This is a first-person shooter set in Europe during World War II, so you get to kill lots and lots of Nazis. When you have something as clear-cut as a tyrannical occupation, it's hard to believe Hawkins couldn't empathize with the resistance movement right from the start. Moreover, Hawkins' character development feels forced he starts as an opportunistic, news-hungry reporter on the front lines and slowly realizes there are greater goals in this war than the next big scoop. This poor presentation is a missed opportunity that's meant to complement the story's nonlinear structure, which, by the way, could have benefited from further exposition and context for those unfamiliar with the uprising. Given that he's a reporter, it's puzzling and laughable that the delivery of Hawkins' radio-broadcasted motivational speeches during the Warsaw Uprising is painfully flat.
One notable setting is a colorful, sun-drenched French countryside that echoes the opening scene from Inglourious Basterds. And while Enemy Front follows the location-hopping flow common in many shooters, Hawkins' European tour is a believable one because it doesn't shoehorn missions in Italy, North Africa, or anywhere east of Poland. He's a one-man army for only a handful of missions the rest of the time, he's either partnered with an operative or part of a large squad. It's a bad sign when loading screens are the most eye-catching parts of a game.Īt first, it's easy to go along with the premise of playing an American-journalist-turned-freedom-fighter named Robert Hawkins. Yet this is a glamorized, false impression, which is all the more unfortunate given that it has been a while since we've had a notable WWII first-person shooter (not counting Wolfenstein: The New Order). You're given the impression that Enemy Front's gameplay will let you experience these dynamic moments. As the camera slowly flies around these scenes frozen in time, you soak in the mayhem: a swarm of Nazis in aggressive poses, gunfire and muzzle flashes filling the screen, and emotional civilians running for cover. Enemy Front's loading screens depict fictionalized, up-close, and chaotic moments from various battles of World War II.