Frontlines: Fuel of War

Frontlines: Fuel of War - (Xbox 360, PC)
Developer: Kaos
Format: Xbox 360, PC
Genre: Soldier Shooter

It's all about the frontline

Traditional military strategy of maintaining forward positions out in the field of battle frames the latest addition to the Battlefield scenario. Kaos will win all the right rosettes for developing the old Trauma studio's Battlefield engine so that this time they've set their sights somewhere between a Battlefield 2 and a 2142.

It's the near future (as it often is) and the world is splitting rather rapidly into the military might of the Western Coalition Army and the Red Star Alliance.

The set-up is familiar. The huge maps will have objective points, places of strategic importance essential for advancing your frontline further into the war game. You'll be able to choose a character from six initial types (assault, heavy assault, sniper, anti-vehicle, special ops and close combat) and they're able to be matched with one of four support roles. This means you're able to tweak your role so you can call in an ever-increasing ferocity of air strikes, launch ever-sophisticated remote drones or deploying advanced counter measures. It goes further.

Each role has a further three abilities (basically there's loads of incentives for fine tuning your war machine each time you play, from varied fuel-air bombs to anti-tank bots). The drones provide hours of war fun. Huge launchers on tracks complete with aged mini helicopters and explosive 'cars'. There's a real mix old school weaponry being utilised and updated by the Red Star Alliance and the latest Predator-looking remote aircraft used by the Western Coalition Army.

It's online that the Frontlines engine really takes the biscuit. Playing alongside 31 other gamers in a real-time war scenario leads to a host of teamwork tactics, all out bombing runs and random acts of suicidal lunacy. It's immersive, explosive and immensely addictive. Who needs COD4?

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