Flames of Freedom

aka: Midwinter II: Flames of Freedom, Wildfire
Moby ID: 2535
DOS Specs

Description official descriptions

This sequel to Midwinter takes place years after the events of the first game. The world has thawed and Midwinter has disappeared beneath the ocean. Its legacy, the Peaceful Atlantic Federation, is facing an invasion by the slave trading Saharan Empire. Between the two lie the Slave Isles, a chain of islands under the oppressive thumb of the Saharans.

You are a covert operative for the Atlantic Federation. Your mission is to conduct assassinations, enlist rebels and sabotage the Saharans operations in the Slave Isles. As you carry out these open-ended missions, the islands will rebel and aid your efforts when the Saharan invasion finally comes.

Flames of Freedom uses the same engine as Midwinter for land, air, and sea travel (and combat) but now, you control only a single customizable character. A strategic map allows you to identify key islands for your cause and determine the mission objectives that will sway its population to your side. Then, it's up to you to head in and carry out the mission as you see fit (perhaps guns first, perhaps with a big bag of money, perhaps just relying on your charm).

Flames of Freedom mixes first-person action with strategy, vehicle combat, and diplomacy.

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Credits (DOS version)

19 People

Directed by
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Operations Handbook
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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 86% (based on 19 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.4 out of 5 (based on 17 ratings with 1 reviews)

Roam free and enjoy the scenery too.

The Good
The real selling point to this game is the free hand it gives you in playing it. Using a linking structure on the strategic map, you can move out in many different directions; either go straight for the most key islands or build up your support before moving in for the kill. You also have an almost daunting character generation system, almost CRPGish in its complexity of skills, behaviour and appearance. Plus, of course, you have an incredible variety of transportation available to you, from trucks to submarines to jets. And the game allows many ways of executing your missions. Either engage in an all-out firefight with the enemy or sneak around assassinating key targets and blowing up important installations. If only every game, even these days, would allow such unrestricted gameplay! Plus the visuals were impressive for the day, rendering the world in true 3D graphics. It also had a very intuitive icon system for your actions, again giving everything an "action game meets CRPG" feel.

The Bad
But even when I first played this game, the graphics were pretty sparse and static, sometimes almost eerily so. I dunno if it was the tense music you heard when you were travelling, or the fact that entire helicopter platoons would turn to attack you while on foot and you only had a lone palm tree for cover, but I would get creeped out sometimes. Plus the villages were ghost towns, well rendered but void of signs of life except for your target, who would unfailingly be standing in the middle of town looking like the polygon dude from I, Robot.

The Bottom Line
Blending the best elements of action, strategy and CRPG games, Flames of Freedom makes for some great, unrestricted play.

DOS · by Ummagumma (74) · 2001

Trivia

Title

The game was christened Flames Of Freedom rather than simply Midwinter 2 because, after the original's release, it was discovered that 'Midwinter' sounds like a Germanic slang term for a homosexual prostitute - a fact which hampered the game's sales in Europe, which had been expected to be high.

Awards

  • ST Format
    • January 1993 (issue #42) - #11 in '50 finest Atari ST games of all time' list

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  • MobyGames ID: 2535
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by ClydeFrog.

Atari ST, Amiga added by Neepie Lantern.

Additional contributors: Terok Nor, Martin Smith, Patrick Bregger, Jo ST.

Game added October 22, 2000. Last modified February 27, 2023.