Freedom Fighters Review

Release: 2003
Platform: Sony Playstation 2, Xbox, Game Cube, PC
Developer: lo interactive
Publisher: EA
Rated: T
ebay price: $2.99-$14.99

Freedom Fighters is a 2003 release 3rd person shooter game with an exceptional storyline and easy to use squad control. lo interactive is also known for The Hitman series.

The game play of Freedom Fighters is very simple and is also challenging enough for veteran fps and 3rd person shooter gamers. The AI of the game isn't particularly challenging, though it isn't stupid either. Freedom Fighter missions consist of multiple areas, which, according to the maps, are all close together. Each area has unique objectives which affect the level of difficulty. for example, in one area, there's a bridge which is shipping troops in the other areas, and in the other there's a heliport flying helicopters supporting the enemy. The game allows the player to take those objectives as he or she choses. When the player takes one of the objectives, it removes an element from the enemy forces. Freedom Fighters has an easy to use squad system, with three simple commands: Attack, Defend, and Regroup. The ally AI is smart enough to take cover, and accomplish the objective that you give them, unless you send them into an area crowded with enemies. Players can chose where to put their allies, by aiming and giving the commands, this makes it easy for precision support or suppressive fire.

The game takes place in New York City, of all places, where the Russians have invaded America. The story goes that the Russians have won the Cold War and are making a movement towards the Western Hemisphere. The game creates a believable world with television broadcasts from the soviets covering the games storyline. Along with those broadcasts is a ticker, like you would see on an actual news channel, displaying events and laws, such as "the combination of red, white, and blue is now illegal." The game does a great job at making the player feel as though he or she is thrown into a country being taken over by storm.

The soundtrack is one of the most impressive soundtracks for a video game I have ever heard. The soundtrack immerses the player into the game with unique and epic scores. The scores are a blend of classical, choir, and a little bit of techno, which combine into an excellent sound. The music sets the tone for each mission perfectly, whether it be stealth or action.

Freedom Fighters' graphics are not the most impressive, even compared to the games that were released along with the game around that time. The graphics never really matter in a game, unless they get in the way of the game play, fortunately that never happens in Freedom Fighters. The graphics may be simple, but the player is still able to differentiate friend from foe, which is what really matters in a game like this.

Freedom Fighters has a multiplayer mode which can have up to 4 players on one console. The multiplayer is not online, though it's still plenty of fun. There's only one game mode, which has the players on a map, with bunkers in set places, and the objective is to hoist the teams colors (America or Soviet)on the map and hold it down for the set amount of time. While this is a fun game type, there's only 3 maps. This doesn't provide much for replay value. However, Freedom Fighters is still an excellent experience.

All in all I highly recommend Freedom Fighters to any one who enjoys a solid action game and a truly amazing story.

Thanks for reading, please remember to comment or critique.