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Exclusive Homefront Map for Xbox 360 Only

The upcoming blockbuster Homefront puts you on the front lines in defense of the United States. Set in the year 2027 and written by John Milius (Red Dawn, Apocalypse Now), America has fallen and is now occupied by a nuclear-armed North Korean Army. Homefront delivers highly competitive, emotionally charged, story-driven single-player infantry and vehicle action.

Multiplayer action features large scale warfare with an incredible array of infantry and vehicular combat and innovative mechanics.

Xbox 360 owners will receive a special bonus when the game launches on March 8, with an exclusive multiplayer map "Suburb" included on all disc copies of the game.

"Suburb" Map Details

Suburb can accommodate up to 24 online players, its tight layout is great for close quarters combat across multiple game modes. As U.S forces move against the KPA in an attempt to gain control of the Montrose Security Checkpoint (aka "the Wall"), fight through a suburban neighborhood that has become a ghost town, its residents relocated to nearby labor camps. Empty houses and buildings offer extensive cover during the firefight while rooftops and even tree houses provide excellent sniper positions.

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/Marketplace/Homefront-Map

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San Francisco -- A publicity stunt for a new warfare-based video game sent local environmentalists to arms when a mass of balloons carrying advertisements for the game cascaded into San Francisco Bay.

"When I looked out the window and saw thousands of balloons dropping straight into the bay, I was flabbergasted," said Rod Fujita, a senior oceans scientist for the Environmental Defense Fund. "I never expected to see something like this in San Francisco, where there's such concern about the bay and pollution."

The release of the 10,000 ill-fated red balloons came courtesy of THQ, a Southern California video game company in town for the Game Developers Conference at Moscone Center.

Because the game is set in a near-future where the United States is invaded by nuclear-armed troops from North Korea, the company staged a mock lunchtime rally at Yerba Buena Gardens where the game's supporters, in the words of the company's news release, "will take to the streets to demonstrate against the North Korean regime and the treatment of its citizens."

The staged rally was capped by the massive balloon launch, designed, the company said, to "simulate a method used by South Korea to send messages of hope to the North."

The "messages of hope" carried by these balloons, however, amounted to an exclusive offer from GameStop video game store allowing gamers to "receive the resistance multi-player pack, featuring an exclusive weapon."

Even that message didn't get too far. While the balloons at first soared into the leaden gray skies above the city, wind and rain quickly sent thousands of them plunging into the bay, only blocks away.

"They were just dropping right out of the sky into the water," Fujita said.

Pictures of the balloons bobbing on the bay quickly made their way onto social media sites like Facebook and Flickr, as angry environmentalists blasted the stunt in e-mails and on Twitter.

"Obviously, we have a problem with polluting of the bay and this is just polluting and littering," said Amy Ricard, a spokeswoman for the environmental group Save the Bay.

"Your balloon campaign was a stupid thing to do to a city surrounded on three sides by water," one San Francisco resident said in an e-mail to GameStop. "You should be held accountable for the waste."

The companies quickly went to damage control.

"We understand the concerns consumers have regarding the impact balloons can have on the environment," read a statement released by GameStop. "However, the balloon drop stunt in San Francisco was created by THQ ... and Game-Stop had no prior knowledge of it."

A statement from THQ assured concerned bayside residents that the balloons released "were made from a 100% organic product and are 100% biodegradable," with no history of causing environmental pollution.

But just in case, the statement continued, "we've retained a clean up crew to remove any potential lingering debris."

Environmental groups remained concerned about potential danger to the bay and its sea life and the ocean.

"Even biodegradable products take a while to disappear," Fujita said.

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