Somewhere within Homefront: The Revolution–beneath the choppy framerate, the hackneyed narrative, and the half-explored mechanics that are hastily introduced then forgotten just as quickly–exists a solid, cinematic shooter. All the ingredients are there. It casts players as American resistance fighters–outmanned and outgunned, but resourceful and resilient–which naturally paves the way for both novel gameplay and daring political themes. Unfortunately, Homefront doesn’t quite deliver on either one.

Its attempts to explore those political themes feel clumsy and superficial. Its mechanics embrace the scrappy nature of guerilla combat, but technical shortcomings generally force you into rudimentary run-and-gunning. The lengthy story campaign packs plenty of im…