| DATA | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Irrational Games |
| Genre | TRPG |
| Platform(s) |  |
| Release date | 2002-03-26 |
In the world of video games, having a good product isn't a guarantee of success. Sometimes it's like lottery. You may offer an interesting concept mixed with a good story and backed up by a decent technical aspect, but if it doesn't click with the audience, years later you'll read "it was critically acclaimed, but it ended up underperforming commercially, though it gained a cult following" in your Wikipedia article. Yeah, as if a bunch of die-hard nerd fans were gonna help you pay the bills.
Freedom Force was one of those cases. Okay, it may not have flopped miserably compared to other games (it even got a sequel), but the sales weren't exactly high, and that's a pity. Because it really deserved them. I learned about it thanks to a games magazine and decided to give it a try back in 2002. I didn't regret it.
Its concept? A team of superheroes. But this is not an action platformer with a free-roaming world, nor is it set in modern day New York. It's a hardcore RTS with a pinch of RPG, starring its unique roster of tacky-dressed people with special powers. The game is heavily influenced by the kind of comics that were published in the 60s by Marvel, with the naive morality, the clean violence and the pop art. And it completely nailed it. Some of the artwork could have been drawn by Jack Kirby himself, and the overacted dialogue is on point, very fitting.
In the fictional Patriot City, you'll slowly recruit and train your own team of do-gooders in order to defend it from multiple menaces (including communism, of course). There are many pre-made characters to choose from, and several will join your ranks eventually as the story progresses. The most important ones have animated sequences that narrate their backstory. If that's not enough, the game offers a simple creator to assemble a custom one (you are limited to the assets included in the game). If you want your own Spider-Man, you'll have to resort to a few external utilities available to download for free, though the community already got you covered.
The game is played with an overhead view seen in other similar 3D games from the early 2000s, such as Z: Steel Soldiers or Warcraft III. You can zoom in and out or rotate the camera to get the better angle of the action. A squad of up to four heroes is available to you, its members sometimes but not always imposed by the narrative. You can move them around and execute standard or special attacks. The ability of pausing or slowing down time is invaluable to analyze the situation and prevent them from biting the dust too soon.
The environments are not specially big, but they are colorful, varied and very interactive. Most objects can be picked up and thrown as projectiles, or wielded as weapons, like cars or streetlights. Buildings can be demolished, but this is mostly detrimental to you, as the tax payers will expect you to take good care of their city. Don't forget to save often and plan carefully every step, as a lot of retries will be due to collateral damage.
Your heroes will gain experience by defeating enemies and fulfilling objectives (or finding upgrade canisters), and these points can be spent leveling up their attacks or learning new ones. You won't get to the end of this game by just increasing their basic punch or energy beam; having a varied assortment of techniques and using them wisely is a not a recommendation but a necessity here.
Because believe me, this game is hard. That's its main flaw. Even at the easiest difficulty, some missions will have you transported directly in the middle of a scuffle with attacks raining on your from all directions. It's a tough nut to crack, and many people will give up midway through the long campaign. It can be unforgiving.
If you don't quit, you will be rewarded by an experience for people with higher standards. Plus, there are multiplayer options and a loyal community that have created a lot of extra content. And you'll certainly like the sequel too.
Playing
Steam or GoG. It works quite well, but you'll probably have to install the mouse cursor fix. An easy way to do this is to run the Steam Superheater app, that will automatically download and apply it for you. It supports many other games and patches.