Freedom Fighters

"Bash some commie skull with this great game!"

Plot

Freedom fighters takes place in an alternate history where the soviet army continued to grow after world war 2. Taking over many countries including Britain and Cuba.
The main character of this game is Chris Stone. He is a plumber who works with his brother, Troy. They are sent to fix the sink of Isabella Angelina, who just happens to be the vocal voice of warning the American people. As the pair are in her house the soviets bust in looking for her but all they find is Troy Stone instead.
After this you end up hooking up with a resistance group pretty fast. Who, obviously aren't too pleased with the invasion.
There isn't much in the way of plot but that's not such a bad thing.

You start of as a low member of this group but as you advance more people trust you and are willing to join you. This is done by way of a charisma bar which gets added up by healing wounded soldiers and generally just helping out. Once the bar is full you gain a charisma level and as such you can get another freedom fighter. One rather big thing that's wrong with freedom fighters is that there is just not enough of it.

Controls

The controls are fairly tedious at first play but you get used to them pretty fast. This plays like any other third-person-shooter. This game uses auto-aim which is a nice touch as it can let you get on with more strategy which in needed in later levels. You can press the R3 button to let you zoom in for an over-the-shoulder view. Unlike a lot of squad games the controls for ordering your men around is fairly simply. With a tap of a button you can get them to defend, attach or follow. You can give them more specific details by using your cross hair when you zoom in.

The AI

As with any squad-based game this is an important thing. Your own squads AI is good often taking the quick route to places and acting fast when spotting an enemy. The Enemies AI is not as hot but is still good. They will often man gun turrets when another solider has stopped and use use cover good.

Graphics and Sound
The graphics are fairly good, they are not great but not horrible. There is no problem with the frame-rate and the colours give a great urban feel to the game. Weapon fire and lighting are good as well.
The Sound and music in this game is one of the best i've seen in a while. The soundtrack is mostly orchestra's which gives a lot of atmosphere. The enemy solider's sound menacing and can speak in their native tongue which is a great touch.

Conclusion
The only problem with this is mainly the length as it gives no reason to play again. Except to play on a harder difficulty. It's a great squad game for first times and veterans a-like.

It's well worth a 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/29/04