That’s the new “America Has Fallen” trailer for Homefront: the Revolution. It’s not just an opportunity to remind people that this game is coming out in the middle of a crowded May release schedule. It’s clarification that Dambuster Studios’ open-world game isn’t just a sequel. It’s a reframing of the property. Like finding out that Peter Parker’s uncle was actually killed by Sandman, we’re getting new insight into the origin story. It turns out that North Korea was able to conquer the United States thanks to some good old capitalist warmongering.
Homefront: The Revolution is a complete reboot of the franchise, and features a brand new backstory based on an alternate history in which Korea won the technological arms race thanks to the rise of the sinister APEX corporation.
Homefront: The Revolution will launch on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on May 17th.
These three games want to dominate the first-person shooter market and they’re coming for your dollars. All three games had beta access periods over the weekend and bouncing between them has taught me one thing: May is going to be rough for shooter fans. There’s only so many hours in the day, and Doom, Overwatch, and Battleborn all want your attention. If you want a mix of old-school arena multiplayer mixed with newer Call of Duty sensibilities, then Doom from id Software and Bethesda will have you covered starting on May 13th. If you want Blizzard’s take on Team Fortress 2 before it went hat crazy, Overwatch will give you all the hero class shooting you can handle on May 24th. If you’re craving a mix of Borderlands with a beefy helping of MOBA gameplay, Gearbox’s Battleborn gets an early jump out of the gate on May 3rd. Basically, May is going to be crowded with grinding for levels while shooting at other players.
Buried in that release calendar is poor Homefront: The Revolution. On the 17th of May, Dambuster Studios’ open-world co-op sequel to Homefront squeezes out between these three juggernauts. While the other three games are focused on cartoon story setups, Homefront: The Revolution tries to hit the gritty with North Korea’s future-tech military occupying the United States. The player works to free Philadelphia from the oppressors through the judicious use of guns, a motocross bike, and exploding RC cars. Strike that. It’s just as much of a cartoon as the others.
Homefront, the flawed 2011 shooter from Kaos Studios, is getting a sequel from Crytek. Homefront: The Revolution moves the action to the streets of Philadelphia. Four years after the Korean People’s Army has invaded and taken over large portions of the United States, the player character will be called upon to lead a rebellion, and fight for truth, justice, and the American way in open-world guerrilla missions. Players will be able to take on campaign missions in 4-player co-op and use a variety of methods to accomplish their tasks. In Polygon’s preview, designer Fasahat Salim demonstrated how players will need to remember that they are the underdogs.
If you’re gonna go in all guns blazing, you’re going to get hit with a lot of firepower in return,” Salim said. “They’ve got a lot of guns, they’ve got a lot of drones, they’ve got a lot of superior tech that you don’t have. All of these things may come together based on how you approach the situation. If you can get in and get out before they have a chance to respond with all of their firepower, you’ve done well.”
Homefront: The Revolution will launch in 2015 on PC, PlayStation4, and Xbox One.
