Frontlines: Fuel of War

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Futuristic military shooter is bloody for teens.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this is a futuristic military shooter. Using a variety of military implements, from rifles and pistols to rocket launchers and robotic drones, players will kill hundreds of enemy combatants in the campaign mode, perhaps even more online. Blood spurts from soldiers' bodies when they are struck by bullets, and they spin and flail rather realistically as they fall to the ground. Plenty of curse words are heard between missions as allied soldiers talk about current events and upcoming objectives, though the script stops short of extreme profanity. There is no sexuality, nor any use of controlled substances.

  • Many of the multiplayer modes require co-operative teamwork among several players to accomplish objectives. However, the overall tone of the game is one of military aggression.
  • Game play consists almost entirely of attacking enemy soldiers with a variety of futuristic rifles, handguns, grenades, and remote control drones. Blood is seen spurting from bodies upon the impact of bullets.
  • Not applicable.

What's it about?

FRONTLINES: FUEL OF WAR imagines a near-future world in which oil wells are quickly drying up. Rioting erupts on the streets of once-calm cities, and the only way the superpowers can keep their countries running is to go to war over the few remaining drops of crude. Players control an American soldier on the frontline as his unit engages Russian and Chinese forces in battles for overseas refineries and wells. At your disposal is an armory of futuristic weaponry that includes not just high powered rifles and advanced armor, but also a fleet of remotely-controlled drones, small helicopters, and tiny tanks that you can pilot behind enemy lines from relative safety as you battle to push your lines forward and advance your cause.


Is it any good?

 

In both campaign and online multiplayer modes, the action takes place on large, free-to-roam maps, and players can tackle objectives in whatever order they choose. This liberty of choice is the game's shtick, as it were, designed to provide players the ability to develop their own strategies for each mission. But in practice, tactics are surprisingly unnecessary. Players will usually find just as much success rushing headlong toward whichever objective appears closest on the map. The only time any sort of strategizing really becomes attractive is when you come into possession of the game's futuristic flying drones, which can be great fun to pilot. They have the ability provide a bird's eye view of a battlefield, which is useful for identifying enemy troop locations. They also typically carry a heavy load of ammunition, making them surprisingly effective offensive tools. But the attack prowess of these machines can be a double-edged sword; they're sometimes so powerful that they can take an enemy objective all their own, which has the effect of making the campaign mode feel, at times, too easy.

In the end, Frontlines is a perfectly competent shooter with an interesting hook, but it simply doesn't stand apart in any significant way from the glut of big budget, high gloss first-person shooters currently lining store shelves. Older gamers with a taste for the genre will likely find it to be a reasonably satisfying romp, nothing more.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about the futuristic world portrayed in the game. Try discussing concerns about how our government is planning to deal with the world's dwindling supply of oil. How do you think it will affect everyday life in America? In other countries? Do you believe that, as oil supplies diminish, countries will wage war over the few remaining oil wells? Or will the world's nations be prepared, and have found alternative materials and energy sources? The game may also pave the way for a discussion of technology in war. Does advanced military hardware make our troops safer? Do you think it is a good idea to rely on unmanned machines to do as much of the fighting in real world conflicts as possible?


This review was written by Chad Sapieha
Teen, 17 years old
April 9, 2008
 

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 16 years old
April 9, 2008
 
Cool but not for 9 and under.
Cool game. Barely any blood. Tons of violence but not 2 intense. it's an ok game and i recommenend for a 9 year old.

Flag as inappropriate 
Adult
October 9, 2010
 
tutututut
njtyt

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 17 years old
April 9, 2008
 
Frontlines fuel of war takes place in the fututre. So you blast away your enemys with future weapons although it isnt very bloody at all. but it can be a little intense and sad at times like on one misson you need to stop a nuke and at the end of the misson my hole team including me got blown up. so im pretty sure that your a different guy in the next misson.

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Parent of 6 year old
February 2, 2011
 

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Parent of 12 year old
January 27, 2011
 
ok for 10 and up
love it

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Kid, 13 years old
February 11, 2009
 
frontlines fuel of war report coming soon
the R,S,L game club will have a game report on the game please visit *rslgameclub.webs*

Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 15 years old
July 7, 2010
 
REALLY I GOT THIS GAME WHEN I WUZ 11! AND MY PARENTS THOUGHT I WASNT GONNA BE HAPPY WITH IT BECAUSE IT DIDNT HAVE ENOUGH VIOLENCE. i no violence is bad but u wanna know y kids play these games? its brcause we cant do this in real life and some times our life sucks and we want a way into a life where all that doesnt matter. so we take it out by pushing a button and watching pixels hit other pixels. WUTS wrong with that?!

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Adult
November 24, 2009
 
Great game
Blood and occasional blood splatter, the language can be very bad! But the game is fun. And the game is about a time where we run out of oil, the game has mature themes.

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Teen, 14 years old
August 24, 2011
 
teens up
This game is really fun. I haven't completed it yet (it hasn't been working resently on my laptop) but I still really like it (I will edit this review when I finish the game). Violence is pretty much like every first person shooter. Lots of explosions and gunfire. Dead enemies (bodies dont linger too long). Blood is kinda bad for a rated T (for teen) game. In a beginning cutscene a guy is shot and a fairly large amount of blood sprays from him. The pilot of the plain is also shot and the windshield gets splattered with blood. During gameplay there is a small amount of blood spray (up close it looks larger). The main concern about this game, however, is the language. This is the worst language I have ever heard in a rated T game. The s-word is used frequently (I heard it three times in a short cutscene), b--ch is used sometimes and other language used frequently in cutscenes is b-stard, h-ll, d-mn, and a--. Not any language that I heard during gameplay except for s--t every once in a while when your character is getting hurt. This game was very close to being rated M (for mature) but I still enjoy it a lot. teens and up should be allowed to play it

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This review was written by Chad Sapieha
Platforms:Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows
Available online?Available online
Genre:First Person Shooter
Developer:THQ
Release date:February 26, 2008
Price:$50-$60
ESRB rating:T for Blood, Language, Violence

This review was written by Chad Sapieha

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

 

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