THQ announces Frontlines

Those of a bleak bent (and with apologies to disabled waterfowl, read it again and you'll see I'm not talking to you) will be pleased to hear that THQ's cheerily named Kaos Studios is working on a PS3, Xbox 360 and PC first-person shooter called Frontlines: Fuel of War, about a world where a pair of opposing superpowers fight for control of fossil fuels instead of holding hands and making daisychains.

Frontlines sees the Western Coalition (the US and Europe) face off against the Red Star Alliance (Russia and China - and also possibly the place we bought our mortgage, actually?) in a battle to control what's left. You take part on the ground with some futuristic guns or in one of more than 60 vehicles - with a non-linear single-player campaign that sees you trying to push the frontline forward annexing as many Wild Bean Cafes as possible.

Multiplayer will also be a big part of it, and Kaos' performance here ought to be interesting, as THQ makes a point of noting that they were founded by veterans of Trauma Studios - the development house that Digital Illusions bought out after they developed the rather excellent Desert Combat Battlefield mod, a precursor to Battlefield 2 in many respects.

Sadly it's not due out until autumn 2007, but the timing of the announcement suggests we might see and hear a bit more about Frontlines at next month's E3.