User Rating: 7.3 | Freedom Fighters PC
By fett35 | Review Date:
9.3? Not by a long shot. 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, the sounds are well done and not out of place. The enemies you face shout at you in Russian, and the soundtrack changes to 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 last year’s Mafia, and has been rated way too high by Gamespot. 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.

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