![]() ![]() The snap-to aiming and a modern health system eliminate some of the more frustrating aspects of older instalments, whilst also ensuring there’s more pace and energy to the action. Some useful features do carry over though. Whilst Treyarch had the luxury of the silky-smooth IW 3.0 engine for the main World at War, Rebellion had to make do with Asura, which had been used to power more humble endeavours in the years preceding Final Fronts, including World War Zero: Iron Storm and portable outings for Dead to Rights and Aliens vs Predator. The reality is, however, the project likely lacked both the hardware and the funds to make a dream PS2 swansong a reality. There’s no question, the surface detail is pretty immersive. The busyness of the levels is a real plus : you’ll see planes on bombing runs, tanks rumbling off in this distance, troop formations advancing and firefights ensuing in the background, with the addition of hostile weather conditions and more explosions than you can shake a grenade at. Rebellion did about as much as reasonably could have been expected of distilling an action-packed Call of Duty experience into a latter-day PlayStation 2 game. ![]() The concluding level, set around a Japanese temple and with cherry blossom s swirling in the wind, shows a surprising degree of visual flair and cinematic license. Whilst some might find being limited to the gunner’s seat a bit restrictive, it’s likely a smart move on PlayStation 2 hardware, where the scripted nature of the level feels tight and well-orchestrated. A short, on-rails tank level shows common sense from the developer. To its credit, Final Fronts largely resists straying into dull, brownish-grey locations, with the snow-laden “Winter Offensive” featuring towns wrought with an elegant array of damaged buildings and detailed interiors. Beach assaults, trench runs and bunker bombings fa re prominently in the surprisingly bright and energetic “War in the Pacific” campaign. The s ettings exhibit more colour and gumption than COD3. There are a number of positives: a 12-level story, split across four missions, features campaigns set in both the Pacific and Europe. Developed by hit-and-miss FPS stalwarts Rebellion, FF is more comparable to Call of Duty's 2 & 3, and this surprise outing on PS2 can perhaps be attributed to the familiar WWII setting of these previous instalments. If you’re expecting a Modern Warfare -like experience on PS2, then you’re inevitably going to be disappointed. I t’s a PlayStation 2-exclusive spin-off released s ome eight years into the console’s remarkable lifecycle. Treyarch’s WWII-themed follow-up would arrive a year later and here’s where things get interesting: Final Fronts isn’t simply a port, as I first suspected. How can this possibly qualify as unexpected? When Modern Warfare landed in 2007, it marked not only a gigantic spike in popularity for the series but also a n apparent clean break for its next-gen era, appearing only on PC and seventh-generation systems Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Call of Duty is very, very well-known. I may have let slip once or twice, but I love a curio, an unexpected gaming discovery.
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