From: Electronic Arts Average Rating: Binding: CD-ROM ESRB Age Rating: Teen Format: CD-ROM Label: Electronic Arts Model: 014633143935 Platform: Windows XP Release Date: March 26, 2002
Features:
Start out with a comic-book style origin story that introduces you to Freedom Force, the superhero team you'll control
Use your group's super-powers to make your way in a fully interactive 3D New York -- you can rip out streetlights, throw cars and demolish buildings
Zoom in & out, control camera angle, and battle thugs and aliens
Earn prestige points by saving people, but be careful you don't lose them by causing damage -- the more prestige points you have the better your reputation is
Unlock other secret origins and secrets of Freedom Force
Product Description: Freedom Force puts you into your favorite comic-book adventures as you lead a of team of superheroes in their missions across New York City! Exciting multiplayer games that takes you into the superhero thrills you loved as a kid!
Amazon.com Review: Freedom Force is a real-time-strategy role-playing game that lets you guide several heroes through a series of linear missions. The game takes place in the '60s and looks, sounds, and acts like a vintage Stan Lee/Jack Kirby collaboration. Because Irrational Games didn't secure a big-name license (such as Marvel or DC), the game uses original characters, but they've cleverly packed in a character generator, and the Net is rife with fan sites offering, gratis, just about any hero you can think of: the Hulk, Spidey, Batman, and even Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons! You can use your own heroes in multiplayer mode or in the game itself by buying them with your Prestige Points (more on this below).
Starting off as star-spangled spreader of justice Minute Man, you'll begin your quest to thwart the powers of evil. Along the way you'll meet the alien Mentor, the fiery Latino El Diablo, the melancholy Man-Bot, a speedster named Bullet, and many more. Characters have statistics like any RPG and they gain experience as a team. Those on a mission gain the full value, and those back at Freedom Base gain only a fraction. When they "level up" you can buy new powers for them. Saving lives and solving missions gives you Prestige Points, which is a measure of how the citizens feel about your team. PP's let you buy new characters in the game.
The camera system is fluid and intuitive. You can spin around the heroes, zoom in and out, and even set the camera to follow them cinematically. The interface is also simple to use. Click on the character portrait, choose an attack, and click on the bad guy. Things get hectic in battle but you can pause the action with the space bar. You can also choose a slow-motion option, making it much easier to keep up with the action. The graphics are bright and vibrant and the audio is fantastic.
Freedom Force is a great tactical-strategy game on top of being a terrific tribute to the heroes of the comics' vaunted Silver Age. This is a game that's so good, you might want to buy two and keep one safe in a Mylar plastic bag. 'Nuff said. --Bob Andrews
Pros:
Pays loving tribute to the subject matter
The game behind the tribute is likewise worthy
Cons:
The missions are too linear to be replayable
Amazon.com Product Description: From a distant corner of the galaxy, the sinister plans of an alien race threaten Earth. Mankind's only hope rests in the world's most powerful superheroes--Freedom Force. Take control of a squad of comic-book heroes, each with unique powers including flight, energy beams, and super strength. Then duke it out with the forces of evil through the fully interactive and destructible streets of 1960s New York. Pick up and throw cars and tear down entire buildings on top of evildoers (just be sure to protect the innocent). Build up the powers of your heroes using a detailed role-playing system, and recruit new heroes as you complete successful missions. You can even create your own superhero team and battle your best friend/archnemesis online. Comic-book heroes come to life in the first action-packed tactical RPG for the PC. Are you hero enough?
I absolutely hated this game I know a lot of people loved this game, but I despised it. I bought it when it first came out, played it about a third of the way, put it away when I got stuck, and just now installed it again. Now I remember how much I hated it in the first place. The controls are just awful. You spend more time pausing the game than doing anything else because you cannot stack commands. The reaction time of some of the characters like Diablo are so ridiculously slow, it takes up to 2 full seconds before he moves after you click on him. By that time he takes a bullet to the face and dies.
And the heroes are saddled with such horrible aim, yet when you're running around like crazy somehow the criminals tag you with a bullet when you're on the move.
I'm going to pour gasoline on my copy and burn it.
a truly terrible game... i saw the reviews and figured it was a can't miss game. oops. luckily i was able to unload it on e^ay. horrible in all aspects.
tarty farty arty boy i wish i was youre biggest fan but i must be the 2 i love the graphics and the gameplay all the controls voices and villians and most of all the heros
DO NOT BUY IF HAVE XP WITH SERVICE PACK 2 If you have Windows XP with Service Pack 2, this game will not work on your computer. In August, the makers had promised to make a patch when they had time. It is now February.
Excellent tactical RPG ** Update: the SP2 patch is out, as promised. It is at http://www.freedomfans.com/news.php?id=37 **
Other reviews here and in numerous gamezines cover the game itself well, but it should be noted that the review posted by "Your average computer geek" is factually incorrect. The developer is working to fix the SP2 problem. According to the developer (which has been active in supporting the game since its release):
Freedom Force and Windows XP Service Pack 2
There is a known compatibility issue with Freedom Force and the new Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2. We are working on a solution and will post it here. We thank you for your patience.
Unofficially, the developer notes that work on the fix has been slowed by the scramble to get other new games ready for publication, but March is a likely release date.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Not Available Comics
Trevor
