The Closed Beta for Dambuster Studios and Deep Silver’s Homefront: The Revolution is actually pretty decent.
If you haven’t signed up for a code, you should. If you have a code but haven’t played it, or are just looking for some quick tips, he’s a few to help hit the KPA where it hurts.
If you can’t view the video, here’s what you need to know:
- You’re not Superman. We’re used to charging head-first into battle, thanks to hand-holding games like Call of Duty and Battlefield. Homefront: The Revolution is not one of those games. You need to move cautiously and deliberately. When you encounter the KPA, there’s a good chance you’re significantly outnumbered, and the KPA act like they know it, advancing on your position and working to flank you. The AI on the heavy enemies is particularly relentless, and they take a long time to take down with standard weaponry.
- Play the objective. You need to follow the indicator to the objective. Straying from this can get you into trouble – you might stumble into a roving KPA patrol, or wind up incapacitated with your teammates far away. It also helps keep you together as a team. As part of some missions, KPA will spawn as part of a counterattack, and you don’t want them between you and your teammates.
- Play it your way. You don’t have to engage all enemies. Dambuster Studios did a pretty decent job of creating different ways to play Homefront: The Revolution. Enemies have line of sight “cones of awareness” and an indicator that shows you if they are being alerted to your presence. You can build characters for stealth assaults to sneak around strongpoints or perform silent takedowns.
- Scavenge. Unlike most FPS games, Homefront: The Revolution forces you to manually loot bodies for ammo and materials. It’s not that uncommon (it’s like this in Fallout 4), but it’s not something we typically see in a modern day shooter. You will run out of ammo quickly, if you are not scavenging the bodies of your KPA foes. Make sure to loot destroyed vehicles and heavy enemies, since it gives you materials for crafting.
- Use the Minimap. You need to do this to survive. Not only does it show the location of spotted enemies, it also shows you where they died (so you can get their ammo), and line of sight. You’ll also see icons for supply caches, which can be helpful as well.
- Level up your character. Don’t forget to do this! You’ll unlock special abilities you can use to build your character to your liking. If you want to go the stealth route, unlock tiers in the “Survivor” class. Want to be a bullet sponge? Go for the “Fighter” skills. There are a couple other skill groups, too.
- Craft items. You won’t really find molotov cocktails laying around in Homefront: The Revolution, but you will find the materials to make them. After you unlock the ability to craft these items, you can do so while in a mission. It’s handy if you run out of molotovs or other explosives – just make more with the materials you find on vanquished foes and in the environment. It’s a neat gameplay mechanic for a shooter.
- Buy crates. Crates contain items for you to use in combat. It could be a gun, gear, grenades, attachments, etc. (it depends on the crate purchased). You purchase crates with money earned in-game from your progress in missions. Thankfully, Dambuster Studios gives you a variety of crate types to choose from (Similar to Mass Effect 3‘s multiplayer), where each have a specific type of item in them. There are some pretty wicked weapons in Homefront: The Revolution, and the only way to get your hands on them is through crates.
- Mod your weapons. Once you’ve got new weapons and attachments, try them out! It’s a little confusing, but you actually attach mods while in missions, instead of at a weapons table or some other screen. It’s the same process for crafting items, as well.
I played the Closed Beta for a bit yesterday and had a decent amount of fun. These tips will help make sure you get the most out of your time playing the Closed Beta, and will hopefully help smooth out the learning curve to pick up the game. I’ll be posting impressions for Homefront: The Revolution on Monday, so stay tuned for a more comprehensive look at the game.
