"I must get to the rest room or all is lost!"

Have you ever dreamt of being a super hero? Thoughts of how you would have super human powers and be able to fight crime, or even be a criminal mastermind? While reading your Spiderman or X-men comic books you wondered how great it would be to be just like them. Well now you can! In a Comic Book RPG by EA, Crave, and Irrational Games you can step into the shoes of several comic book heroes or even create your own. Will you be a giant with the strength of hundreds of men or a small boy with huge telekinetic powers that can destroy simply with his mind? All these features in more are in…Freedom Force!

GRAPHICS

If you've ever picked up a comic book in your life, you've seen how they like to make super heroes. They usually have bright, vivid, colored outfits. They tend to have very flashy powers and then the evildoers are usually a darker hue. Well that is exactly what you'll get out of Freedom Force. The heroes are in very over the top and bright uniforms. Their outfits are made more to be flashy than actually useful, just like a comic book! Evildoers wear dark and mysterious clothing as well.

As for the rest of the graphics, I think they'll really feel very familiar to you. The graphics engine is the same as is used in Warcraft 3. You'll notice it when the characters are talking, because just like in WC3 their heads will be up at the top talking and they look EXACTLY the same as in WC3. So if you liked the ones in WC3 then you'll like it here. If you've never played it, well the game is from a birds eye view. At some points it's a little hard to see, and because it's pulled back some of the details are lost. However, overall the presentation is well done and is very attractive to the eyes. Defiantly a job well done.

SOUND

“EVIL DOERS BEWARE FOR I AM THE INSTRUMENT OF YOUR DOOM!” A little over the top isn't it? Well that is exactly how comic book heroes talk and that's exactly what you can expect. I wasn't a huge fan of the way they talk. They over play even the simplest of lines. “I MUST GO TO THE BATHROOM OR ELSE WE ARE ALL DOOMED.” Ok, not a line from the game, but you get the point. Everything is over the top…very very over the top. It can get a little annoying, but is well done for being annoying.

Sound FX are pretty well done, nothing will stick out at you and make you wonder what the heck was that. Everything in this area is pretty well done.

GAMEPLAY

Well this is where I have my only major hiccup. After playing a bit you'll get your first sidekick or team member, whichever you want to think of him as. You can select both of them and try to move both of them together. However, a lot of the times one will just stand there while the other moves. Plus some can go where others can't so this can make navigating a little difficult.

One other little hiccup is the fighting. Occasionally it is a little difficult to get your character to attack an enemy, as there might be stuff in the way, this can cause a bit of frustration but is easily overlooked. Also while fighting you get a turned based feel. The game is kind of made RTS like, however it feels more like I go, the enemy goes, then I go again. Strategy is involved, of course, but it's like exchanging blows until one goes down.

The rest of the gameplay is pretty solid. You can change between moves on the fly with the Function keys, F1, F2, F3, ect. You can also change the intensity of the move which affects how much damage it will do and how accurate it will be. The game pauses at this point so you won't have to worry about being killed while messing with it..

OVERALL

If you are an RPG or Comic Book lover, you will fall in love with this game. It has everything anyone could want from it any more. Other players may find it to be a great pickup as well, and I can only foresee a handful of players feeling left out in the cold. Defiantly a recommended title if you can find it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/15/04