'Frontlines' a high-octane shoot-'em up

Well, now you've done it. It's 2024, the world's nearly out of oil, and decades of fuel-drunk SUVs have finally edged nations into a free-falling energy crisis and sparked World War III. We guess that $20 a gallon gas doesn't make for a happy populace. Amid domestic riots, food shortages and worldwide economic collapse, what's a superpower to do? Invade, invade, invade.

Here's where "Frontlines: Fuel of War" hits the pavement. A U.S.-led Western Coalition squares off with the Red Star Alliance (a communist coupling of Russia and China) to stick a flag in the few refineries and petrol reserves left on the planet. The story is told through a reporter embedded with the Stray Dogs, the tip of the Western Coalition's spear into Asia. The "Frontlines" narrative isn't the most inventive you'll find -- the soldiers stick to being static, catch phrase-dropping sergeants, and calling the plot predictable could be a compliment. But formulaic or not, the cutscenes are delivered well and set a proper tone for the steady action that follows.

As a smaller studio, Kaos smartly pooled its resources into making its single-player mode a sharp, satisfying side-dish to its versus modes rather than trying to manufacture a multi-hour epic. In seven missions' time, you'll see WWIII unfold, swap shrapnel with enemy tanks, drive an unmanned drone or two, disarm nuclear ICBMs and overrun Russia. All the skirmishes follow the same pattern: hop from bases and installations while raking through waves of Red Star armor and infantry.

With only a few enemy types to face, it's surprising "Frontlines" doesn't get tiring; though there aren't many water cooler moments, the lulls are infrequent, and Kaos does a good job of pacing the action by spacing enemy encounters. Overall, the handful of missions you'll spend spinning the treads and turret of a tank are the best in the game, but some added airtime would've been handy, too: "Frontlines" hands you the keys to a helicopter only a couple of times. Likewise, for a game that emphasizes large-scale battles online, the focus on teamwork could've been mirrored more in single-player -- allies pitch in here and there, but mostly wander about while you win the war.

Ah, and about that multiplayer. It's good. Drop enough attack helicopters, humvees, heat-seeking missiles, turrets, heavy machine guns and treaded vehicles into a wide, base-dotted warzone, and good things are gonna happen. With up to 50 players pulling triggers online, there's real emphasis on filling roles, and weapon classes tailored to close-quarters, sniping, assault and anti-vehicle combat help promote this purpose. Between respawns, players can pick a gun loadout in addition to selecting a secondary support role: ground, drone, EMP or air assistance. This is where combat gets nicely complex.

Over the course of a battle, you'll accrue credit for use of special equipment by felling enemies or capturing control points. Drone support fields a remote-controlled scout or mini-tank; EMP can deploy turrets and beacons to disable vehicles; and air support can call in cluster bombs or gunship fire to clear out enemy positions. The equipments add a favorable wildcard to combat; deployed in the right situation, these bonuses can shift a skirmish in your side's favor.

Hilly but passable level design melds with these features to form sandbox-like settings. "Frontlines" isn't about tight, close-quarters tactics, and the spacious zones allow you to proceed at your own pace, even whimsically -- whether you're camping out in a tower to pick off oncoming troops or leading the charge in a vehicle to capture control points. It isn't a system that's finely balanced or tuned to perfection, however. Some weapons feel a tad overpowered in smaller-scale games, but the havoc of having a few dozen players in a match tends to level the playing field, literally.

Presentation is another mostly bright spot for "Frontlines." The game benefits from some well-rendered weapons and vehicles but dips a bit in the scenery department to accommodate the high player capacity. Semi-destructible objects like sandbags and walls help out too, but the title lacks a set of robust physics that we see in other games in the genre. Overall, "Frontlines" is a no-frills, simple shooter that represents an alternative to skill-intensive titles like "Halo 3" or "Call of Duty 4." Vast, vehicle-laden battle zones let players rain down punishment at their own pace, while objective-oriented play focuses the combat to a couple areas at a time.

Frontlines: Fuel of War

Platforms: Xbox 360, PC

Developer: Kaos Studios

Publisher: THQ

Genre: Shooter

Rating: 2½ stars

The Fun: 50-person multiplayer; lumbering, tough tanks and other vehicles; range of weapons and equipment to play with; airstrikes and unmanned drones make combat more dynamic; air-dropping teammates via helicopter is a great feeling.

The Unfun: Brief campaign; simple story; basic gunplay; no co-op or extra content; online gameplay doesn't function as well on a smaller scale.