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One of the Best Games of 2003!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 20 / 21
Date: March 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

There are few games that I'd use the term "great" while describing them. Freedom Fighters is such a game. Though released to critical acclaim in the fall of 2003, the game became a "sleeper" with higher profile titles being released around the same time. That critical acclaim was well deserved, because this is one game that has managed to surpass every one of my expectations.

Freedom Fighters takes place in what is described as an "alternate reality". In this timeline, the Soviet Union was the first to develop the Atom Bomb and bring and end to World War II. The game is prefaced by a brief rundown of events leading up to the present day. When the game begins, you find the game's hero, a New York plumber by the name of Chris Stone, is going about his daily route. When he and his brother stop to fix a clogged sink of a prominent anti-Soviet activist, he finds himself smack in the middle of the Red Army invasion. He's then thrust into the role of guerilla fighter.

The gameplay is what makes Freedom Fighters such an outstanding game. The game is a third person shooter. As you progress in the game and accomplish certain objectives, you gain "Charisma Points" which elevates your status eventually to where you can command fellow soldiers. You can recruit and command up to twelve freedom fighters with a very basic command interface, using the controller buttons, that works surprisingly well. Your troops will take cover and fight independantly when they need to, so you won't have to worry about them getting picked off one by one. The enemy A.I. is also very sophisticated. The Red Army will fight just as fiercely as your troops and will often try to pull and "end around", trying to sneak up on you and take you by surprise. The only thing that I didn't like about the controls was the precise aiming. It tended to be a bit of a pain to hold down the L3 button. The gameplay is structured so that whatever you accomplish in one mission ultimately affects another. For instance, if you blow up a helipad there will be no attack helicopters in another level. There is also an off-line multiplayer mode, which players engage in split screen action and co-op mode.

The graphics on this game are excellent, while other games may boast more photo realistic character models, the emphasis here placed on making the player feel like he was actually fighting on the streets of New York. Streets, street lights, snow, and even elevated train platforms have a very "New York" feel to them. One of the more intersting graphical features is what's called "rag doll" physics. When a parked car explodes it sends whoever is standing next to it flying into the air. Which makes for some pretty cool visuals. The sounds are also exceptional. Soldiers speak Russian, explosions rock the dual shock controller, tanks rumble through the streets. This game sounds as great as it looks and plays.

The story is moved along through the use of fake newscasts from the Soviet Armed Forces Network. This is a technique that was used in another game, Splinter Cell, earlier in 2003. But here the newscasts do a much better job at moving the story along. The obvious difference is that in Splinter Cell, the hero was operation covertly, but the newscasts did little to shed any light on the story and often felt like they were not interwoven into the fabric of the game. Here the newsbroadcasts feel like they are part of the game and help to immerse you further into the game.

Freedom Fighters is without a doubt one of the best games of 2003. If you're not playing it, you're really missing out on one of those really special games that makes you glad you own a Playstation 2. I HIGHLY recomend this game!

Awesome game! Equal to the Medal of Honor series!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 19
Date: November 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

At first I was skeptical of this game, but I decided to pick it up based on some things I'd heard about it from other people who'd played it. I'm really glad I did! I just bought it a couple days ago and played it for 10 hrs. straight yesterday, it's that addictive!
The story line is great, in fact even though the Soviet Union hasn't existed since 1990-91 and hasn't been a military threat to the US for decades, this story line is carried so well in the game it's downright believable sometimes.
The graphics are simply awesome. Everything in every level looks very real, including the "cut" video scenes at the end of every level. The two main characters, Chris (who's the guy you play as in single player mode) and his brother are designed to look as what Mario and Luigi would look like if they were real people instead of cartoonish characters. The only drawback to the graphics I've seen so far is that while there's several different levels dependent on what you've done before in the game, the levels take place in different areas of the same places. There's two levels (that I've seen so far) on the docks area. Rather than this being IO/EA Games being cheap on the design, I think it's just because the whole story line takes place in NY City, so the designers are pretty much stuck with certain areas of NY for any levels that take place at the docks.
There's a multitude of weapons to use in the game, you choose which weapon you wish to use because you're not only able to pick up additional ammunition but on occasion drop the current weapon you have and pick up the weapon of somebody you or your team has just killed. This is especially useful in tougher levels where finding ammunition isn't as easy.
The team aspect of a single player mission is very SOCOM like. You're the team leader and can issue orders to your fighters. One additional fun thing is you've got to recruit fighters to join your anti-Soviet fight. If you've got enough "charisma" which you earn by freeing POWs, healing civilian wounded and other (mostly) non-killing things during the game, people will join your cause. If you don't, people will refuse your recruitment. It also seems that the designers have made each CPU character you can recruit have different fighting abilities. So far, I've had teams of recruited fighters that seemed to fight and follow orders better than others.
Even on the easiest setting, the AI does present a challenge in most levels, they don't just walk in blindly to your fire and almost willingly get killed. There are also soldiers with full body armor on in the game in certain places. These guys take a lot of strategy and smarts to deal with because unless you shoot them in the face, everything else just bounces off. It also even takes multiple grenades or molitovs to kill the guy. I think it's great because it requires you to use stealth sneaking as well as use your weapons wisely.
I also think as a bonus for players who don't play this type of game very much the levels on the easiest setting aren't TOO difficult and shouldn't cause a player to give up in frustration after just a couple levels.
I really hope this isn't just a one-time game from IO/EA Games. This game I think is of such good quality that it's worthy of a series of games that come out yearly, just like the Medal of Honor series. Perhaps the next game could be about terrorism in NYC and not the Soviets.

This is a classic, must-own for the PS2.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: October 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This one is a dark horse surprise. I had not heard much about this game until the day it came out and received some impressive ratings. So I picked it up on a whim, and I cannot put it down.

The controls take a little while to get used to, much like GTA, but once you do its fine. The graphics are ok, not great. But the game is fun enough to overtake that. It is very difficult in spots, although a different strategy or route is usually available to avoid the difficult areas. Course, I usually don't figure that out until I've spent an hour trying to make it through an area. The story has a nice mix of corniness and dark ambience. It like the cut-scene crew wasn't really in tune with the gameplay developers.

My one knock on the team control is that it is very difficult to assign any one particular team member to one location. Because they all carry different guns, sometimes you want the guy with the AK to guard a spot. That is difficult to do. However, it never was much of a problem.

The team interaction is nearly flawless. Sometimes the A.I. is too aggressive and team members will run out and get shot up before you are ready to attack, but overall it is well done. That's good because your team does the vast majority of the fighting late in the game.

The only bad thing is I find myself AT WORK thinking about this game or planning strategies to move past a level or obstacle. Not good for concentration.

A PERFECT GEM

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: October 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

It's seems that nowadays some games are made sloppy or just plain rushed to meet the deadline. Thank god for such talented developers like lo interactive. as you can see they've made a fanstactic job with hitman 2, and now freedom fighters. This game is hard, and i mean hard. but, well worth spending $50 to kick to commie ass right in the comfort of your living room. This game is so well balanced with action, stealth, alternate routes, graphics and sound. The "squad based" gimmick kinda scared me a little bit, due to some other games with the same gimmick, that were very unresponsive. after a few levels(and a few charisma level up's) I started sending my troops out to defend the north and scoutings troops to the west. MY GOD!!!!! this "recruit and command" system actually works, works very well. after seing how my troops responded to my commands. I figured out, this is not a one man army!. You'll need to recruit members and use them to your advantage. This game has everything for the hard core war gamer. Only have one problem. I, like other gamers out there, like my games realistic. This games has no blood, in my opinion, the only draw back. Aside from my little issue, this game kicks serious ass, I'm just hoping lo interactive makes a sequel to this gem.

One Of The Best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: November 12, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is absolutly incredible! I just love it. The whole story of underground (literally, your base is in the sewers) guerilla fighting is a premise for a great story line. The controls are very good and they are easy to get used to. You can lead up to twelve other "Freedom Fighters" into battle with 3 simple commands: attack/scout, defend, and fall back. I like the simplicity of it, unlike in Conflict: Desert Storm, which I found confusing. The weapons are very realistic. Unlike the Bond games from N64, where you can carry pretty much 20 guns, in this you can only hold one rifle and one pistol. Also, you really have to watch your ammo, because again, they don't give you much. My one complaint is that the game is too short. I hope they make a second one.

The Platinum Stanard of SIMPLICITY and gameplay

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: August 24, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Game developers need to look at this game very closely. This game is simplicity at its finest. Everything about it is simple...WHICH IS WHY IT IS PERFECT!!

I must say that this game wasn't truly fun in a traditional sense. But if you have a political keenness, that doesn't matter.

The story begins at the early years of the 21st century (2002 or 2003 I think). Chris Stone, a plumber and the hero of the story, is working on a job with his brother at a news anchor's house when.. DUN DUN DUN! The Russians kick in the door searching for her. The Russians have invaded US soil and are taking over!

So why in the world are the Russians holding up the Americans? This game actually takes place in an alternate universe. What would have happened back during WWII if the USSR had developed the first nuclear bomb? The game answers that for you in the intro. 1945, the USSR drops the world's first A-Bomb on Berlin, ending the war and giving Communism the upper hand in Europe. As the years pass, Communism takes over Europe, and I think in the `70s England is the last European nation to join. The US is one of the final Capitalist nations left.

The Communists believe that the US is oppressing its poor people and other folks that live within the borders. So, they decided to spread their doctrine of FREEDOM to the land of the OPPRESSED. Sounds a little like present day politics, doesn't it? By way of military might, the USSR forcibly occupies the United States. But your man, Chris Stone, has other plans. As Chris, you play as an insurgent....I mean...FREEDOM FIGHTER! You and your ragtag gang of ticked-off Americans will shoot your way to the heart of the Communist regime in order to retake New York.

That's the story. So how's the game?
It's simple. So simple. In fact, the auto aim system is perfect. Yes, it auto aims for you. Most shooters can be determined based on how well you aim. It is clear that the developers wanted players to experience other aspects of the game.

Charisma - As you complete your tasks, you will gain Charisma points. Also, if you heal the wounded, the same happens. When you gain about 50 points, you'll get enough charisma to recruit people. The more charisma, the more allies. I think that by the end of the game I had about 11 or 12 slots.

Squad based action - Squad control is perfect. You can deliver 4 commands by using the X, Triangle, Circle, and Square keys, all of which are 100% useful.

AI Brains - Your allies are incredibly smart and powerful. They know full well how to storm a room and clean up or charge a field while you provide cover fire from a perched machine gun.

Auto aim - This feature is actually very nice. Often times you will see someone and start firing, but it will actually be your ally. Since auto aim does not lock you onto your allies, chances are you probably didn't hit the person.

Difficulty - Very easy. But this doesn't detract from the experience either.

Graphics - This is a 2003 game. Therefore it suffers from 2003 PS2 graphics flaws. For those of us who have been spoiled by the near-movie quality of graphics in the more recent 2005 games, then maybe this may cause some trouble, But once you get over this, the game is superb.

The Music - IS AMAZING!!! It is desperate, but not hopeless. It effectively generates the "keep on fighting" feeling that one needs in any game about a revolution.

The Enemies - You will know when you've made a wrong turn. The enemies aren't impossible, however if you miss a step, they will kill you very fast. But it keeps the order in the story.

Saving - The Autosave system is very nice. It does all the saving for you, and it can never hurt your progress. It's nice because you will never forget to save. Also, you can quicksave at each manhole.

Bottom line: The game is excellent. I beat it in 4 hours...which is less time than I spent on Zone of the Enders. I was very surprised. But it was among the greatest four hours of non-Japanese gaming that I have done in a very long time. Don't go comparing this game to Mercenaries because they are not the same. Mercenaries is like a movie, but Freedom Fighters is way deeper. Really think about it what's going on today when you are playing this game. You will never forget playing it.

Happy gaming!

You should really check this game out. It is one for the keeping. It has replay value. And even if you only play it once, for the price tag you might as well just buy it and share it. Everyone will love it.

The most fun you'll ever have shooting stuff.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 29, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Who did we fear in the 50's? Who has a vast arsenal of nukes? Who are stereotyped as an altogether ruthless and bloodthirsty people? That's right: the Soviet Union. Now, most of these stereotypes are completely exaggerated and hold almost no shred of truth. But does that stop IO Interactive from making a game about them? Hell no. Freedom Fighters asks another one of those classic "what if" questions. What if the USSR won the cold war? What would happen to the world? Well, according to the developers of Freedom Fighters, they would slowly conquer most of the eastern hemisphere and then invade the US in an attempt to overthrow the last country that holds out against them. This is where Freedom Fighters begins. You play as a plumber who becomes an urban guerilla soldier fighting the Soviets. Yeah, I'm being serious. Though it may sound a bit out there, this is actually an incredible game, even if it is politically incorrect. You start off with a wimpy little pistol, but can soon obtain weapons such as shotguns, assault rifles, and even rpg's. You can pick these up wherever you find them during gameplay, allowing you to chose the best weapon for whatever job you have to accomplish. One of the features that makes this game so much fun is the ability to control a squad of up to 12 ragtag soldiers to do your dirty work for you. You can order them to attack, defend, or follow you like bodyguards. Yes, they can die, but you can heal them so they can rejoin the battle. If you get really good ordering your men, you can blow through an entire level without ever firing a shot. The third-person view gives you an excellent perspective of your environment, and the auto-target feature really helps with your shooting. After finishing the game, you have the freedom to replay any level in the game, including one bonus level on Liberty Island. This gives the game a great replay value, ensuring that this game will keep you entertained for months, if not years. Buy this game, you won't regret it.

The invasion has begun!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: October 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Freedom Fighters is a surprise hit of the fall. Freedom Fighters is one of the best games I own, and one of the most interesting. The concept of the game sounds pretty stupid, but it is actually probably the best concept a game could have. The whole idea of the game is the Soviet Union won the Cold War and now in the year 2001 the Soviets take over New York. You play as a character named Christopher Stone. He is a normal New Yorker making a living as a plumber. One day on the job all hell breaks loose when the Commies suddenly appear in NY and start taking over. As the game progresses, Chris goes from a standard blue-collar worker to leader of the resistance known as Freedom Fighters. FF combines a lot of good ideas in one game. The game is a mixture of action, stealth, turn-based strategy, and a little bit of problem solving. In order to continue in the game, you have to complete missions and errands for the resistance, like blowing up Soviet buildings, freeing prisoners, transporting supplies, and rescuing other freedom fighters. Fear not though, because you will have help. Almost any freedom fighter can be recruited to follow you; all you have to do is walk up to them and hit X. In order to recruit more people, your Charisma points have to be up. What that means is you have to do good deeds to get more fighters; you can have up to 12. You can order your recruits to do almost anything, like defend an area, follow you, or attack a certain enemy. The Multiplayer for FF is pretty good but it isn't the best. Throughout the game you will be able to use a fairly good variety of weapons like a pistol, a shotgun, an Assault rifle, a sniper rifle, and the resistance loving Molotov cocktail. The graphics for FF are very good, especially the environment. The controls for FF are easy to learn and don't give you any problem. Freedom Fighters does have a small number of flaws though. One, the camera angle can get you screwed when you are in close quarters, Two, why does it take 10 assault rifle shots to kill the enemy, and why does it tend to take 2 shots in the head to kill them? Three, the game can get fairly hard and occasionally will get you frustrated. In the end, though, Freedom Fighters is a great game, and no true PS2 gamer should miss out on this game.

Incredibly Fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: November 26, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've had a great time playing this game. The "alternative universe" idea of the game is very nice. Where you are in the early 21st centurary, and Russia is the super-power of the world. They come to take over the US, and being the American you are, you say "No way am I gonna let those commie Russians take over America". You fight through many missions to destroy the Russians. This game is very simple, and very fun. I also like where you can recruit fighters to join your force. Different people that you recruit have different guns, which means they fight a bit differently. Strangly the team AI on this game is better than most games that come out now. If you tell someone to hold their position, they will stop, duck behind a wall, and pop up, fire a few rounds, and go back down. Very fast paced, and also has very good cut-scenes that acutually immerse you into the feeling that you are fighting for freedom.

One of the Most Addictive Games on PS2

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: October 06, 2003
Author: Amazon User

First i have to indicate that i haven't played the Full game yet , i have only played the Demo and have read many official and non official reviews for this game .

The story is about the Alter story of our Recent History , the Russians have bombed their first Nuke Bomb on berlin at 1945 and won the war , and not only this but all Europe has become their Property , and now the US is the only country that is still not under the Control of the Communies .

You play as Chris Stone , an ordinary guy who works as a plumber , one day he is fixing some Customer's shower and then the invasion begins , you are instantly trhown into the living hell of modern day Manhattan with only some Plumber's tools and you are required to make your own path , after that you are trying to form the first cell of the resistance against the Russians , you wander through the city and try to recruit the ordinary citizens of the city to join your resistance group , but the task is hard at first , but as the game continues and with every mission you complete and with every operation you succeed you gain extra points of Charisma which helps you to recruit more and more fighters , in order to liberate the city from the Russians .

The gameplay is extrelmly fluid and easy , the past complications of the same genre games (Advenature/Strategy)is something out of the past , with a very easy contolable movements , the game becomes very easy to control which is something very great for this kind of games , the only control problem here is the Inventory Control which is very hard and can make you exposed to the fire during the battles while you are trying to switch the weapon .

Freedom Fighters is a very welcomed addition to the world of Gaming , and very very Addictive game which is impossible to put down , and shamely it hasn't got the Reception it deserves in the US , it really deserves more attention and more sales .

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