Xbox

Freedom Fighters

It must take a lot of work to make a squad-based action game. On top of having to deliver all the core aspects that any shooter should have--things like responsive gameplay and great graphics and sound--a game designer working with squad-style gameplay also has to worry a lot about artificial intelligence. All it takes is a smattering of instances where a player's AI squadmates get stuck on a wall or take an inefficient path around a few obstacles to really shatter the illusion of working with a team and turn the game into a drone-babysitting simulation. Freedom Fighters, the new game from the developers of last year's great Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, deftly avoids the many pitfalls of AI squad tactics, and this, combined with great control, mission design, and presentation, makes for a truly fantastic game.

Freedom Fighters kertoo vaihtoehtoisesta nykypäivästä, jossa Neuvostoliitto ei kaatunutkaan omaan mahdottomuuteensa. Sen sijaan punakone on jyrännyt lähes koko maailman, omiin oloihinsa sulkeutunutta Yhdysvaltoja lukuun ottamatta. Lopulta puna-aalto saapuu New Yorkiin, joka jää etenevän neuvostoarmeijan jalkoihin. Miehitystä vastaan nousee taistelemaan joukko tavallisia amerikkalaisia.

Imagine if much of the history for the last sixty or so years didn’t happen the way it actually did. Imagine if the nuclear bomb was dropped on Berlin, and the UK reluctantly joined Soviets. Imagine if Soviets managed to put medium-range missiles on Cuba, and invade the entire South America. Imagine if the President was assassinated two years ago, and that the entire North America is in for a big surprise.

Sometimes a game almost slips under the radar and surprises you, popping up at the last minute and blasting you with fun gameplay and an uber-cool story line. Freedom Fighters is one of those games'a sleeper hit that proves that a game doesn't have to be a sequel to be great.

The overall feel is great, although not as deep as one would hope. Regardless, EA has another winner on its roster that warrants a better sequel.

For a game that's undergone so many name changes during its short marketing life, Freedom Fighters turned out surprisingly well. Whether you remember it as Freedom: Battle for Liberty Island or Freedom: Soldiers of Liberty, the third person action shooter blends squad-based tactics with a well presented story. The whole package comes off like an entry level tactical action game for those who can't get their minds around the all-too authentic realism of games like Rainbow Six or Conflict Desert Storm. It also deftly avoids the identity crisis that undermined Digital Anvil's Brute Force by keeping the basic game systems easy to understand and easy to execute.

Un très bon jeu qui sort malheureusement un peu vite. Si de bonnes idées sont en effet présentes (le recrutement d'hommes étant la meilleure) et que l'ambiance est exquise, le gameplay n'a pas bénéficié d'assez de soins et l'IA des personnages se montre aussi bien très fine que défaillante suivant les passages. Mais au final Freedom Fighters est un titre accessible, qu'on lâche difficilement une fois le pad en mains et ce malgré les défauts évoqués plus avant.

Freedom fighters is a hard game to access. It takes so many things from other genres, while not really doing anything original except maybe incorporating them into one game. It offers exciting gameplay, there is little multi-player excitement, and the game has little replay value. The multi-player, which allows players to act as teams on mission to “steal the bacon” basically little different than the game, its raise your flag and hold the fort. The AI is good, but can get in the way at times, especially for your remedial minded troops. The controls and graphics are good, but not excellent. While this game has many good aspects, we will wait to see what other companies offer with Full Spectrum Warrior and Kill.Switch on the horizon.

When godless Soviets drop the vodka bottle of oppression on New York City, plumber-turned-hero Christopher Stone must set things right. As a leader of an anti-Communist squad, Stone uses the sewers as a base from which to free the Big Apple.

Freedom Fighters is a solid enough effort from EA Games. The squad-based AI is definitely worth a look, and despite all the flag-waving, the game manages to tell an involving story. It’s a shame that more effort wasn’t put into the graphics, or more variation wasn’t put into the gameplay – I would have enjoyed cruising around in a “borrowed” Soviet tank, for instance. I picked my copy up in the bargain bin, so if you can find a used copy or can rent it, then by all means do so – after all, where will you be when the revolution comes?

In a sewer shaft deep under the streets, a makeshift raft floats towards a lean camp. Those aboard are soldiers, wounded from recent skirmishes with forces occupying their city -- these Freedom Fighters are what remains of the old America. It seems laughable that America was once as afraid of guys in fur hats as we are now of those in turbans, but it's true enough. But in this alternate future that fear never abated, as the Soviet Union threw its Iron Curtain over Europe, and now America. EA's Freedom Fighters is a squad-based action game that's as much Grand Theft Auto as Philip K Dick, and while it's fun, you'll wish for a deeper set of options by the time the war is over.