You may not know the name John Milius but, trust us, you have felt is indelible mark on the spectrum of entertainment. The co-writer of Apocalypse Now and Red Dawn, Milius also famously wrote Dirty Harry’s iconic “Go on, make my day,” line. He also adapted and directed the first Conan film. Yes, you can thank John Milius for elevating a young, muscle-bound Austrian into the stratosphere of modern film culture.
Milius’ involvement in THQ’s Homefront is a tantilising prospect. The man has an eye for the more primal of human nature, his political ideals (Milius is an avid gun collector) influencing his works throughout his career. What this renowned story-teller can bring to a game is something we are eagerly anticipating.
Homefront falls under the speculative fiction umbrella; the branch of imaginative works that deals with alternate histories and other more imaginative stories. Fans of the genre will undoubtedly be familiar with such prime examples as Philip K. Dick’s The Man In the High Castle, a story that presents a modern day mirror-world but one where the Axis in World War II has won the war and not the Allies. In that particular story the US has been split down the middle between the annexing forces of Germany and Japan.
In Homefront, however, Milius posits a different landscape, and one set in the very near future. Korea, united under the son of their current megalomaniac and fearless leader, Kim Jong-Il, (who once, allegedly, completed a round of golf in 18 shots. Yes, that’s 18 hole in ones in a row) has pounced on an economically ruined US, invading the land of the free and leading to the formation of a resistance movement. You are that resistance movement. Here’s a look at how America fell. (Taken from Wikipedia)
2011: North Korea’s weapons program grows significantly, leading to sanctions by the UN
2012: Kim Jong-il dies. He is succeeded by his son Kim Jong-un
2013: Kim Jong-un reunites North Korea and South Korea
2015: Gas prices rise to $20 a gallon in the United States, destabilizing the country
2017: The US Dollar collapses and the US Military begins to downgrade its foreign presence
2018: Japan surrenders to the Greater Korean Republic, forming an ‘alliance’ (i.e. being capitalized into a vassal state of sorts)
2022: The United States’s economic system collapses totally
2024: Koreans annex many nations in East Asia
2025: GKR attacks the US
2025: An EMP hidden in a communications satellite is used to completely disable US infrastructure
2025: GKR forces seize Hawaii
2025: Cyber attack takes down hardened sites
2025: Korean troops control San Francisco
2026: US military is scattered
As linked by a inferior race below, here’s the game’s trailer chronicling the above.
THQ are confident in Homefront, going so far as to discussing some of the plot points of its future sequel. (Some of it is set in London, apparently). It’s an FPS grounded in plausibility, a “what-if” that presents a different take on what we currently recognise as a global super-power now ruined and living through the unthinkable – their homeland invaded by the enemy. It’s this narrative that appeals to us. The game may be another standard shooter gameplay wise, but we want to see how Milius’s militaristic viewpoint of the world manifests in a game; a medium we predict his particular mindset and impressions of the world will excel in.
gideon1451
I saw this in a gaming magazine a few months back, it did look rather intriguing.
Erroneus
The E3 trailer for it, is pretty cool. I did see the gameplay at Gamescom and frankly it looked a bit to much like Modern Warfare 2.
I think this one is going to drown among the other shooters.
a inferior race
http://www.gametrailers.com/video/e3-2010-homefront/101160
Here is the backstory trailer for this game which I think is excellent.
gordon_strange
It sounds a fantastic concept and would be right up my street, if it wasn’t a post fps!!!! Grrr
gordon_strange
*poxy. A poxy fps
m61726b
Really Looking forward to this one. Apparantly it handles just like CoD too.
TSBonyman
Sounds interesting, hopefully it wll be much better than Turning Point: Fall of Liberty.
tactical20
Looks sick.
Your Kim Jong-Il story isn’t quite right though….
“In 1994, it was reported by Pyongyang media outlets that Kim Jong Il shot 38 under par on a regulation 18-hole golf course – including 5 holes in one! That score is 25 shots better than the best round in history, and is made even more amazing by the fact that it was his first time playing the sport. It’s said Kim Jong Il would routinely sink 3 or 4 holes in one per round of golf, and – lucky for the PGA – he has since given it up.”
SpikeyMikey23
lol pyongyang media. gotta love it…..
PriceKitty
Nothing new here; I saw this video months ago.
Also, stop signing me out randomly for no reason!
Kovacs
Nothing new here? I’m afraid you’ve just completely missed the entire point of this article. Maybe check some other articles on the site and the whole “numbering thing”?
Sympozium
Interesting concept? can’t wait to see how this will turn out
aerobes
I’ve read an awful lot about this recently and it really sounds impressive, I look forward to it just to see how it weighs up Vs CoD, MoH and BFBC2. The story is extremely intriguing.