In 2003, Danish developer IO Interactive and publishing giant EA released Freedom Fighters for the Playstation 2, Gamecube, and original Xbox. The third person shooter told an alternative history story in which Soviet Russia was the world’s lone super power. The plot takes place in New York City after the Russians have invaded the States. The US government and military quickly fall, and it’s now up to the titular freedom fighters to liberate the city. Similar to the movie Red Dawn, the majority of the plot centers around Chris Stone and his joining of the resistance to tackle the communist threat.
Freedom Fighters provided a fast paced and strategic thrill ride. It unfortunately, also ended on a rather big cliffhanger, with only NYC having been liberated. When news that IO Interactive was looking for a multiplayer developer for a yet unannounced third person title “with strong cooperative multiplayer elements,” there was some speculation that a sequel was on the way. IO Interactive has remained mostly quiet on the subject, but does seem to be aware of the demand, and despite eschewing previous plans for Freedom Fighters 2 in favor of Kane & Lynch development, representatives have said recently that a sequel is something they’re interested in doing.
It would seem as though now is an ideal time to further the franchise as co-operative gameplay is more prominent than ever, and the mission structure of Freedom Fighters fits that model very well. The first, while promising, was limited to the capabilities of the hardware at the time. Players could recruit other fighters through a charisma system, in which the more heroic of deeds were rewarded with experience points. These points could then be used to increase the player’s Charisma Meter. Once a certain level was reached, players were given the option to recruit more fighters to fight alongside them. Success in Freedom Fighters was based entirely on how well the player could control their squad.
The game often required players to take a strategic position above a battle and issue orders using one of three face buttons for certain actions. The orders to be given were attack, follow, and defend, and could be given individually or as a group. The issue with the command system that persisted with all players, was the inability to select a specific fighter in the middle of battle. IO opted for a cyclical system, in which the player went through a rotation for who to control.
[TGE]
Related posts:
Comments