Homefront

It can't stay that way, of course. While we're not shown the fall of this idyllic enclave in the demo, concept art on the walls shows the harrowing sight of a playground filled with tiny corpses. So, hopefully we're never shown the fall of this idyllic enclave. But it shows what you're fighting for, and what you're fighting against.

Well, sort of. Kaos endures several questions about what kind of insight we'd get into the thinking of the Korean soldiers, but it seems that will be thin on the ground - the enemy is the enemy, after all. If a guy is trying to kill you, you probably won't bother asking him how he feels about it.

There's no avoiding the fact that documenting a potential conflict-in-waiting is very sensitive ground, but there will be some sympathy for Homefront's elected devil. Not just in the form of the sole (Seoul?) Korean chap, an engineer called Hopper, who's on the US side, either.

In the lengthy, brutal and fiery combat section we're shown, the Americans manage to lay their hands on some heavy ordinance. Bring the rain, as they say. As white phosphorus lays burning waste to the car park of a discount lumber warehouse, Alyx Vance-y resistance fighter Rhianna stares in horror at the screaming, writhing, melting Koreans below. "Those are people... put them out of their misery!"

You don't have to do anything, and in fact another, rather angrier resistance fighter opines that they deserve to suffer. Perhaps you'll use your sniper rifle to mercy-kill the burning men below. Perhaps you won't.

As you're deliberating, another barrage of white phosphorous appears on the night horizon. Seems to be heading a little far, this one... Oh. Oh no. Before you know it, your nice little sniper nest is just so many matchsticks, you're lying in a heap on the concrete ground, and the entire world's on fire. That was a resistance missile - but the resistance aren't trained soldiers. They're just the guys fighting back, making do with whatever resources and whatever training might happen to be around. Accidents are going to happen.

Fortunately, they've got a Goliath to hand this time - a remote-controlled armoured truck capable of locking-on to multiple targets and letting loose a volley of rockets at once. It can also run people over, with a horrific noise that's apparently based upon a recording of a dog chewing a bone.

The fight is big, noisy, chaotic and cinematic. Homefront unquestionably wins the war of production values, though the developers admit there is work to be done on the character models and animations ahead of the mooted February 2011 launch.

It's very much THQ punching at a whole new weight, and that's before they've talked about multiplayer. We won't hear about that until August, but attention is drawn to the fact that this is a team whose heritage largely lies in multiplayer FPS - they started out as Battlefield modders. Apparently we should expect a very cool and unique new feature in multiplayer, so start your guessing now. Something playing with the concept of invasion, perhaps?

Speaking of which, don't play Homefront's single-player expecting to win the war, drive Korea out of America then go all Jack Bauer Kim Jong-Um, the even madder son of North Korea's current crazy despot, Kim Jong-Il. THQ and Kaos make no bones about this being a franchise - your character (a chap named Jacobs) will sort out his own story, but the wider story of America is yet to be told.

Usefully, Korea's earlier irradiation of the Mississippi, apparently to deter a counter-attack from the East Coast, has created a divided America. You'll cross that poison river and see New York in a future game, no doubt. For this first chapter, though, confirmed locations include Colorado and a climactic showdown on San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. The concept art suggests high-ex splendour from that particular set-piece.