role-playing

I have played pen and paper Superhero role playing games (Mainly the excellent HERO system game Champions) for over 15 years. During that time many, many companies have announced Superhero RPG's for the computer, but all have mysteriously dissappeared prior to being released. Well, the wait is over. It's finally here! Freedom Force is a great game and very well done. The graphics and feel of the game are outstanding. However, it's definatley not perfect.

It's way to short. I finished the whole game in about 20 hours. That's not a lot of time for an RPG, and as stated in the editorial review above, the game is extremley linear. Replay value is extermely limited. And you wont get to add your own heroes (ones you create) until around the 4th or 5th mission. Also, homemade heroes can unbalance the game bigtime. My homemade character could strole through 90% of the badguys with no help from the rest of the team. I would leave the team in a safe spot (especially when a certain member of the team had to survive to complete a scenario), beat up the bad guys (all of them) then bring the team in to accomplish any non combat tasks that needed doing.

Then their is the multiplayer mode. The only multiplayer mode availible is fighting your heroes against other peoples heroes. Nothing co-operative at all. No multiplayer senarios (which would have been great fun). The worst part about multiplayer is, it's over in less then 5 minutes every time.

This game needs a senario editor. A random senario editor would be great, especially if it could be worked into the overall campaign. Something to keep players on their toes and add to the replay value.

You also can not go inside buildings. Which is okay, but it would have been fun to stop the bank job inside of the bank. Instead of waiting at the door and punching each bad guy as they came out one at a time.

Anyway, to sum up my feelings, it's definatley a very good game, and I am happy I bought it, but it could have been great. One last thought, don't waste your money on the hint book. I didn't need one, and the game is so linear that I can not imagine anyone else needing it either.

FREEDOM FORCE hands down is one of the most wonderful games ever to hit the shelves. Combining the action and over-the-top adventure of the comic book with real-time strategy gameplay as well as an RPG, this PC game transports the player to another world and another time. Good and evil are painted in black and white. Nefarious villains abound in Patriot City, given amazing powers by the arrival of Energy X. However, as with any true comicbook plot, the same mysterious power that creates supervillains also creates and calls forth the superheroes that challenge those villains.

Crafted by Irrational Games, FREEDOM FORCE is the first true RPG that features superheroes and dastardly villains (complete with ringing challenges, threats, and pundits). Over the years, gamers have been promised such a venue but no one has ever been able to deliver. (Maybe the work of some unknown super-villain!?) Irrational Games also created the award-winning System Shock 2, the science-fiction based RPG, and the up-coming horror RPG, The Lost. All of the company's work so far has been in the RPG PC field, but efforts are being made to shift over into console gaming. Irrational Games has brought together creative talent that have been responsible for games such as: Thief: the Dark Project, Ultima Underworld, and System Shock.

One of the most appealing aspects of FREEDOM FORCE is the absolute ease of entering the gameplay. Even players unseasoned in the ways of RPGs and tactical strategy games can step into the world of Patriot City and begin battling supervillains and common crooks. Tips range throughout the early levels, allowing those new to the game playing system to learn how to use their powers as well as the best strategies to use against enemies. Aside from the gameplay, the sheer world of superheroes, super-villains, and Patriot City comes to life in the same bright colors of a comicbook. Minute Man's heroic speeches, Mentor's alien origin, and the pathos of Man-Bot--trapped in an armored shell--show influences from Jack Kirby and Stan Lee's creations at Marvel Comics. The cut-scenes that show those origins, as well as additional story materials, are absolutely the bomb. Maybe the gamer has just blasted, battled, and broken their way through enemy ranks, but the sense of wonder in this story-telling format is mesmerizing. The gamer feels as though he or she has somehow stepped into the all-in-color-for-a-dime pages of the traditional superhero comicbook. Maybe the gamer can lose the battles, but he or she knows in the end that victory will go to the hero if the proper strategies, powers, and teamwork are utilized. To add to the whole experience, a character-generator is built into the game, and downloading from various websites already in existence (or a little creative tinkering), can bring any hero a player has seen in heroic media or can imagine into his or her campaign as a force for good.

The FREEDOM FORCE package is put together extremely well, and there are a couple of things that would have been nice to see. 1) a full-color map of Patriot City and the surrounding environs just for coolness effect. 2) the ability to switch off the tips when starting a new campaign because they can be distracting. 3) secondary prestige points on ALL missions, which would have only necessitated a little tweaking.

Overall, FREEDOM FORCE is an excellent addition to any gamer's collection, or for the comic fan that wants to play in the world that he or she has only dreamed about. Needing a gift for the young, budding superhero hanging upside down in the closet at home? FREEDOM FORCE's gameplay system can easily be learned by even the little guys, although some of the solutions may need parental involvement. But hey, every hero needs a sidekick even if it is Mom or Dad. So grab a towel and knot it around your neck, then sit down to discover what superpowers you've gotten from Energy X and go out to battle Evil. The neighbors will never know, because you have a Secret Identity.

The offline, single-player mode was okay I guess -- not the best story, but excellent cut-scenes, recognizeable characters, and pretty even-handed challenges.

Once that was over, I tried the online play, and that was just TERRIBLE.

What I was hoping for: an online game where users would model their characters perhaps after popular comic book characters like Hulk, Spider-Man, Captain America, etc. and battle it out. As I recall I made myself a Hulk character to start out with -- impossibly strong, but also kind of slow.

Little did I realize that EVERYBODY online opts instead to use over-powered characters. If your character can't fly at incredible speeds and fire blasts that will instantly kill anyone, then forget about it. You can try to start a game up that limits the powers a character can have (by limiting the number of "points" the user can put towards the character), but nobody will play with you. They're all busy seeing who can press the "instant destruction ray" button faster. What fun.