Yeah, I need to remember to pick up a couple of grenades next session and try them out. I’m very pleased, though, that my rifle saw plenty of use; usually in these games the enemy closes so fast you don’t have an opportunity for long-range, but here it makes just as much sense to fire a rifle from cover as it does to close and use a shotgun. Although the shotgun is extremely satisfying. 
What makes the game for me is that they do go to lengths to make it seem like you’re in a war. The tutorial mission consists of you being the key soldier in a platoon charged with taking back a base, so right away you’re in the thick of things. Once you get to the first real area, even though you start in a safe location, it’s not like some backwoods peaceful camp where you attack rabbits and bugs to level up before encountering the real enemy. Dropships continually drop hostiles on the outskirts of the base (not constantly, though; maybe every five to ten minutes, and more as you get further away from base), and weak though they are they still require fending off. As you explore the area you’ll occasionally encounter friendly NPCs fighting off hostiles, and you can join in and finish them off.