Freedom Fighters

"A title whose gameplay doesn't live up to its interesting concept."

The shooter genre does not typically feature the most complex gameplay in its titles. Most of these games usually don't involve anything more expansive than shooting everyone you see until the game is over, with the breadth of gameplay being found in the manners in which that is accomplished. Luckily, as a result of recent advances in game technology, developers are finding themselves with more and more creative freedom during the production of their games.

Freedom Fighters is a game that, had it been developed only a few years ago, might have been just another simple shooter. Instead, the game's developers at Io Interactive were able to instill a deeper level of gameplay. You'll still shoot lots of people, of course, but the game promises a ‘unique Recruit and Command system' that is meant to add some strategy to the gameplay. It's not the most ambitious new wrinkle the genre has ever seen, but the potential is there for an engaging, out-of-the-ordinary experience that could be worth your gaming efforts. Does the game deliver?

Visuals:

All of the menus in Freedom Fighters are constituted of a simple, one-line display of text options. You can adjust control and save settings from both the title and in-game menus, and these are all clearly labeled. Each of the selections in the menus is easy to understand, and everything is quick and intuitive to navigate.

The story plays out through both game-engine cutscenes and pre-rendered news broadcasts. Obviously, the news segments look the best, as the newscaster displays a believable range of facial expressions and movements. The in-engine cutscenes look pretty good as well, and are animated very nicely.

Graphics during gameplay are mostly very good looking. The character models are fairly well detailed, and for the most part they all animate very fluidly. Enemy character models will occasionally seem to jump between animations, but with so many on-screen at once, this isn't a tremendous problem. Unfortunately, some animations – such as explosions – just don't look very nice, and tend to have oddly unrealistic aftereffects. The game's environments are exceptionally well done, giving a very realistic feel for the war-torn streets of New York, and little touches like Soviet recruitment posters are plentiful. The overall look is very washed-out, with muted colors and a smoky, hazy feeling, and this also adds to the atmosphere. The entire game runs at a solid frame rate, with the only hitches occurring while there's a lot of chaos on screen. The game manages to get its camera angles right most of the time as well, which proves very important during some stretches. The only major problem with the graphics is the draw distance; it's often difficult to make out enemy characters from far away, and this puts you at a distinct disadvantage at some points, such as when you need to take out a couple of snipers or an enemy turret. On the GameCube, the worst graphical problems of all the versions rear their head, with more slowdown, a shorter draw distance, more jagged edges, and an occasional problem with character models seemingly coming apart at the seams of their polygons.

On the whole, Freedom Fighters looks very solid, and the game benefits as a result. Unfortunately, though, the few flaws that made their way into the package are noticeable enough to draw your attention repeatedly.

Score: 6/10

Sound:

Sound effects during gameplay are extremely well produced. The weapons all convey a strong sense of realism, and the way they interact with the environment plays out very nicely. As you fight, the sounds of battle will surround you, giving you a feel for the urgency of the situation.

Clearly, a lot of effort was put into the voiceovers, and the results are spectacular. Friendly soldiers are very animated during the course of the game, berating enemy soldiers during battle and conversing with your character as he issues orders to them. Enemies are similarly chatty, although their lines are delivered entirely in their native tongue. This back-and-forth banter really helps create the illusion of being on a battlefield. The voice work outside of gameplay is almost uniformly good as well, although a couple of characters really don't pull their weight when reading their lines.

Freedom Fighters' soundtrack may be the best aspect of its audio score. The music combines both orchestral tracks and choral vocals, giving an excellent approximation of the old Soviet national anthem. This music fits well into the actual gameplay, giving proceedings a very appropriately dramatic feel.

Without a doubt, sound is clearly the most impressive aspect of Freedom Fighters. The entire acoustic production is top-notch, adding an impressive level of realism and immersion to the experience.

Score: 9/10

Gameplay:

Freedom Fighters plays out in a mostly straightforward manner. You'll be given your objectives, dropped into a level, and tasked with going about accomplishing what needs to be done. Of course, you'll face plenty of opposition, and you'll get some help from recruited A.I. teammates. If the premise sounds simple to you, you're right; there really isn't much to this game beyond what you see here.

You'll have seen most of the gameplay variety within the first hour of play, and after that it's just a matter of lasting until the credits roll.

The game's controls work fairly well on the GameCube controller, although the game was clearly designed for other controllers. The analog stick moves your character through the game's environments, and when the L button is pressed and held, your character will draw his weapon up and aim down the sights. The C-stick moves your aim while you have the L button pressed. The B button has him jump or climb over obstacles, and the R button uses the item or weapon you have equipped. Holding down the Z button brings up your ‘Inventory Wheel,' where pushing a direction with the analog stick equips the corresponding item. The face buttons are used for interacting with the environment and your teammates. The A button, when tapped, initiates conversations and performs special actions, like planting C4; the X, Y, and (again) A buttons issue orders to your squad, with A being follow, Y being attack/scout, and X being defend. Tapping down on the D-pad toggles your character between standing and crouching. Hitting up on the D-pad brings up the area map and a list of your objectives, while Start brings up the pause menu.

The controls are pretty easy to get used to, but some of the design choices will cause you some problems as you play; for instance, the items in your ‘Inventory Wheel' cannot be rearranged, and so you will often find yourself hitting the wrong direction when you need to switch quickly. This becomes a problem on the higher difficulty levels, as your med kits are always assigned to down-right, and you'll be hard-pressed to duck out of fire to switch to them and heal in an instant. The aiming is a problem as well; obviously, it's difficult to get precise shooting with a game controller, but firing normally uses a bit of auto-aim, but the targeting system is spotty, and you'll often find yourself shooting the wrong person if you aren't staring directly at your preferred mark. Luckily, though, some of the aiming woes of the other console version are resolved on the GameCube, thanks to its use of the shoulder button for steady aiming.

Once you get into the actual gameplay, you'll find that it's also a mixed bag. Generally speaking, you'll have the same objective for every level: to capture the enemy stronghold for the area by raising the U.S. flag over it. There are also secondary objectives that usually involve destroying something or rescuing a VIP; completing those secondary objectives will usually make your job a lot easier, since they usually entail cutting off reserve troops or heavy weaponry from the enemy.

The game actually plays out with you moving through each level leading a group of up to twelve friendly ‘freedom fighters' towards your goals. Controlling your squad is fairly easy, and when you have a large posse, you can get into some truly impressive confrontations. Of course, for most of the game you don't have more than a handful of soldiers at your disposal, and that's where the trouble starts. With only one or two teammates, you can easily be overwhelmed by enemy soldiers. You'll often be attacking enemy encampments that are heavily fortified with turrets and dozens of soldiers, so if you're low on recruits, it's very easy to get shot up in a hurry. The problems with targeting and healing don't help much here, either.

The A.I. for your friends is habitually average. Most of the time, they'll perform their orders well enough, covering themselves and only advancing when it's safe; unfortunately, there will be a handful of instances where they'll just inexplicably run into enemy fire, or they'll get caught up on some object and won't make it to their destination. Since you have only a handful of recruits most of the time, this can get very frustrating very quickly. You can resurrect any squad mates that become incapacitated with a med kit, but if you're out, or want to save your last one or two for yourself, you're out of luck.

Enemy A.I. is really no better than that of your team. When you get one enemy alone, you'll often be able to run directly at them and melee them to death without their even attempting to escape. Also, enemies on set patrol routes will sometimes simply forget that you just attacked someone next to them, and resume their patrol. When working as a whole, the enemy A.I. does works pretty well. You'll see them taking cover when fighting, and in larger numbers they'll work very well in suppressing your team's attacks and trying to flush you towards their side's gun encampments. There are still plenty of instances in which you'll be scratching your head at their actions, though.

So, the game plays out as a war of attrition. You'll lead your side's slow advance towards your goal, clearing out area after area until you're where you need to be, and then you'll move on to the next level. If the squad A.I. was a little smarter, or the aiming mechanics a little better, this game could clearly have been a lot more impressive; instead, it plays messily, and until you get a large force on your side, it can be very frustrating.

The game does throw in some variety, as you'll be facing tougher enemies as you progress and will eventually be facing heavily armored soldiers (and even, towards the end, a tank). For the most part, though, the levels all play out the same, with the only differences being the number of fighters on your side and the quality of your opponents. When you combine this with the fact that the shooting in this game is very unwieldy, it makes the whole very unappealing.

Freedom Fighters' tactical command system tries to add depth and value to this otherwise bland shooter; sadly, though, all it does is attach an unrequited glimmer of hope to an excessively banal experience.

Score: 5/10

Story:

The story in Freedom Fighters centers around an alternate reality in which the Soviet Union won World War 2 by beating America to the atom bomb and then using it on Berlin. Since then, they became the predominant world power, and spread Leninism throughout most of the world. You take on the role of Christopher Stone, a New York City plumber who (along with his brother) happens to be in the apartment of an American resistance leader on the day the Soviets invade.

While the premise for the game is very intriguing, the plot never actually goes anywhere during the course of the game. You'll rescue your brother, watch a bunch of newscasts that portray you and your friends as the bad guys, free a bunch of areas from the Soviets, experience the sole, excessively-foreshadowed plot twist, and then the story goes caput. The ending is of particular note, because it doesn't so much end the game as it does set up the inevitable sequel.

Despite some humorous tongue-in-cheek writing and the plot's interesting premise, there's really not much to the story in Freedom Fighters.

Score: 6/10

Features/Modes:

There are four separate difficulty levels in Freedom Fighters, and all of them are available from the game's outset. Beating the game on either of the two highest levels will unlock a secret bonus level, although this is basically just a tacked-on reward.

Additionally, the game also includes a four-player multiplayer mode that plays essentially as a game of King of the Hill. This mode also feels very tacked-on, and without any sort of online capability, it's not likely that you'll get much fun out of it. It's extremely noticeable that any sort of cooperative play in the storyline mode is missing; given the nature of the game, the option to play through with a friend could have definitely helped the game achieve its potential.

The few extras included with Freedom Fighters are so paltry that they make the lack of cooperative play hurt even more.

Score: 4/10

Total Score:

One of the biggest problems when developing any ambitious game is making the gameplay fun; after all, if the game's not fun, who's going to want to buy it? This is the essence of the problem with this title. The gameplay works fairly well for the most part, but the handful of flaws in the formula, when combined with the fact that there's really nothing special to the game, make Freedom Fighters barely noteworthy.

Anyone with an interest in squad-based third-person shooters should give Freedom Fighters a rent to see if they might like it. Otherwise, there are lots of other strategy games or shooters out there that are much better at what they do.

Score: 6/10 (not an average)

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Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 05/11/06