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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
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I got this on the weekend for the PC and it didn't work. So I then got it on the Xbox and I'm glad I did. Very entertaining. I'm a bit narked about the level where you don't have any saves on (you know the one) and being killed near to what I presume was the end is a pain. I suppose that's the point though, the vulnerability you have on this level.
I do like the way the areas are linked and also the fact that you can still overcome things if you are willing to try. On one level I was getting overrun by reinforcements as supplied by an APV which would screech to a halt, offload the troops and zoom off asap. If there was a perceived and immediate threat on approach it'd stop somewhere else nearby. Anyway a craftly placed grenade later and no more reinforcements. I really should have taken out the bridges first though. However I'm pleased to see attention to detail like this; instead of there being more troops spawning every so often to act as reinforcements, the game actually has them arrive as you are fighting for the freedom of NY.
I would have liked actual characters to fight alongside rather than the impersonal "Freedom Fighters", who hang about waiting for recruitment.
I do like the way the areas are linked and also the fact that you can still overcome things if you are willing to try. On one level I was getting overrun by reinforcements as supplied by an APV which would screech to a halt, offload the troops and zoom off asap. If there was a perceived and immediate threat on approach it'd stop somewhere else nearby. Anyway a craftly placed grenade later and no more reinforcements. I really should have taken out the bridges first though. However I'm pleased to see attention to detail like this; instead of there being more troops spawning every so often to act as reinforcements, the game actually has them arrive as you are fighting for the freedom of NY.
I would have liked actual characters to fight alongside rather than the impersonal "Freedom Fighters", who hang about waiting for recruitment.
Got it cheap again for my Cube.
Why did I ever sell it?
The multiplayer with 4 people is terrific.
Why did I ever sell it?
The multiplayer with 4 people is terrific.
Indeed - I played 4 player multi on the Cube and there were probably about 40 fighters, Sovs vs Uncle Sam. Grenades, gunfire, snipers up high, and in the middle, me and my team mate firing rockets at the other two. It was terrific fun.
I've been banging on about this game for ages - it's pure excellence. Imagine the fun shooting bits on Hitman 2, stretched out for huge levels, with people on your side. Simple, addictive fun. The ragdoll stuff is fun to watch too. The first level gives you a chance to try it out, and I sent a load of soldier's corpses flying over a wall. Fantastic! Haven't got round to finishing it yet, and I doubt I'm even that far in yet. One thing that really impressed me was how much of the levels you can explore. Anywhere can be got to, and your team-mates will always follow you, no matter where you get to.
And it's got that whole "Cannon Fodder" thing of keeping your team-mates alive. It's genuinely sad to see someone you've been fighting with go down and not get healed, but you can always recruit more people. I don't think Snuggly gave it much of a chance, to be honest. The multiplayer is a little bit cramped on the screen, but that's probably because we play Halo so much. But 4 player fragging and exploding your mate's bodies over walls is much fun. Excellent, and it's only a tenner from play.com at the moment.
And it's got that whole "Cannon Fodder" thing of keeping your team-mates alive. It's genuinely sad to see someone you've been fighting with go down and not get healed, but you can always recruit more people. I don't think Snuggly gave it much of a chance, to be honest. The multiplayer is a little bit cramped on the screen, but that's probably because we play Halo so much. But 4 player fragging and exploding your mate's bodies over walls is much fun. Excellent, and it's only a tenner from play.com at the moment.
The team mechanics are genius. Never get lost, never fail - they die, but they aren't stupid. I am going to get it again at some point.
Finished it.
A really really enjoyable game. Not the most brain-stretching ever, but what it does it does very well indeed.
I love the fact your squad has absolutely zero pathfinding issues and I love the simple-yet-effective group control - makes a refreshing change from spending an age planning and having to stop to issue commands in the middle of a firefight (like Hidden & Dangerous 2. I like that game a lot, one of my favs so far on the PC but it's an ass to stop, switch to tactical view and set waypoints etc when you're about to throwdown).
It takes a bit of getting used to, but eventually I was in massive firefights of 15+ men with zero slowdown telling them to defend/attack/follow without stopping to think.
Thought the shooting was extremely well implemented, they actually hit people from a distance more often than not. How many times have I aimed and shot at a distant foe, only for it to ZING! off a wall and alert 320 enemies who instantly kill you?
Not there. Round a corner, see a group in the distance and think "You're mine". Issue the command to attack and off you charge safe in the knowledge you can let it auto-aim with 90% accuracy.
It's not Operation Flashpoint, it's an arcade shooter so I don't want to have to worry about not being able to shoot on the run.
It feels like the game was made by people that actually play games themselves instead of thinking "This is an excellent display of lighting and shading Mr Designer" and forgetting to include playability.
Want a squad that will act intuitively and not spakk up? Here you go
Want massive levels with no mid-point loading to destroy the atmosphere? Here you go
Want to tell your men to use mounted machine-guns and have them actually kill onrushing groups of baddies? Here you go
It supplies with you the tools to have a fantastic time and lets you enjoy yourself.
A definite recommendation if it's on budget, certainly one of the best rental titles I've had in a loooooong time
A really really enjoyable game. Not the most brain-stretching ever, but what it does it does very well indeed.
I love the fact your squad has absolutely zero pathfinding issues and I love the simple-yet-effective group control - makes a refreshing change from spending an age planning and having to stop to issue commands in the middle of a firefight (like Hidden & Dangerous 2. I like that game a lot, one of my favs so far on the PC but it's an ass to stop, switch to tactical view and set waypoints etc when you're about to throwdown).
It takes a bit of getting used to, but eventually I was in massive firefights of 15+ men with zero slowdown telling them to defend/attack/follow without stopping to think.
Thought the shooting was extremely well implemented, they actually hit people from a distance more often than not. How many times have I aimed and shot at a distant foe, only for it to ZING! off a wall and alert 320 enemies who instantly kill you?
Not there. Round a corner, see a group in the distance and think "You're mine". Issue the command to attack and off you charge safe in the knowledge you can let it auto-aim with 90% accuracy.
It's not Operation Flashpoint, it's an arcade shooter so I don't want to have to worry about not being able to shoot on the run.
It feels like the game was made by people that actually play games themselves instead of thinking "This is an excellent display of lighting and shading Mr Designer" and forgetting to include playability.
Want a squad that will act intuitively and not spakk up? Here you go
Want massive levels with no mid-point loading to destroy the atmosphere? Here you go
Want to tell your men to use mounted machine-guns and have them actually kill onrushing groups of baddies? Here you go
It supplies with you the tools to have a fantastic time and lets you enjoy yourself.
A definite recommendation if it's on budget, certainly one of the best rental titles I've had in a loooooong time
sPiKeCaSt wrote:
> Speaking of Ebay, Ali/Tilta/anyone got any idea how much to put these
> up for? (possibly as a bundle) Carve/England Internation
> Football/MGS2/Midnight Cub 2/Rainbow Six 3/Splinter Cell PT/Soldier
> of Fortune 2.
Drop a message in the WLT in Fog Prime when you're going to pop them on ebay, along with your ID, I might pick a couple of them up. If you want of course...
> ... and just grabbed far cry,
> looks bloody amazing with everything cranked up.
It does. Really sweet game that one. Even the Xbox screen shots have been good. On Live it should rock.
> Speaking of Ebay, Ali/Tilta/anyone got any idea how much to put these
> up for? (possibly as a bundle) Carve/England Internation
> Football/MGS2/Midnight Cub 2/Rainbow Six 3/Splinter Cell PT/Soldier
> of Fortune 2.
Drop a message in the WLT in Fog Prime when you're going to pop them on ebay, along with your ID, I might pick a couple of them up. If you want of course...
> ... and just grabbed far cry,
> looks bloody amazing with everything cranked up.
It does. Really sweet game that one. Even the Xbox screen shots have been good. On Live it should rock.
FF is an absoloutly storming game.
Just as Goaty said - spot on team mechanics and controls. Sub B-Movie plot, but that doesn't matter, as it really is a true cracker of a game. The multiplayer too, is intriguing and would be fantastic on Live and with some tweaks.
I might buy it again. As Alaistar said, the TV Station mission is sublime.
Just read you're on the last level Goatboy.
The very first assault of that level is class - you order your men and women to fan out and they unleash their fire, all the while you snipe dirty commies. Hectic, explosiony fun.
Just as Goaty said - spot on team mechanics and controls. Sub B-Movie plot, but that doesn't matter, as it really is a true cracker of a game. The multiplayer too, is intriguing and would be fantastic on Live and with some tweaks.
I might buy it again. As Alaistar said, the TV Station mission is sublime.
Just read you're on the last level Goatboy.
The very first assault of that level is class - you order your men and women to fan out and they unleash their fire, all the while you snipe dirty commies. Hectic, explosiony fun.
It runs sweet as hell out doors and the graphics are jaw-dropping..I thought it looked good on my 9800 Pro but on this card it just feels smooth and it looks bloody amazing, just wait until you get your X800 XT, it'll blow you away, at stock on everything I score 9,500 on 3D Mark 03 and 23k on 2001.
Sweet. I am going to lob my 9800 XT on for £175 as the box is knackered but the card is in excellent condition and is only 5-6 months old.
Going to order an X800 XT Platinum in a few weeks, a whopping £420 it will set me back but the bench tests have been amazing.
As for the games, if you want to use Buy It Now I either do £20 + £2 P&P for a newish game and £10 + £2 P&P for the older games. You can't really go far wrong doing it that way.
By the way, how does Far Cry run frame rate wise in the outdoor sections? I still have a 2600 XP + which I wanted to abandon for an Athlon 64 but the CPU I have had my eye on is £616, 1MB cache and apparently a ealy beast with the latest games. All a little on the expensive side to say I want a major upgrade early next year again. Think I will just go with the GPU for now and wait for the new socket CPU's, DDR2 and new Mobo's.
Going to order an X800 XT Platinum in a few weeks, a whopping £420 it will set me back but the bench tests have been amazing.
As for the games, if you want to use Buy It Now I either do £20 + £2 P&P for a newish game and £10 + £2 P&P for the older games. You can't really go far wrong doing it that way.
By the way, how does Far Cry run frame rate wise in the outdoor sections? I still have a 2600 XP + which I wanted to abandon for an Athlon 64 but the CPU I have had my eye on is £616, 1MB cache and apparently a ealy beast with the latest games. All a little on the expensive side to say I want a major upgrade early next year again. Think I will just go with the GPU for now and wait for the new socket CPU's, DDR2 and new Mobo's.
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