User Rating: 9.4 | Freedom Fighters PC
Please excuse me but I'm going to wax lyrical here for a minute. I bought three games in one go recently. Far Cry, UT 2004 and Freedom Fighters. I bought this game because, well, Gamespot gave it a good review and it only cost me $10. Of the three guess which game has me hooked? Ok, the graphics aren't exactly state-of-the-art but they are still relatively impressive, the storyline is solid, if a little corny, the sound is excellent, the control is smooth and responsive, the AI is good without being infuriating and the way you control you team is refreshingly simple. Above all though, this game is just great fun, and isn't that why we buy games? Right from the opening cinematic Freedom Fighters sucks you into a battle for life, freedom and all that other American Dream stuff. The idea of building charisma (probably respect would have been a better word) allowing you to hire new recruits who want to fight alongside you as your reputation grows is clever, it makes you feel like you are making a difference. One of the reviews here says that the gameplay is repetitive, all you have to do is blow stuff up and raise flags, but isn't that what guerilla warfare is? Fight and hide, disrupt and disappear. The save system (once you get used to it) is innovative too. You are never far from a manhole and a quick dive to the sewers saves the game. Brilliant! It maintains the illusion of being a fugitive battling the invading force. Despite what the other reviews say there is enough variation in the sub-missions to keep you interested. Prisoner breakouts, destroying bridges, disabling helicopter pads, assasinations, all the stuff real rebellions are made of. If you allow yourself to get sucked into the struggle for freedom instead of just viewing it as a game, then Freedom Fighters really will provide enough ammunition to keep you enthralled. Now for complaints. There's no multiplayer. I would kill for a co-op mode where a friend and I can take on the red menace together. It's also a little short. This battle could have gone on for years and there is plenty of scope for other missions, perhaps moving across the country to battle the soviets. All we can do is beg IO Interctive to bring out some add-ons. To sum up, this game is the most fun I've had with a PC game since Duke Nukem 3D and that's saying something. While other games may be more highbrow, more technically impressive or more detailed they are not necessarily as much simple fun as this title. My girlfriend's even hooked! That's probably the highest praise this game can get.
