It's been awhile, but with no way to play games recently, and a dwindling amount of time at my disposal, it's been difficult. Luckily, both are being fixed (can you fix a lack of time?) so I should be getting a few more posts in here and there.
If you haven't heard yet, Crytek, the developer behind Crysis and Far Cry (the original one) has aquired the Homefront IP and will be making the next game in the series now that the original developer, Kaos Studios, has gone the way of the dodo bird.
If you don't remember Homefront, it's probably because it wasn't a very good game. For me it was one of the biggest letdowns I've had in gaming in recent memory. Just listen to the story:
In 2013, after the death of that crazy wackadoo Kim Jong-Il, Kim Jong-un, the crazy wackadoos son, unites North and South Korea under a single banner. Over the years leading up to the game, China falters due to economic stagnation and the middle east gets into a war about oil (gee, ain't that original...). But the US gets the worst of the worst in the years before the start, dealing with the same economic stagnation China deals with, social unrest rises quickly, there's a Texas succession talk, and a deadly outbreak of a strain of bird flu that becomes known as the Knoxville Cough. In 2022 the US economy collapses altogether. Then in 2025, the Korean Republic launches a satellite and detonates an EMP above the US, knocking out all electronic devices. They then invade the US, taking Hawaii, dropping paratroopers into the midwest, and irradiating the Mississippi River to divide the US in half. And that's where the game open, with the US fighting to take back their country from the Koreans.
For we Americans, we've never really had a game where we fought a war on our own soil (Turning Point DOES NOT COUNT....) so this game had the potential to really hit home for those of us playing from the American perspective. The game even had real life American stores and comapnies who had signs and buildings in the game, just to drive the point home. Many of the previews of the game made it seem like it was going to be one of the best games of the year, instead it was so forgettable, I actually had to double check that it was in fact released this year. What really bothered me about it is that I can see a great concept here, and the game has some good story ideas, but Kaos Studious just couldn't get the game to reach it's full potential.
So why does the simple fact that Crytek is behind it change anything?
Well, for one thing, they will be taking a good chunk of time on the next game. The planned release isn't until 2014, and that's assuming it never gets pushed back. This gives Crytek time to take a look at the foundation Kaos built, and decide what should stay, what should go, and what needs tweaking. It also gives them plenty of time to actually make the game, and it will give Crytek the opportunity to be patient with things, something FPS games don't always get.
Crytek's track record, while brief, is also reason to have hope. Far Cry is widely reguarded as one of the better games of the past ten years, and of course one can not talk about Crytek without their most incredibly beautiful game, Crysis. These games have been well received, and Crytek has proven that they are among the top-tier FPS developers, even if they are lacking a large track record. Crysis is usually among the best looking games ever discussion, and Far Cry is a beloved classic at this point, showing that their games also have longevity after their release. That is excellent news for a franchise whose first game has already been forgotten a few short months after it's release.
A symbol of hope. And ridiculous graphics standards for PC users.
Of course all of this simply means that all the potential that Homefront had now has a second chance. I'm truly excited by this move because now there is an opportunity for Homefront to become the franchise it looked like it could become last year. Games that don't succeed don't usually get this kind of second chance. Just ask Silicon Knights how that Too Human sequel is coming. But we still have a long wait before we see what Crytek can do with the IP and until we see some concrete evidence of what they're up to, we'll just have to let our imaginations do some work.
Oh and a side note, in case there was a shadow of doubt about it, Skyrim is indeed getting an M rating. I can't imagine why...
Until next time...
P.S. Like the new changes? Nothing big but I think the blog looks much crisper now.
P.S. Like the new changes? Nothing big but I think the blog looks much crisper now.
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