Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Freedom Fighters

Written by Adam Woolcott on July 07, 2003

First Impressions: Only Prince has gone through so many name changes!

The Cold War was a rather scary period in American history. The Red Scare of the USSR led to air raid drills, a huge anti-Communism stance, and a general fear of being nuked into the next planetary surface. Of course, nothing came out of it and the USSR and the Communist party disappeared. However, what if? What if the Cold War went the other way, and the USSR did beat America?

With Freedom Fighters, you can find out. IO Interactive, the brains behind the Hitman series, is behind one of the ultimate Уwhat if?Ф projects here, and has decided to take history into their own hands, and mix things up a bit to create an interesting premise for a tactical action game that looks very promising. With the money of publisher Electronic Arts funding IO's project, Freedom Fighters has the funds to live up to the promising premise, and not be another Уwhat if?Ф game that failed to get the basics down for an exceptional game. By September 22 when the game hits store shelves, we'll know for sure.

If you've by chance been following Freedom Fighters, you might remember the game by two different name Ц Freedom: Soldiers of Liberty and Freedom: Battle for Liberty Island. The team at IO and EA claims that it was changed to remove any thought that the game revolved around Ellis Island or the Statue of Liberty; though the cynic in me says they did this because the name was too close to a particular УLiberty City.Ф Even though now the game title has an awfully familiar ring to Sons of Liberty. Ah well. Anyway, Freedom Fighters actually suits the game best, as it accurately describes the mayhem channeled through the game.

The premise of the game is simple: you play an everyday guy -- a plumber -- out looking for his brother who's been kidnapped, probably by the Russians. See, the USSR has conquered a great many countries, and now has taken control of New York City, en route to dominating the entire United States. What begins as a simple rescue mission turns into a full-on resistance against the Russians, and it's your job to use brains and brawn to massacre the Red Scare and bring New York City back under American law.

Freedom Fighters is a solo player, third person action game Ц though it does resemble Microsoft's Brute Force in many ways. See, the levels usually are incredibly challenging, and if one man were to enter a Russian stronghold, they'd be dinner for something before they knew what hit Сem. As such, you need to recruit team members to help you. They're simple NPC's that are pretty much Disposable Heroes, but they'll provide enough firepower to get you through the levels.

There's a lot of tactical action here, knowing when to storm in and when to tell your teammates to do something. You and your buddies will take on 19 different, gigantic levels that contain one major goalЕand that's to drive away the Russians and regain control of a particular sector. This is why you need NPC's. While you're running around doing your thing, the NPC teammates are out kicking ass themselves, even if most of them will expire in the fight. With 19 levels, Freedom Fighters appears to be a large, lengthy game that will command plenty of hours behind your PlayStation 2 for maximum enjoyment.

Freedom seems to be slightly based on the Hitman 2 graphics engine, and with that in mind the game already looks good. The portrayal of a run-down, demolished New York City is perfectly demonstrated in the game -- with crumbling buildings, messy, cluttered streets, and decaying landmarks. Characters look strong, and should have some good fightin' animations to go along with them. Other effects like fire and water demonstrate realness too as we near latter stages of development. If all goes well, IO and EA will have yet another formidable PlayStation 2 game for this up and coming busy holiday season.