The storyline behind Homefront has been both praised and frowned at for just how close to the wire it is. A string of events that before today seemed quite feasible but collectively unlikely, leading to a Korean invasion of the USA, has been pushed home by THQ in their advertising strategy. For many, us at TGR included, it’s a master stroke and a fantastic way to bring gamer’s closer to the action with believable consequences, but for some it was just a little too edgy considering the state of the world’s politics right now.
The start of the Homefront timeline begins with the following:
2011: North Korea faces another UN sanction over its latest nuclear test.
A couple of years later, General Motors file for bankruptcy again and fuel prices hit a record high. By itself, it’s a timeline that’s enough to scare most people, as events lead up to the 2025 even of Korea detonating an EMP satellite wiping out 99.9% of the electrical equipment in the US.
The scary just got scarier.
News Room America are today reporting that North Korea aren’t far off developing an electro-pulse weapon that could potentially destroy electrical equipment over a huge area. Sound familiar? It should. According to the Homefront timeline it’s due in 14 years from now.
North Korea is believed to be close to developing an electromagnetic pulse bomb that, if detonated over a target area, would cause irreversible damage to an adversary’s electric grid and electronic infrastructure.ABC News reported Wednesday that North Korea, in protest of current U.S.-South Korean military exercises, has been trying to jam electronic communications and devices that rely on GPS signals from satellites to operate.
The report said the North Koreans are employing a truck-mounted jamming device purchased from Russia around 2000 that they have used to develop two modified versions. Pyongyang has also, in recent years, offered them up in sales catalogs to nations in the Middle East, the report said.
So far that effort has produced minimal disruption, but it has led military officials and other analysts to become increasingly concerned about Pyongyang’s efforts to develop and deploy an EMP weapon that would have devastating effects on electronic infrastructure.
Military experts say a large-scale EMP attack would most likely cripple modern military operations by knocking out all electronic and satellite communications. Also, such weapons are capable of disrupting mobile phones, computers, radio and radar. Such weapons would also wipe out much of the infrastructure utilized in modern societies, such as banking, electrical grids, and transport.
Worrying enough on its own, without the Guardian chipping in with reports that fuel in the UK has hit its highest ever price, at over £6 per gallon, making some journalists suggest that the reign of the standard fuel-powered car is coming to an end. Combining these events with the fact that Libya are now drawing the American forces’ gaze, stretching them even further as they continue to also linger in Afghanistan and Iraq and all of a sudden that feasible Homefront storyline has a few people keeping a slightly closer eye on the news channels over the next few months.
Sources: The Guardian, News Room America
This isnt really all that new. Essentially a nuke blast is a EMP as well as it has the same effect.
Being able to effectively deploy and actually deliver that weapon to the US in such a capacity to eliminate ALL its military communication would be dam near impossible. Hell within a hour or so the US could deploy multiple Awacs (mobile air based radar planes) to effectively cover the area and coordinate strike aircraft and commerical as well.
Its a far reaching fiction at best, seeing as sat images would easily display a invasion force approaching with more then enough Naval power already deployed it would be very difficult to even reach the shore of the US with a substantial force.
Think about it though, without communications, our society would be screwed. All of our military utilizes electronic equipment to coordinate with each other.
I’m a Cavalry Scout in the US Army, in Afghanistan, we use radios to call in air strikes and medivacs. There have been a few times that our radios were not working, and therefore caused us to take more fire than necessary without the ability to radio back to command to tell them that we needed assistance.
/end rant.
If anyone is scared of this game actually coming true. Read this article that breaks down the events leading up to the Homefront video game. http://www.destructoid.com/in-which-i-break-down-why-homefront-s-plot-is-impossible-196221.phtml
So I heard Kim Jong Il Died and his son is taking over? Yea Homefront is totally gonna happen, I’m gonna start stocking up on supplies.
Gas prices just reached 4.10 today and The UN are protesting that Korea wants to launch a new satlite that will “improve communications” Sound familar?