Frontlines: Fuel of War

Tomorrow's world

"A lot of weapons in Desert Combat and Battlefield 2 were modern day weapons. We wanted to take Frontlines where technology is going next; what the next tank will look like, what the next weapons will look like and so on... " says DeLise.

"So we took the [real life] designs that are out there and added a little Kaos theory, and created over 60 vehicles and weapons that you get to use in the game."

Since the game is still more than a year away from launch, most of these are being kept under wraps for now, but DeLise does reveal that you'll be able to use gun-cams to shoot round corners in Frontlines. There will also be remote control drones which can fly into rooms and survey enemy positions, and remote control car bombs - these can be driven underneath enemy vehicles, if you're skilled enough, and they pack enough of a punch to blow entire tanks up. It's all about giving you the chance to try out "tomorrow's weapons today," according to DeLise.

"The other big thing we felt was missing out there was customisation," he continues.

"A lot of games force you into a single player environment where they tell you, 'Okay, you're a sniper in this mission.' And if you're tired of being a sniper, that's it - you throw away the game, or you just stop playing it, because that's not the way you want to play."

Instead, Frontlines will let you choose which role you want to take on for each mission, so you can be a sniper or a medic or a recon operative or whatever else you fancy. You can also choose the kind of fighter you want to be - you might decide you're a Rambo-type who likes to go in with all guns blazing, for example, or you could opt to take a more stealthy, undercover approach.

Showing some front

There are also plenty of choices to be made when it comes to the way the game's missions are structured. There's no linear system with regard to how you're presented with mission objectives - "I was getting tired of that in single player games," DeLise says, "So we designed a whole new system."

But how does it work? Well, "You attack each mission from the frontline. So you can insert anywhere on this frontline, choose the kind of character you want to be, and then go into [your chosen] battle and choose how you want to actually finish it."

Which means you'll always have multiple objectives to pick from, and you can plan your own route through the missions. So, for example, you might choose to tackle an objective which will allow you to take possession of the enemy's vehicles and weapons if you succeed, and then use said weapons and vehicles to complete your second objective.

"It's really cool, and even in multiplayer it's great," DeLise reckons.

"Most multiplayer games are spread out across the map - this guy's attacking somebody way over here, this guy's fighting way over there... With the Frontlines system, we fight together on the same front. So if I look to my right, I see a friend of mine is in a tank, if I look to the left I see a guy in a helicopter, all fighting for the same purpose - which is to move this front forwards." When you consider that up to 32 players will be able to take part in online matches, regardless of whether you're playing the PC or console versions, it's clear that this could make for some very interesting battles.

Team time

It's all part of what DeLise describes of the "next-generation team play" featured in Frontlines. Not only can you see what your team mates are doing whilst in the middle of a mission, but you can also communicate with them. If you're driving a tank, say, your mate can poke his head out of the top to keep watch for any danger coming up from behind.

There are no limits when it comes to the path you take through missions, since environments are fully destructible. "If there's not a path that you want, make your own path - destroy walls with C4, or use tank cannons to blow them away. So by the end of a mission, you'll have completely destroyed these levels."