Enemy Front First Look

Developer: City Interactive / Publisher: City Interactive / Platform: Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC / Release: Q3 2012

Announced by City Interactive last November, Enemy Front is a World War II FPS with Stuart Black [Black, Bodycount] attached as chief designer. I got a chance to sit down with Stuart at the game’s first showing in the US for a quick demo of this gritty shooter. Enemy Front is not an authentic World War II shooter, it does feature actual locations and real events, but it’s more about blazing a trail of glory. The pre-alpha demo included two levels, the first being on the beaches of Dunkirk. Shying away from the typical frontlines soldier, you play as an American US Ranger dropped behind Nazi lines. Because of this, you must scavenge for ammo. You carry two different weapons along with your trusty sidearm, grenades, throwing knives, and medic packs. That brings me to an interesting point; you can choose between the now-standard regenerating health bar and the classic one health bar that’s refilled by the use of medic packs.

Your missions include espionage, sabotage, and balls-to-the-wall close-quarters combat. It’s up to you how you want to play though. If you want to go stealth and slit some throats, cut away. If you’re more the guns-blazing type, then fire away. Be careful though, each situation is different and Enemy Front features about 10 different types of enemies that will give you a run for your money. For example, the Scout outranks the basic grunt and is smarter. Once the scout notices you, he might whistle to get reinforcements or he might just run away, only to return with more of his gun toting buddies. You have to strategize on the best target to go after first. Along with the Scout, you’ll also encounter vehicle-based enemies, heavy artillery guys, and medics who revive their brothers in arms.

Similar to Black the environments are destructible. Bullets and grenades can tear apart door frames, windows, and other easily breakable objects. Tack that on to the over-the-top weapon effects and you have an intense shooting experience. Enemy Front also features the classic exploding barrels and conveniently located ammo dumps. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill shooter. Spanning several years and including actual events that occurred in places like the Wolf’s Lair, Stuart hopes to keep gamers engaged for 10 plus hours in the single player alone.

Enemy Front was built using CryENGINE3, and the game reflects that with impressive visuals and highly detailed environments. As for the gameplay, Stuart mentioned a handful of key featuressuch as gameplay customization, the use of vehicles, authentic weapons from that time period, and unique enemy behavior.

I only saw a few levels from the game, but it intrigued me. The shoot first, ask questions later mentality of this World War II shooter was satisfying; it’s always fun to shoot the crap out of enemies that try to hide behind a wall. Slated to release in Q3/2012, stay tuned for more news, info, trailers, and all that goodness for Enemy Front.