Love and Hate
Playing “Frontlines: Fuel of War” online is like dating someone who’s great but troubled. At first, it makes you happy you’ve found something new. Over time, you realize how compatible you are. But eventually, you spot the annoying flaws, and you have to decide if you can deal with those flaws.
As in any good relationship, you play as a team. Every now and then, you die a little when your teammate doesn’t get your back. You grow disappointed and disenchanted at times. You fall back in love with it. And try as you might, ultimately, you might have to seek therapy if it upsets you too often.
To be more specific, “Frontlines” is a simple, short war game where you shoot rival soldiers in a near-future war for oil, capturing flag posts along the way. It features some of the best machine guns, rocket launchers, tanks and helicopters you’ll ever see in a game.
“Frontlines” has been out for the Xbox 360 for a while, but I’m visiting its online component now, because the game has serious legs. No matter how many dozens of hours I spin it, I want to play more, making it one of the most compelling online games so far this year.
It’s the guns and the body movements that make “Frontlines” so addictive online, where you and your team of up to 16 people battle against another team for up to an hour.
It’s an incredibly smooth experience to make your soldier run, turn, spot a bad guy and shoot. It’s just as manageable to find a tank or a helicopter, and to fly it and fire its weapons.
As longtime readers of this column know, I hate guns in real life. They scare me. But a good virtual gun can make your month. And the armory of “Frontlines” is exquisite. The sniper rifle and shotgun are weak. But machine guns, rocket launchers and tank cannons blow massive holes in rivals.
Now for the flaws: As good as the guns are, the best way to kill a soldier is to walk up to him and punch him in the head with the butt of your weapon.
This kind of attack happens all the time in games. But in “Frontlines,” this is especially silly. Sometimes, it seems you can plug a soldier with 10 bullets before he dies. On the other hand, one gun butt to the noggin, and he’s a goner? One punch? Really?
Even worse, when your team is losing a battle, the game makes it super easy for the other team to camp out near the place where you get spawned back to life. So you just want to re-spawn, but all these nasty rival soldiers are waiting for you to reappear, right in front of their guns.
This is why playing “Frontlines” is like maintaining a fun but frustrating relationship. Just when you think you can’t take the flaws anymore, you remember you’re in love. And just when you think you’re in love forever, something aggravates you.
The question you have to ask yourself is, is it worth the heartache? The answer here is an unqualified yes. You don’t come across a “Frontlines” every day. And so, I keep playing the game, because what would I do without it? I’m smitten.
(“Frontlines: Fuel of War” retails for $60 for Xbox 360 — Plays fun offline, and addictively fun online. Looks great. Easy to challenging offline; challenging online. Rated “T” for blood, language, violence. Four stars out of four.)
NEW IN STORESYou have to love the marketing pitch for “Iron Man.” Sega says, “As Iron Man, you’re the only weapon you’ll need.” Indeed. You play as the Marvel comic book hero, in a story based largely on the new movie, while flying in your suit of armor, shooting rays and missiles from your body, and even grabbing incoming missiles and hurling them back at villains. The game retails for $60 for PS 3 and Xbox 360; $50 for Wii; $40 for PSP; $30 for PS 2 and DS. It’s rated “T” for alcohol reference, mild language and violence.
— By DOUG ELFMAN
