The most commercially successful of all the gaming genres year-in and year-out comes in the form of the shooter. In shooting games recently, a sub-genre has emerged, focusing on warfare, both of the historic and the modern variety, and includes in that category one of the biggest hits of 2007, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Given the momentum that a modernistic war approach has right now, it's time to clear the runway for Frontlines: Fuel of War, the shooter made by Kaos Studios, whose team previously worked on Desert Combat, a very popular modification for Battlefield 1942. Frontlines: Fuel of War takes the best elements from of the FPS genre and adds in some interesting new ideas of its own to create one of the better shooting games available today. With a fun campaign and some intense multiplayer action, Frontlines is a well-rounded experience, and it would be a big mistake to write it off as a simple 'Call of Duty' clone.

Frontlines: Fuel of War is set in 2024, where a global energy crisis is taking place. Supplies of oil and natural gas are minimal, and the diplomatic relationships between the East and West have disintegrated to a point where new alliances have been formed; the Western Coalition, including the United States and the European Union, and the Red Star Alliance, comprising of Russia and the People's Republic of China. Both sides make a move for the last remaining resources available, and a full-scale war has begun. The story itself takes place from the eyes of a journalist who is travelling with the 'Stray Dogs' strike force, and you'll be updated throughout the game via cutscenes and voice-overs that give you an overview of each mission. You'll be playing the game from the eyes of an elite soldier part of the Stray Dogs team, and the story references recent real-life events as well, so it does a good job of making the war feel realistic and effective.

As the name suggests, the game is all about the frontlines - or, more precisely, completing a series of objectives at specific points in the map, that once completed, give your side control over the area and the ability to move forward to the next set of objectives. The entire game is based on this simple and effective mechanic, and actually adds an element of strategy to what would otherwise be considered linear gameplay. Rather than having to go from objective to objective in a specific order, you can tackle any available objective on the current frontline, in any order you like. There are usually multiple objectives to complete at one time, ranging from destroying specific devices, defending and taking control of a particular area and hacking into the Red Star Alliance systems.

You'll also have a variety of weapons and equipment at your disposal, including the most unique feature on offer here in the form of the numerous drones you can use, and they all offer something different in terms of strategy. There is a UAV drone which you can send up ahead to scope out all the enemies in the area, which will then cause them to show up on your radar. There's a few drones that cause significant damage, too, including a small helicopter-like contraption that you can shoot rockets with, along with a flying bomb of sorts that's just waiting for you to detonate it on unsuspecting victims. There are several types of drones to experiment with, and they add another layer to the game, offering different ways to tackle each objective. There is no real obligation to use the drones, however; but they certainly do pack a punch and make things a whole lot easier (and a lot more exciting).

As well as the standard FPS gameplay, there are missions which will require you to use heavy tanks and at one point even a helicopter to inflict damage on the enemy forces. The vehicles are fairly easy to control and add some variety to the standard running-and-gunning style of gameplay. There is nothing inherently wrong with the game in terms of how it plays; the controls are responsive and feel intuitive, and capturing objectives is fun and gives the game a very progressive feel as you move from frontline to frontline. The main issue that we have with Frontlines: Fuel of War is that even though it does have some new elements presented throughout the campaign, it is, at its core, a basic war shooter. Each objective is surrounded by a large number of enemies that you'll have to take out before capturing it, and you can potentially go through the whole game in a linear fashion without using drones and the like, and still finish the campaign without much of a problem. The point here is that exploration isn't exactly compulsory, and not everybody is going to make the effort to try and be creative, which is a shame, as there is some fun alternatives here to the basic shooter-style gameplay.

Thankfully, even though the single player campaign in Frontlines may not stand out as much as we wanted it to, the multiplayer mode certainly ranks very highly amongst its peers in terms of enjoyment. The most important thing to note, is that the battles here are always massive. With a large number of people in each match (up to 50 on THQs dedicated servers), there is always a lot going on. The multiplayer works similarly to the campaign, with both sides competing for each frontline, moving it closer and closer until finally capturing the final objective and winning the match. Considering there are always multiple objectives available for capture at the one time, things get hectic to say the least, especially if both teams are competitive. We played matches that went for an hour without reaching a conclusion, constantly getting oh-so-close to victory before losing a couple of objectives and being forced to fight on neutral ground once again.

Within the multiplayer game, you'll be able to choose from a number of different classes to compete as, including Assault, Heavy Assault, Sniper, Anti-Vehicle, Special Operations, and Close Combat. In addition to the role you choose, you'll get to pick a second role which features skills from either Ground Support, EMP Tech, Drone Tech or Air Support. These roles are upgradable as you do well throughout the match, so if you pick Drone Tech, you'll eventually have access to more effective pieces of equipment as the multiplayer game progresses. Although there aren't a massive number of maps available initially, the actual size of each map is massive, accommodating for multiple objectives and frontlines. Luckily, you can choose where you want to re-deploy your character based on how much territory you hold, so if you wish, you can spawn nearby the frontline to get back into the action as quickly as possible. The only real gripe with the multiplayer is that 'Frontlines' is the only game mode available. It's a great mode, and given how much room there is for strategy in each map with drones, tanks, air-strikes and the like, but it might have been nice to see another option or two for those that want something a little different every now and then.

Frontlines: Fuel of War is certainly aiming for that epic war-like cinematic feel, both in its visual design and its audio presentation. In terms of visuals, the game simply doesn't compare to other games on the market. While the explosions look truly awesome and some of the destructible environments do look incredibly effective, sometimes the game suffers from draw in, and textures are lacking in detail. We figure this is due largely to the fact that there is always so much going on, with big battles a constant theme here and lots of explosions and bullet-fire occurring around you most of the time. There isn't any slowdown present in the game that we encountered, so we're a bit forgiving of the lacklustre graphics given that the experience is a very smooth one. The audio in the game is very polished, however, with epic-sounding music tracks combined with voice-overs that don't sound too forced or fake (even though they're a little bit too 'American' for their own good sometimes). The weapons and explosions are loud and jarring, in a good way, and really give you the impression that you're on an intense battlefield as well.

There is something to be said for games that take the basic formula and do it well, and even though Frontlines: Fuel of War may not be the most original outing in terms of concept, the actual gameplay is very solid in its execution and only falters with the games lack of originality. The drones are unique and a lot of fun, and capturing objectives gives that satisfying feeling of accomplishment as you make your way through missions. While the campaign may not be the most enthralling encounter, multiplayer enthusiasts should not hesitate in picking this one up, as there aren't that many better online experiences available on the Xbox 360 at this point. While it may give a slightly generic vibe at times, Frontlines: Fuel of War is worth a look for any shooter fan. Just don't expect it to change your life, and you'll really enjoy yourself.