡tsrif

Huey2k2 @ Feb 11th 2008 1:17PM

?dnoces

A-Troll-Named-Slickback (Yes the A Troll Named part, and yes every time!) @ Feb 11th 2008 1:20PM

I just always wanted to do that ...

Ghaleon @ Feb 11th 2008 1:20PM

Esquire magazine attempted to review Frontlines this issue. Read for BIG LAUGHS. Oh, you mainstream media trying to cover TEH HIP GAMEZ ...

Ghaleon @ Feb 11th 2008 1:22PM

Esquire magazine attempted to review Frontlines this issue. Read for BIG LAUGHS. Oh, you mainstream media trying to cover TEH HIP GAMEZ ...

Co @ Feb 11th 2008 1:34PM

How do you guys put up with dual analog FPS'?? Have you EVER played on a PC?

License to ill @ Feb 11th 2008 1:59PM

I bet you would get waxed by some of those skilled duel analog players...

Huey2k2 @ Feb 11th 2008 2:03PM

I'm going to pretend that was a serious question and answer it properly.

Yes, I have played shooters with a KB/M many times, I used to be a hardcore PC gamer until I decided that I didn't want to have to continually upgrade to keep up with all the current games.I am not the only one either as many of the people on my friends list are the same too.

In fact after making the transfer over to a gamepad I actually prefer it over a KB/M. Yes a KB/M is more accurate, but I just prefer the simplicity of a gamepad and my accuracy in shooters is far from bad on a gamepad.

SlipstreamBRO @ Feb 11th 2008 2:34PM

@ Huey2k2
Amen to that one, brother.

Ryan @ Feb 11th 2008 6:06PM

I used to be a hardcore PC gamer as well, and moving over to dual analog was a bit of a pain at first, but I got used to it pretty quickly.

I hated it on the PS2 controller, but the 360 controller feels pretty good when controlling FPS games. There's no doubt it's less accurate than a KB/mouse, but everyone is playing with the same controller so it doesn't really matter because it's not like I'm playing against others that have a KB/mouse.

And FWIW, playing on a 61" 1080p screen helps too. I actually have my computer hooked up to the TV as well, but it's such a PITA pulling out a hard surface to use the KB/mouse on.

Co @ Feb 11th 2008 3:22PM

And further more, the Wii remote controls are so far beyond a dual analog set up in the FPS dept . Play a few rounds of Medal of Honor Heroes 2 tweeked to your every specification, then pop in (insert dual analog FPS here) and try tweeking and playing with those controls. It'll feel archaic.

Watership @ Feb 11th 2008 4:20PM

I can play a game with Dual Analog no problem. I guess some people who can't just don't have the skill set.

Kapitan Kramer @ Feb 11th 2008 3:19PM

The one persone who said 'good release' well the word release came out gurbled, the rest of the WORLD cut his throat for caring about this piece of crap...

Huey2k2 @ Feb 11th 2008 3:23PM

So I downloaded the MP demo for this and I must say, it's pretty terrible.

I had relatively high hopes for this game when I first heard about it, mainly because I loved the desert combat mod for BF1942 way back when, and I have to say this game has some cool ideas. But alas it is very poorly executed, for some reason the aim feels very sensitive, it's almost like they made it for the PC, then ported the engine over to the 360 and completely forgot to optimize the aiming for a gamepad. This problem is especially notable at a distance where it is almost impossible to actually get someone in your crosshair, you almost ALWAYS over shoot.

Also the guns are all essentially the same thing, there isn't much that differentiates them and they all sound very weak when you fire. The idea of drones is cool but once again they are hampered by the horrid controls in the game. Also I like the fact that you can sprint, but you can sprint FOREVER, what's the point in having a separate sprint button if you can just use it endlessly?

Also the graphics are horrible and jaggy. I am playing on a 50' Panasonic Viera plasma and everything looks so jaggy and blurs together at a distance, it's actually tiring to look at. This also helps to make the already horrible aiming even worse, especially with things like airstrikes, I found myself wanting to air strike capture points, but I would just miss because everytime I would from a distance, I could never quite hit where I wanted to.

I'm hoping all these problems are just because it's a demo, and get fixed before release.

Einhanderkiller @ Feb 11th 2008 4:46PM

Not sure about the 360 version, but the PC beta can actually be quite fun at times. The support classes are, in my opinion, fairly well done, although the 'push'-type gameplay could use some refinement. The battles sometimes feel a little too scattered and unfocused.

7718 @ Feb 11th 2008 7:07PM

OMFG, this demo reaffirms what I already suspected: This game has suck graphics, suck control and suck netcode. OMG, this game must go far far away and never return.

PeteL @ Feb 12th 2008 8:27AM

The SP demo was a mess, but this MP demo has put this game on my must buy list. I was a big fan of the PF games on the PC and this game is the best BF type game to hit a console (so far). Not sure why above posters were complaining about the graphics or controls. It looks 10 times better than BF:MC on the 360.