Frontlines: Fuel of War (PS3)

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Frontlines looks decent, but currently doesn't blow you away.

Frontline's back story isn't the game's only point of interest. There are some nice little gameplay touches that will raise the odd eye-brow too. Here's how it all works: at any one time you'll have a few objectives to concentrate on, clearly displayed on the mini-map as coloured circles. It's then up to you to decide how you tackle them. So you can pick which one to head for first and how to approach it, whatever. When you get there, usually done by blasting a healthy dose of enemy meat into the ether, all you'll need to do is stick around for a bit to complete the objective. Once you've done that with all the available objectives you'll move the frontline forward, revealing new objectives, new areas of the map to get shot in, new weapons to pick up and new vehicles to drive about in.

Cataldi explains Kaos' decision behind the Frontlines game mechanic: "We felt like we should make sure that we created a place whereby using the Frontline mechanic we can focus the energy of everyone playing. So let's say we get into a multiplayer maps of 32 guys. 16 of your guys know that these two objectives are what you need to do to move the front line up. And then 16 of their guys know that that's the two places you're coming for. So the opportunity for intense battles with future weapons is there and I think that's a very exciting focus for us."

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It could almost be a FPS version of brave PC RTS World in Conflict, with the moveable frontline and all that. Kaos, however, reckon it's pretty revolutionary. "So many games are so unreal, so very linear", says Cataldi. "They give you the illusion of choice but there really is no choice. You get dropped in, if you try and deviate from the way that they want you to play they're going to nag you or you're simply not going to be allowed to go there and do those things. Which is a lot of fun, you know I enjoy playing those games too but they aren't a non-linear experience like the one we're creating. They don't allow you to explore your creativity. I think what we've created is something quite new - the ability to have that single-player cinematic experience but to actually have choices on how you approach it."

Bold claims indeed. Having burst through the first few missions on the game I'm having conflicting opinions on exactly how non-linear Frontlines really is. Sure, you can take those objectives in whatever order you want, and sure, you can even mould the role you've decided upon before the battle has started mid fight, but how you actually tackle them pretty much boils down to weapon choice - should I rush in with my not-too-distant future-looking shotgun or should I hang back and use my remote-controlled drones to do the damage?

Frontlines' multiplayer offering looks like it will demand most attention

Oh the drones. This goes back to those nice little gameplay touches I talked about earlier. One of the coolest things Frontlines lets you do is control these little remote-controlled drones and wreak havoc. There's a hovering bomb drone that you can let fly like a paper aeroplane, guiding it into little nooks and crannies for maximum destruction. Then there's a little tank, which switches your point of view so its just inches above the ground. Moving the front line, getting access to these drones and then using them was one of the highlights of our time with the game.

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