Freedom Force - A Comic Come To Life

For years game publishers have been trying to create a good game based off the world of comic books. Sadly they have almost always failed. Every attempt to bring characters like Batman and Superman to a video game have ended in disaster, and the final product has ranged from mediocre to what many consider to be the worst games of all time.

But that all changed when Freedom Force was released. In many ways it broke the curse of bad comic book video games, and deservingly so. This was the first game I've ever experienced that got the comic book genre dead on. Built on a strong gaming engine, it combined a great story, that comic book "feel", and just fun, open-ended gameplay.

The Story

When a maniac alien invader has taken over every area of the universe except Earth, he decides to attack with a new strategy. Instead of sending a huge army, he transports canisters of a mysterious substance known as "Energy X" on the Earth's surface. This strange chemical gives ordinary people superpowers, and it's the alien emperor's hope that this will create super villains to destroy the world. While it does spawn many superhumans with evil intentions, a few of these individuals decide to use their powers for good.

Unlike most comic games, the storyline for Freedom Force it's based off a modern day comic. Instead it's like a 1960's comic come to life, complete with campy dialogue and generic sounding superhero names like "The Patriot". There are times when I found myself laughing hysterically at some of the dialogue, and this absurdity is what gives the game its specific charm.

The Graphics

Keeping in mind that this title came out a few years ago, the graphics hold up fairly well. While there aren't many fantastic cut scenes and some of the features are a little blocky, most of the game is visually appealing. One interesting aspect is that as your superheroes battle in the streets, the area takes damage. For instance if your character throws a grenade on the ground, it will have burn marks for the remainder of the fight. A nice touch.

The only problem I found with the visuals is the camera. At many times the overhead look skewed your perspective, and it would have been nice to have full 360 degree camera control. Also there is no mini-map, and that can be a major pain when you have a battle going on with several heroes at once.

The Gameplay

The action in Freedom Force is like most any other real-time strategy game. In mimics the Warcraft engine in many ways. You control your characters through a mouse interface, selecting which hero you want to control and clicks anywhere on the map to send him there. The same goes for attacks and actions. When you click on a target a small drop down menu appears where you can select your action.

One of the best parts of the game is your ability to create your own heroes. While the game has a good amount of superpowered being to choose from (many of which are clones of real comic characters) you have the option of creating your own character with his own powers. And thankfully enough, there are enough powers included to design a copy of pretty much any superhero or to develop one straight from your imagination.

Overall

With excellent story missions, an open-ended battle system, and a huge mod community, there are almost no limits to the amount of things you can do in Freedom Force. And because of the slick design and great premise, it's all fun. From going through the story mode to coming up with new heroes, nothing in this game seems tedious and it's all enjoyable.

If you're even a casual comic book fan you'll probably love Freedom Force.