Homefront 2 First Images Leaked

VG 24/7 managed to get their hands on screen-capped photos from a promotional handout for Homefront 2, the game that's currently in development at Crytek and also doesn't have a publisher after Crytek picked up the IP from THQ, who has completely dissolved as a publisher.

The images are from a handout promotional booklet, though I honestly can't tell what the promo handout is for or where it comes from. VG 24/7 seems just as clueless about the images as well and only offer the vagueness of explanations about them. In fact, one could argue that we don't even actually know if this is from Homefront 2, even though there is a giant screenshot logo that says “Homefront 2”. Although, that really could be taken from anywhere. So, view the following images with a grain of salt... I guess?

If you click on the images, you'll also notice that they say “work in progress” at the bottom. One might imagine that this is a clear indication that Crytek is at least hard at work on the project and while an estimated 2015 release date has been rumored for the title, nothing is really set in stone.

Unfortunately, I never got around to playing the original Homefront when it was published by THQ and developed by Kaos Studios. The script was allegedly penned by the same genius behind the original Red Dawn that starred Patrick Swazye and Charlie Sheen, John Milius. The concept sounded great, which was basically Red Dawn: The Video Game.

However, the promotion for the game seemed to indicate that it was basically just another gritty, greyish-brown modern-day military shooter, and any and all attempts at originality was squashed and squandered on a subpar gameplay experience... or rather, a poor man's Call of Duty ripoff.

Some have praised Homefront (especially its multiplayer modes) while others felt it was part of the cheap cash-in that was the modern-military FPS gold rush. Since I never got around to actually playing it I'll never know if the game was not-as-good as some people claimed or if it was the perfect “Okay” game to which it was touted on most forum boards.

Anyway, there's obviously enough story girth there for Crytek to explore more of the scenarios and militaristic possibilities within the setting of Homefront. The game's story premise reminded me a lot of Freedom Fighters gone a bit more cinematic and serious. There's certainly a load of potential there for a good game to come out of that concept, I just don't think the original Homefront was that game.

As for Homefront 2, it's obvious the game is going to be for next-gen consoles and PC. I would hope that the design centers more around guerrilla warfare and using the environment as a tool of war as opposed to the game being a straight-through shooter, but I guess we'll find out when Crytek releases more info a very long time from now.