Freedom Fighters

I was actually recommended this game by an actor "co-starring" in a movie with me while I was in Las Vegas. I told him I thought Red Alert 2 (which he was in) was one of my favorite recent RTS games and it had much better cut-scene acting than usual. He then went and said he was a lot more proud of this game, which I had never heard of before. Well, being a "Red Dawn" fan and upon hearing this game had essentially the same plot (except with adults this time) I think I went out and grabbed it in about the same length of time as it takes to say "Freedom Fighters".

This game is awesome - you get to lead a small group of insurgents battling against the commie takeover of America in New York. You get to fight your way through sewers, war torn streets, oil refineries, headquarters, military bases, etc. Nothing is much more fun than ordering squads of guys to take out targets while you sit back and chill with a sniper rifle and take out baddies at leisure with minimal risk. The engine is really smooth and fairly free of bugs, and the voice acting / plot is even pretty well-done as well.

However, there are a lot of things that fell short with this title. The first is that you're awfully limited in your ability to misbehave or do anything outside the linear time line of events. You can't kill friendlies who are essential to the plot or fully explore areas. There's a few instances where you get to fight tanks and helicopters but there's never the option to hop inside a T-72 and take it for a joyride in Greenwich Village. Also, there's no blood or gore which makes the combat awfully cartoonish... and a few levels are needlessly, frustratingly hard due to enemy helicopters with insanely good accuracy.

I'd still like to see a sequel, hopefully one that goes the distance and gets an "M" rating.

I can't be the first to realize it: The guys at IO Interactive think up awesome and interesting concepts, and their execution usually leaves little to be desired. I haven't tried Kane & Lynch: Dead Men(it does seem excellent, though), but Hit-man and this - impeccable. The plot of this is good, and the story well-thought out, with nice progression. It does have a couple of clichés, and a tad of predictability. It invents an alternate history, and in this the US is, in present time, being invaded by the Soviet Union. The people of New York aren't going to stand for that. You are to gather as many followers as you can and fight back, guerrilla style. This means precision strikes on key targets, planning and skill. You will engage in sabotage. You will retake your city from its conquerors. Two important words in this are "vantage point". The strategy and tactics available to you are fitting, without it becoming an RTS. This is shooter-action, albeit requiring thought to a greater degree than others. The command system for giving orders to the squad is simple, clean and to the point, and as soon as you're used to it, you might wonder why it isn't used in every game in which you are the leader of soldiers. The interface of this is just short of being sublime, if it is in fact, imperfect. The AI is almost beyond reproach. Your own men will move away from bombs and moving vehicles, and I experienced opponents moving out of the way when grenades were tossed at them, as well. This has extremely few exceptions. In general, this is nearly entirely devoid of bugs and glitches. The camera is third-person, with zoom being possible regardless of what you're holding, obviously the amount of it will vary. In fact, it's essentially that of Codename: 47, with a free, 360 degree one(think Blood Money) added. You can see that it's those same people from other things in this... they have "tells". How you feel about this is really based on if you like no less than one of their products, or dislike them all. Where they go, Jesper Kyd follows, and his music, as usual, is amazing. It consists of beautiful score pieces, and synthesized, techno ones(not at the same time in this). Another thing we get that can be recognized is big areas, without the LOD being embarrassing. Actually, you'll want to check your map. It's not only helpful, it's necessary. It doesn't give everything away. The level design: Marvelous, if the, at least occasional, sense of them being linear can be bothersome. You get to choose in what order you want to take care of the different Locations... take out the center of the troop transports or that of the attack chopper? What would you prefer to not have to deal with later? Thus, what you do in one affects the others. The scenarios and objectives are plenty varied. The graphics are gorgeous, they still know their stuff. The atmosphere and mood is outstanding. You really believe in your surroundings. The realism in the look, feel, the weapons(appearance, recoil, damage), buildings, all of it, help with this. Real life places are recreated, with the twist of the signs, all of them written in Russian and English. While this title is gloomy, it is also humorous, and it isn't the most disturbing they've done(it might be the least), and the violence is very mild. There is next to no, if any, harsh language. This doesn't hurt it, and besides, it is rated Teen, so it should be expected, going in. The ideas in this are fantastic. It's cinematic, too. If you don't get carried away at during the mass panic portion of the opening/tutorial, then you are tough to impress. Each chapter has one cut-scene. These are done all in-engine, and aren't half-bad. The characters are well-written and quirky, meanwhile, they went over the top with the stereotypes. This features a well-done rag-doll effect, and actually sometimes allows enemies to survive explosions(if they have enough health, presumably). There are not terribly many different guns(quality is not lacking... the picks are magnificent, with Molotov Cocktails, the AK47, the Dragunov sniper and others), and you may only ever carry one side-arm and one rifle. They're all useful, however, so choose carefully, and don't assume that ones dropped by the so-recently alive Reds you've taken out are going to be full(I'm sure you're aware what that'll make out of both of us). Ammo can prove limited, so aim and conserve. If you've got the gall to try that... keeping in mind that they can do the exact same... you can use close-quarters combat, at any time, no matter what you have equipped. You'll gain charisma(the more you have, the bigger the army you can Recruit, meaning, get serving under you, up to a dozen individuals), as you get further in this, and it aids in this to reach out a, well, healing hand, to suffering civilians, and completing secondary goals. This has no multi-player, and while it might have been doable, I respect that they chose not to include it(I have found no reason why making something that is one or the other, SP or MP), and if you wish to try a release similar to this with your friends, the company's 2007 one might be the ticket. This one is a lot of fun... although when the different missions are mastered, this ends kinda soon. Beating is begets you a Selector, so that you can revisit any part from the start of it. This doesn't have an awful lot of re-playability value. The range in the difficulty settings, arguably one thing that can boost it, should ensure that the majority of those who try it can get a challenge, and one that matches their abilities. I recommend this to fans of the group of Danes who made this and/or the rest of what they've given us. 8/10

Let me tell you a little story of how I came upon this awesome title. I was at a video game renting place. And I obviously was looking for a game to rent. Now, I have rented just about everything there. Except for Freedom Fighters. I looked at the case and read the description. And on the cover it said, From the makers of Hit-man 2. Sold.

I went back to my place and was instantly floored by the music on the menu screen. Not sure why, but I was. I'd spend a long time just simply listening to it. Jesper Kyd does a phenomenal job as almost always. Freedom Fighters was the game that got me paying more closely to music in games than ever before.

Freedom Fighters has you in the role Chris Stone. Not the most original of names. But no biggie. Anyway, you are suddenly thrust into conflict as the Soviets begin their invasion. The idea of their invasion is, Take New York and you take the entire country. It kinda backfires. Instead of the US falling to its knees. The entire country rallies around the New York rebellion and your actions. But all the action takes place in New York City.

Your actions in some areas can affect other areas. You will notice this on your first mission. You have to get C4 in one area, go to the other and blow up the snipers so you can get into the police station. This sort of thing is repeated throughout the game. One of the more common goals is to destroy a helipad to stop attack/transport choppers or destroying bridges to prevent further reinforcements. Doing both of those vastly decreases the difficulty of the area you are on. It does get a little tiresome though having to do it all the time. And I understand why they have the player do it because I would imagine the Reds have more than just one helicopter pad. They also try to mix it up a bit by having you rescue POWs and some civilians caught in the middle. And that is fine. You complete the level or area by raising the flag in a particular building or spot. Some see this as some political thing. I see it as just a way to end the level and move on.

Another neat thing about Freedom Fighters is the squad commands. They are fairly simple. You have 3 commands: attack, defend, and follow. Just tapping the keys will tell one rebel what you want him to do. Holding it tells your entire platoon or squad. I usually put these guys to work around heavy machine gun emplacements and have them cut down any unfortunate Soviet Sap who feels a bit more brave than the rest. But every now and then I get creative and have each of my squad-mates line up single file along the side of a car to maximize the firepower a bit. Some may see this command thing as something rushed or far too simple. But when you need to clear a room on a hard difficulty setting they are your healthiest bet.

There really isn't a diversity of weapons. Americans don't have their own stuff with the exception of the Spas-12, pipe wrench, Molotov, and the revolver. Everything else is acquired from the Soviets. In a war zone such as this. I would expect a little more than that.

There is no blood. I reckon that's another flaw. It brings a little cartoon feel to the game. I know its not meant to be the most ultra realistic looking game ever. But from the makers of Hit-man 2. I expect to see some blood at least.

No lip animations or hardly any at all. May not seem like a big deal but a lot of times you get to see the characters faces clearly and its just plain weird having them talk and not seeing anything moving.

Overall its a exceptional game. I've played it on the PS2, Xbox, and my PC. Each time was still a good experience.

The first game I've beated, brings such nostalgic vibes, atmospheric levels and scenarios. Awesome.

The Second World War ends with the Russian dropping the atomic bomb on Berlin. Over the course of the next 50 years communism spreads over Europe and South America . You get involved when the Red Army attacks the United States, as the only hope for the Resistance to kick some oppressor butt. In the beginning you start off on your own , having the task to free not only your brother but also the female leader of the Resistance. As the story continues you will be able to recruit other freedom fighters, that follow your commands that you issue on pressing certain buttons on the joypad. A very nice made game , the classical soundtrack and the graphics give you the feel of really being the only saviour for the people in the US...