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Best plumber since Mario

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: November 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Yes that's right, you're a New York plumber who gets caught in a war and grabs an AK47 off a soldier you hit with a wrench. So the major gripe of other reviewers, that your shooting is inaccurrate, makes perfect sense now doesn't it?

This game is an excellent squad-based tactical combat game. Yes you need to shoot, but you also need to think. There is almost always an indirect route to every objective that will save your life and the lives of your recruits. That makes this game a great blend of action, small scale strategy, and stealth too.

The AI for your recruits is terrific and they will duck when they see you duck, grab cover when an enemy opens fire, and shoot back to the best of their ability (remember, they're just average joes who found a gun too!) At lower difficulty levels the enemy troops use a dumbed down version of this same AI.

This game manages to create the realistic panic and frenetic activity of a battlefield as seen in films like Black Hawk Down, but in a middle ground. Medic packs heal gunshots instantly, but no one, not even the hero, is Rambo.

A decent value. Solid, if lackluster.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: May 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

(7.3 out of 10).

Not the best, not the worst.

Don't get me wrong, Freedom Fighters is a playable, somewhat enjoyable game. But ranking it with the likes of Mafia and Grand Theft Auto is misguided.

GAMEPLAY: 7

Not having played a squad-action based game before, I have not experienced the frustration of squad based AI in the past. Having squad AI that acts as it should isn't grounds for a great review, and it isn't as flawless as one may thing. The squad AI frequently gets bogged down in firefights when it should continue following the lead character to a better coverage situation. There are parts of levels that require you to move QUICKLY and having your squadmates stop and engage enemies every few moments quickly becomes frustrating.

That being said, the AI does work pretty well most of the time. You can plant some of your squad at strategic locations to support your efforts in scouting or in sniper removal. Having reliable AI partners that will do as they're told for the most part allows you to make thoughtful tactical decisions that help complete the game's challenging levels. Your AI comrades take appropriate cover, as do the enemies, but all too often you can take down an enemy without other opposing forces even noticing.

The save system is the game's weakest aspect. While I believe that a game that allows you to save every five seconds doesn't pose much of a challenge, this game goes too far in the other direction. You can only save your game progress one you complete a sub-level's objectives. You can quick-save at any manhole, but the quick-saves are lost if you have to quit the game. With the levels being as challenging and long as they are, this requires possible hours of gameplay before reaching a true save point. Limiting the number of saves per level, as in the Hitman series, is a much better system.

The in-game maps are completely useless. They are confusing at best; don't help you determine where you precisely are or where you need to go; and don't contribute to the gameplay whatsoever. The character briefings in the rebel base are equally useless. What little information you do get is impossible to decode on the EGA-quality maps supplied.

The controls are responsive and intuitive. Commanding your other team members is easy and well thought out. Using fixed-position weaponry is likewise as easy.

GRAPHICS: 6

The graphics are the weakest part of the game. The textures are pretty bland and repetitive. Every building looks washed out. The supposed snazzy-looking level of neon signs looks more like a reject from Smash TV. The character models all pretty much look the same. The enemies you face are cookie-cutter repeats of all the other cannon fodder you'll face in the game. The ridiculously large crosshair is distracting and cannot be changed. The game looks like it was directly ported from a console and does not take advantage of the PC's graphic superiority. Gunfire resembles laserbeams and the introduction looks like it's from games several years old.

There is no real reason why this game requires polygonal character models since sprites would have worked fine for the level of detail, animation, and realism offered in Freedom Fighters.

SOUND: 8

The music is appropriate and the sound effects pretty good. The game doesn't seem to take advantage of EAX capabilities as other shooters do. No matter what direction you face, the sound comes from directly in front of you.

Although the voice acting is laughable and all the weapons pretty much sound the same, other sounds are well done and not out of place. The enemies you face shout at you in Russian, and the soundtrack changes to match the action you're experiencing.

VALUE: 9

The best part of Freedom Fighters is that it is a solid--if lackluster-game that can currently be found for $20. If you are a fan of shooters and are looking for a bargain, you could do a lot worse than Freedom Fighters.

TILT: 7

This is an average game. The squad-level actions by the AI may be the best to date, but this is no real reason to stand up and applaud. The graphics are marginal, the save system stupid, the character models repetitive, and the best part of the game is its low price. That being said, it is a fun diversion if you can overlook the difficulties. This isn't a classic, certainly not in the league of 2002's Mafia, and has been rated way too high by other reviewers. I wouldn't say to avoid it, and I wouldn't recommend it. That's a solid "C" in my book, and worth my final rating of 7.3.

Excellent- get ready for Freedom Fighters 2

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Piicked this one up from the garbage bin because of the low price and interesting background story. I expected it to be one of those "Beat in half an hour and then throw away" games but instead I was completely blown away by it.

From the perfect music, that changes depending on what you are doing (Sneaking, full scale attack, etc) to the way the player can choose how to reach an objective (Full scale assault, or careful planning- if the base is too well defended, you can go to another area an blow up their helipad and bridges to make sure that they don't recieve reinforcements during your attack).

This game is completely different from what you have out there. Instead of the usual "walk down a narrow tunnel shooting dumb enemies" kind of gameplay, you can actually make choices, decided how to carry out your assault, choose the route you wanna take, and give orders to your teammates.

Sure, as the review under this one says, several things could be improved- the save system, for one- I hate restarting levels when I get killed. Graphics could be better too, among other things.

Fortunately, I found out that the makers of this game begun work on Freedom Fighters 2 around last January. Get ready for Freedom Fighters 2!

Great RPG - new patch for Windows XP SP2 available

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: July 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

As a previous reviewer stated, this is a great role playing game that really takes advantage of the unique powers of comic book super heroes. It's a fun, fresh take on RPG's. But as another reviewer also stated, there is a problem running this game with Windows XP service pack 2. Fortunately, there is a beta patch available that seems to fix this problem. I've downloaded the patch and Freedom Force now seems to run fine. Here's the info on the patch (it's available from the freedom force web site at www.freedomfans.com):

New Freedom Force patch available now: fixes Windows XP SP2 problem, and more!
(...)
Irrational Games is pleased to announce the release of the Freedom Force version 1.3 Patch! You can download the patch from us.

This patch is intended for use by users of the US or European version 1.0 or higher of Freedom Force. It includes all fixes made in previous patches 1.1 and 1.2 and can be installed on an unpatched installation of the game or over an already patched version.

Freedom Force version 1.3 fixes a problem where the game would not run successfully under Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Please note that this patch is released "as is" and no representation is made about its fitness for any specific purpose. THIS IS A BETA PATCH so use at your own risk.

Find the Reds!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: November 18, 2003
Author: Amazon User

There are a few complaints about this game, but you'll notice that everyone is rating it 4 stars or better. I have played ever first person shooter game there is. Most recently Call of Duty, MOHAA and this one. This may not be the best first person shooter ever, but it is definately worth a try. You'll hear other reviewers complain about poor accuracy with the weapons, not much ammo laying around and sometimes stupid AI party members, but thats what makes this game good. Its not just another Quake where you get to blow stuff up and shoot everyone on the way. You have to think, plan, take obstacles one at a time and sneak up on the enemy.

All in all, the storyline is kind of boring and I didn't really pay much attention to it, but thats only because I wanted to start the next mission and kill some commies.

On the downside, some enemies take a lot of hits before dying, even with good aiming. The bad accuracy of the AK47 and such just make the game harder, by not allowing you to kill everyone from down the street. Deal with it!!

a very good game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: June 22, 2004
Author: Amazon User

PC version doesn't support joypad (at least i couldn't find any way to do it), but once I get used to the control, I think it works very well. I especially like the story and the overall presentation, the graphics and music are really good. The missions are challenging, but like all games, you can always find ways to beat the AI.

some things I don't like:
1. game is a bit short, which can be a good thing, because:
2. game got kinda repetitive toward the end, just throw more enermy at you.
3. somewhat limited weapon selection

Completely WOW

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: October 21, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have been playing games all my life and this is one of the best games I have played. I had been following the production of the game and I was not disappointed about the wait. The story, the action and the music all blend together wonderfully. I just finished the game and you are completely glued and addicted to it until the end. One of the things I loved the most was the feeling of attachment and responsibility to my teammates that were fighting along with me and keeping them healthy. An instant classic.

As good as any hyped up game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 1 / 2
Date: October 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This is what a pc game should be. It looks great, plays great, and the story is emmersive, and addictive. The really nice part about this is game is it looks just as good as any game out there with ridiculous requirements, and actually has very low requirements itself, reletively speaking. Some of the new games out there have extreme requirements, and the only thing about them that is different is the amount of cash you put into your system. The game is different from most shooters. The levels are intereconnected, and you can go back and forth from one to the other to complete specific tasks needed to complete others. I found the game to be challenging, and creative. A lot of the time you get the feeling you're actually there, fighting the commies. It involves a lot more planning, and strategy, then most shooters. As far as negatives go, the save system could use some improvement, but its not that bad. If you exit the game, you lose your quick save, this is a ptoblem. This game is definitley awesome, and as good as any hyped up shooter out there.

Doesn't work with Windows XP Service pack 2!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 16
Date: December 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Do not buy this game if you have XP service pack 2 installed, It will not run, and the developer has no plans to fix it.

Beware

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: October 12, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Yes, I started off enjoying this game.

Unfortunately, there is no save game option except on manhole covers, so unless after an hour of play you run around back and forth to save on a manhole cover, you have to start again.

Graphics, smooth and beautiful except for the occasional hiccup which stays on your screen and pushing esc is a temp fix.

But after a while this game just gets mundane, I think to myself what is the point of this game?

If you like jumping over barrels then you will really like this game, if you want a little bit more then buy something else.

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