Frontlines: Fuel of War on Xbox 360... played it!

Created by the team behind the fantastic Desert Combat mod for Battlefield 1942, I've been waiting with baited breath for Frontlines: Fuel of War on Xbox 360.  Aside from Call of Duty 4, I haven't found a console FPS that comes close to rivaling the PC gameplay and fun of Desert Combat or Battlefield 2.  My hopes were initially lifted by Battlefield: 2 Modern Combat when it was released on PS2, but I quickly discovered that the game didn't bear much relation to its PC relation-  I thought it was pretty dire actually. 

So it was with great anticipation that I downloaded the Xbox 360 demo of Frontlines.  My initial response after playing it for 20 minutes was a longing to play Call of Duty 4 instead.  Frontlines: Fuel of War looks the business, with nice crisp graphics that remind me of Desert Combat.  The only letdown is the character animation, which sometimes looks rather stilted. The drones are interesting- driving a C4-laden RC car under a tank is fun (even though the controls leave a lot to be desired), while piloting the RC-helicopter drone brought back memories of playing through Grand Theft Auto RC missions.  

The biggest complaint I have with Frontlines - based upon the limited time I have spent playing the demo - is with the controls. The controls feel very similar to Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter's to me.  Not bad, but not great. They lack the responsiveness and accuracy of Call of Duty 4's controls, especially when it comes to precise aiming.  Which, to be honest, is what provides much of the enjoyment in an FPS.  Headshots anyone? One of the biggest compliments that I would pay Call of Duty 4 is that I never feel like it's controls inhibit me.  Just like the mouse and keyboard controls for a PC FPS, and unlike 99% of console FPS controls.  Don't get me wrong though, this game definitely has promise. Fingers-crossed that Kaos Studios and THQ take onboard feedback from the Xbox 360 demo and tweak the controls before the game is released proper...

(images from frontlines.com and gamespy.com)