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This thread has been linked to the game 'Freedom Fighters'.
What an absolutely cracking game, a thorough surprise and one I'd recommend without hesitation.
An arcadey squad-based action shooter with some brains and peerless game design. Plot is some rubbish pulled from the mind of John Milius and Red Dawn about dirty commies invading the USA and you lead the resistance.
Whatever, it feels great to uphold democracy etc etc da-da-daaaaaa
The point is, you get to lead a squad of up to 10+ blokes around with you shooting and blowing stuff up.
Squad control is spot-on: 3 commands "Defend" "Follow" "Attack" with 3 buttons.
But what made this stand out for me were the things that usually let down squad based shooty games - team-mate AI.
Usual game: "Go over there" you shout, and your fellows promptly bang into each other, stare at walls and all try to get through a doorway at once managing to ignore the smirking enemy soldier aiming at your face.
"You dumb #&%!" scream you and reload.
Or you command them to follow you, go into a building and discover your men would rather stand outside morris-dancing in the face of bad people and being killed.
Or you climb a ladder and realise that your crack-team of lethal soldier maniacs stare dumbly at you and headbutt the walls.
Not so in Freedom Fighters.
Not once, at any point, did my blokes do anything stupid. They climb ladders, they swim, they don't shoot you, you don't shoot them. They don't block your way anywhere and they dont mindleslly get killed.
Tell them to defend and they'll seek cover, crouch behind things or lean against walls and poke out to shoot.
Tell them to attack and they'll do so. Oh, but not charge in guns blazing and get slaughtered. No, they'll use cover - dash from wall to wall, crouch and use available cover or if enough of them get together, they'll go in hard.
The game is thus:
Start in an area of New York with a map in your base. 3-4 sub-areas with 2-3 objectives in each. Choose one and go.
You don't have to do all the objectives in an area at once, you can go back later.
This allows you to be tactical and really feel the benefits.
Example:
Manhattan. One of the areas has a "destroy troop helicopters" to prevent reinforcements as well as a storm the post office. Another area has an ammo dump, if you take that then they have basic weapons instead of big nasty ones.
Ok then, I'll go take the ammo dump first to limit their effectiveness.
Then I'll go back to the other area and destroy the helicopters to prevent more soldiers arriving.
So now the other 2 areas are limited in arms and no support to kill you.
Genius.
The action is faultless, not a run and gun but you can. Not a stealth but you can be careful.
Just good old fashioned action that's been very very carefully thought out to provide maxium fun with minimum problems associated with team-based games.
And the environments are incredible. Huge massive cities with no loading times, crowds running, tanks blasting, entire buildings to explore, sewer systems.
Oh, and mounted machine guns you can take over. Or order your team to do and they will.
If you like shooty bangbang action games that don't suck (Manhunt) or if you like squad-based fun (Laser Squad) then get it.
9/10
An arcadey squad-based action shooter with some brains and peerless game design. Plot is some rubbish pulled from the mind of John Milius and Red Dawn about dirty commies invading the USA and you lead the resistance.
Whatever, it feels great to uphold democracy etc etc da-da-daaaaaa
The point is, you get to lead a squad of up to 10+ blokes around with you shooting and blowing stuff up.
Squad control is spot-on: 3 commands "Defend" "Follow" "Attack" with 3 buttons.
But what made this stand out for me were the things that usually let down squad based shooty games - team-mate AI.
Usual game: "Go over there" you shout, and your fellows promptly bang into each other, stare at walls and all try to get through a doorway at once managing to ignore the smirking enemy soldier aiming at your face.
"You dumb #&%!" scream you and reload.
Or you command them to follow you, go into a building and discover your men would rather stand outside morris-dancing in the face of bad people and being killed.
Or you climb a ladder and realise that your crack-team of lethal soldier maniacs stare dumbly at you and headbutt the walls.
Not so in Freedom Fighters.
Not once, at any point, did my blokes do anything stupid. They climb ladders, they swim, they don't shoot you, you don't shoot them. They don't block your way anywhere and they dont mindleslly get killed.
Tell them to defend and they'll seek cover, crouch behind things or lean against walls and poke out to shoot.
Tell them to attack and they'll do so. Oh, but not charge in guns blazing and get slaughtered. No, they'll use cover - dash from wall to wall, crouch and use available cover or if enough of them get together, they'll go in hard.
The game is thus:
Start in an area of New York with a map in your base. 3-4 sub-areas with 2-3 objectives in each. Choose one and go.
You don't have to do all the objectives in an area at once, you can go back later.
This allows you to be tactical and really feel the benefits.
Example:
Manhattan. One of the areas has a "destroy troop helicopters" to prevent reinforcements as well as a storm the post office. Another area has an ammo dump, if you take that then they have basic weapons instead of big nasty ones.
Ok then, I'll go take the ammo dump first to limit their effectiveness.
Then I'll go back to the other area and destroy the helicopters to prevent more soldiers arriving.
So now the other 2 areas are limited in arms and no support to kill you.
Genius.
The action is faultless, not a run and gun but you can. Not a stealth but you can be careful.
Just good old fashioned action that's been very very carefully thought out to provide maxium fun with minimum problems associated with team-based games.
And the environments are incredible. Huge massive cities with no loading times, crowds running, tanks blasting, entire buildings to explore, sewer systems.
Oh, and mounted machine guns you can take over. Or order your team to do and they will.
If you like shooty bangbang action games that don't suck (Manhunt) or if you like squad-based fun (Laser Squad) then get it.
9/10
Page:
What an absolutely cracking game, a thorough surprise and one I'd recommend without hesitation.
An arcadey squad-based action shooter with some brains and peerless game design. Plot is some rubbish pulled from the mind of John Milius and Red Dawn about dirty commies invading the USA and you lead the resistance.
Whatever, it feels great to uphold democracy etc etc da-da-daaaaaa
The point is, you get to lead a squad of up to 10+ blokes around with you shooting and blowing stuff up.
Squad control is spot-on: 3 commands "Defend" "Follow" "Attack" with 3 buttons.
But what made this stand out for me were the things that usually let down squad based shooty games - team-mate AI.
Usual game: "Go over there" you shout, and your fellows promptly bang into each other, stare at walls and all try to get through a doorway at once managing to ignore the smirking enemy soldier aiming at your face.
"You dumb #&%!" scream you and reload.
Or you command them to follow you, go into a building and discover your men would rather stand outside morris-dancing in the face of bad people and being killed.
Or you climb a ladder and realise that your crack-team of lethal soldier maniacs stare dumbly at you and headbutt the walls.
Not so in Freedom Fighters.
Not once, at any point, did my blokes do anything stupid. They climb ladders, they swim, they don't shoot you, you don't shoot them. They don't block your way anywhere and they dont mindleslly get killed.
Tell them to defend and they'll seek cover, crouch behind things or lean against walls and poke out to shoot.
Tell them to attack and they'll do so. Oh, but not charge in guns blazing and get slaughtered. No, they'll use cover - dash from wall to wall, crouch and use available cover or if enough of them get together, they'll go in hard.
The game is thus:
Start in an area of New York with a map in your base. 3-4 sub-areas with 2-3 objectives in each. Choose one and go.
You don't have to do all the objectives in an area at once, you can go back later.
This allows you to be tactical and really feel the benefits.
Example:
Manhattan. One of the areas has a "destroy troop helicopters" to prevent reinforcements as well as a storm the post office. Another area has an ammo dump, if you take that then they have basic weapons instead of big nasty ones.
Ok then, I'll go take the ammo dump first to limit their effectiveness.
Then I'll go back to the other area and destroy the helicopters to prevent more soldiers arriving.
So now the other 2 areas are limited in arms and no support to kill you.
Genius.
The action is faultless, not a run and gun but you can. Not a stealth but you can be careful.
Just good old fashioned action that's been very very carefully thought out to provide maxium fun with minimum problems associated with team-based games.
And the environments are incredible. Huge massive cities with no loading times, crowds running, tanks blasting, entire buildings to explore, sewer systems.
Oh, and mounted machine guns you can take over. Or order your team to do and they will.
If you like shooty bangbang action games that don't suck (Manhunt) or if you like squad-based fun (Laser Squad) then get it.
9/10
An arcadey squad-based action shooter with some brains and peerless game design. Plot is some rubbish pulled from the mind of John Milius and Red Dawn about dirty commies invading the USA and you lead the resistance.
Whatever, it feels great to uphold democracy etc etc da-da-daaaaaa
The point is, you get to lead a squad of up to 10+ blokes around with you shooting and blowing stuff up.
Squad control is spot-on: 3 commands "Defend" "Follow" "Attack" with 3 buttons.
But what made this stand out for me were the things that usually let down squad based shooty games - team-mate AI.
Usual game: "Go over there" you shout, and your fellows promptly bang into each other, stare at walls and all try to get through a doorway at once managing to ignore the smirking enemy soldier aiming at your face.
"You dumb #&%!" scream you and reload.
Or you command them to follow you, go into a building and discover your men would rather stand outside morris-dancing in the face of bad people and being killed.
Or you climb a ladder and realise that your crack-team of lethal soldier maniacs stare dumbly at you and headbutt the walls.
Not so in Freedom Fighters.
Not once, at any point, did my blokes do anything stupid. They climb ladders, they swim, they don't shoot you, you don't shoot them. They don't block your way anywhere and they dont mindleslly get killed.
Tell them to defend and they'll seek cover, crouch behind things or lean against walls and poke out to shoot.
Tell them to attack and they'll do so. Oh, but not charge in guns blazing and get slaughtered. No, they'll use cover - dash from wall to wall, crouch and use available cover or if enough of them get together, they'll go in hard.
The game is thus:
Start in an area of New York with a map in your base. 3-4 sub-areas with 2-3 objectives in each. Choose one and go.
You don't have to do all the objectives in an area at once, you can go back later.
This allows you to be tactical and really feel the benefits.
Example:
Manhattan. One of the areas has a "destroy troop helicopters" to prevent reinforcements as well as a storm the post office. Another area has an ammo dump, if you take that then they have basic weapons instead of big nasty ones.
Ok then, I'll go take the ammo dump first to limit their effectiveness.
Then I'll go back to the other area and destroy the helicopters to prevent more soldiers arriving.
So now the other 2 areas are limited in arms and no support to kill you.
Genius.
The action is faultless, not a run and gun but you can. Not a stealth but you can be careful.
Just good old fashioned action that's been very very carefully thought out to provide maxium fun with minimum problems associated with team-based games.
And the environments are incredible. Huge massive cities with no loading times, crowds running, tanks blasting, entire buildings to explore, sewer systems.
Oh, and mounted machine guns you can take over. Or order your team to do and they will.
If you like shooty bangbang action games that don't suck (Manhunt) or if you like squad-based fun (Laser Squad) then get it.
9/10
Can't speak for the single player as I haven't played it, but the multi-player was rubbish. Two teams of people standing in the middle of the street shooting millions of rounds into each other while still standing. It was about as realistic as an episode of Scooby Doo. And I lost, which is always crap.
That's one thing I absolutely detest about some games, where you'll have people standing a few feet away from each other pumping round after round of hot lead into one another without so much as a spurt of blood or nasty headache.
That's one thing I absolutely detest about some games, where you'll have people standing a few feet away from each other pumping round after round of hot lead into one another without so much as a spurt of blood or nasty headache.
The whole mocking of the usual, as you put it, "crack-team of lethal soldier maniacs" idiocy made laugh.
Goatboy wrote:
> If you like shooty bangbang action games that don't suck (Manhunt)
This line in particular convinced me. Despite how much I do like Manhunt, I was somewhat disappointed. It got repetitive quickly.
Is that the case here at all?
Oh, and this is all under the assumption that it will be/is released on PC. [Edit: It appears so. Hurrah.]
And oddly enought the other day I was desperately trying to remember what game it was that involved you leading a squad of people in NY after the dirty smoking commies attacked. So cheers for this also.
Goatboy wrote:
> If you like shooty bangbang action games that don't suck (Manhunt)
This line in particular convinced me. Despite how much I do like Manhunt, I was somewhat disappointed. It got repetitive quickly.
Is that the case here at all?
Oh, and this is all under the assumption that it will be/is released on PC. [Edit: It appears so. Hurrah.]
And oddly enought the other day I was desperately trying to remember what game it was that involved you leading a squad of people in NY after the dirty smoking commies attacked. So cheers for this also.
it has its problems but it still makes for a good game. Co-op would have been nice mind.
An inevitable sequel should be awesome.
An inevitable sequel should be awesome.
Azul wrote:
> This line in particular convinced me. Despite how much I do like
> Manhunt, I was somewhat disappointed. It got repetitive quickly.
----
I haven't found it repetitive at all.
Technically all games could be, this can be boiled down to "enter level, complete objective, leave". But it's the order of the objectives, go to whichever area you want in whatever order etc that keeps it fresh.
And just when I was getting used to it "Ok,did that one so let's go back to our secret rebel base and move on", the plot twisted and I thought "Eh? Well that's cool".
The different environments, objectives, enemies, weapons etc keep it from being the same old same old for me and it's so bloody nice to have squadmembers that operate normally instead of like an idiot friend that tags along because your mum says to.
Rented it yesterday, mate came over and we started playing about 9pm non-stop until
"Er...it's 6am now. I'm tired"
"Me too"
Just on the final level now and it's hard, damn hard.
Throwing grenades rules, plenty of ammo laying about, molotov cocktails, rocket launchers, sniper rifles.
Just good shooty fun that doesn't trip over itself at all.
And yes, I hated the multiplayer stuff too but incomparable to the singleplayer experience.
> This line in particular convinced me. Despite how much I do like
> Manhunt, I was somewhat disappointed. It got repetitive quickly.
----
I haven't found it repetitive at all.
Technically all games could be, this can be boiled down to "enter level, complete objective, leave". But it's the order of the objectives, go to whichever area you want in whatever order etc that keeps it fresh.
And just when I was getting used to it "Ok,did that one so let's go back to our secret rebel base and move on", the plot twisted and I thought "Eh? Well that's cool".
The different environments, objectives, enemies, weapons etc keep it from being the same old same old for me and it's so bloody nice to have squadmembers that operate normally instead of like an idiot friend that tags along because your mum says to.
Rented it yesterday, mate came over and we started playing about 9pm non-stop until
"Er...it's 6am now. I'm tired"
"Me too"
Just on the final level now and it's hard, damn hard.
Throwing grenades rules, plenty of ammo laying about, molotov cocktails, rocket launchers, sniper rifles.
Just good shooty fun that doesn't trip over itself at all.
And yes, I hated the multiplayer stuff too but incomparable to the singleplayer experience.
It's an excellent game... whilst it lasts. Completed it the same afternoon that I bought it and aside from the ground breaking TV Station mission I couldn't bring myself back to it. The last mission is utter guff as well, a complete anti-climax to what is otherwise an intense and well executed game.
Oh and Manhunt isn't a 'shooty' game, it's a stealth game with forced shooting sections, ala Splinter Cell, plus it's an excellent game form start to finish.
Oh and Manhunt isn't a 'shooty' game, it's a stealth game with forced shooting sections, ala Splinter Cell, plus it's an excellent game form start to finish.
This isn't a discussion about whether you like Manhunt or not.
You thought it was good, I thought it was a tired old pony of a game with swearing and sub Mortal Kombat deaths to bolster what is little more than a plodalong generic 3rd person game.
But hey
You thought it was good, I thought it was a tired old pony of a game with swearing and sub Mortal Kombat deaths to bolster what is little more than a plodalong generic 3rd person game.
But hey
Freedom Fighters is easily one of my favourite games. I've completed it countless times and I've never gotten bored of it.
5 hours to go with the demo.
Woo...hoo...
God bless 56k.
Woo...hoo...
God bless 56k.
5 hours?
it's not that good.
it's not that good.
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