Freedom Fighters

Freedom Fighters is a third person shooter developed by IO Interactive and published by Electronic Arts in 2003, the GOG version being a 2020 re-release. In a historical timeline where the Soviet Union won World War II by dropping the A-bomb on Berlin in 1945 and gaining influence in Europe and abroad, you play the role of plumber Christopher Stone as he witnesses the Soviet invasion of New York in 2003. From the chaos that envelops him he will rise as the Freedom Phantom to become leader of the Resistance in New York. During the game the player must accomplish certain objectives to progress the story. These range from blowing up helipads and bridges to capturing Soviet strongholds. Completing some objectives first influences the difficulty of others. By gaining Charisma Chris can recruit other freedom fighters and command them using a simple, yet efficient, system. The shooting mechanics are fluid and each weapon feels different. If the player is patient and attentive he will encounter no problems in finishing the game, even on the highest difficulty levels. The soundtrack is a superb mix of sinth and orchestral music, composed by Jesper Kyd in colaboration with the Hungarian Radio Choir. The sound design is good and contributes to the overall atmosphere of a besieged New York. Professional voice acting adds realism to a well written script despite the "What if" tone the game is aiming for. The story is delivered through dialogue and through some very well designed in-game news coverages. Unfortunately the game eludes a perfect score due to lag in certain spots despite being played on a device that meets the recommended system requirements, several glitches and texture problems. Despite all these technical problems, Freedom Fighters deserves your attention due to a unique story and setting, satisfying gameplay and overall beautiful presentation. It has a lot of charm and you can see the passion of the developers behind it. "Where is your girlfriend, citizen?"

Back when IO were still taking chances. The old Glacier engine is obviously at work, and does so smoothly. The game is a classic, somewhat repetitive at times. Jesper Kyd truly shines, his progression from Hitman 2 to Contracts is hinted at here. The soundtrack has been exceptionally difficult to secure for a long time; very glad to see it released in a lossless format.

I still have the original disc (and it is by all means not compatible with win10 directly from the disc). I still remember running around killing enemies left and right, enjoying it, failing so many times because I didn't destroy the objectives that hindered my path in another part of the maps ;) The game is excellent as ever, and while my current playthrough on the hardest difficulty still forces me to reload, I'm still very much satisfied investing in this digital version as well! :)

Freedom Fighters is great concept-wise, the music equally so, it takes a bit of strategy of what targets to take down first to weaken enemy forces before you can launch a attack on the enemy HQ outright (although you're never stopped from attempting to do so) the downside is it's archaic shooting, the weapons have a very large spread, the HUD doesn't scale well to modern resolutions and the AI is dumb as rocks. So it's a big give and take but for what it was at the time, it's still considered a gem.

take my money, GOG! it'S been so long since i played that game! it's weird, because even if the game looks and feels kinda generic, it's anything but. there's a depth of play here that, once you experience it, will make you want to come back for more, again and again, trying to beat any given level in a different way. the fact that you can play a portion of a level, get back to the sewers(hub area) then enter and play a part of another level, then go back to the first one... is pretty nice also. adds even more strategy, and also gives you the chance to crank up the challenge, if you feel like it. i've always loved how you can tackle any given situation: do i go in with my squad, all guns blazing,(or, if you're the Rambo type, alone) as all hell breaks loose around you, or; do you issue a cover fire order to your squad, while you try a flanking maneuver, or; pick most of them off with a sniper rifle before going in? assaulting a machine gun emplacements was always my favorite moment, throwing a few grenades in, then run in to pick off the remaining soldiers before they had the chance to get back up, and then turn the machine gun on them. each weapon behaves VERY differently(as they should), and depending on what you have, you might have a harder time finishing your mission, or you might need to finish it in a completely different way. of course, all i've said above is pretty commonplace in games nowadays, but, for the time, it was pretty well executed and thought out. to round all of that up, add an awesome soundtrack that convey the feeling of how big a predicament you're in: the USA are on their knees, russians have crushed most of their forces, ruling its people with a steel fist. you're the last spark of resistance, a daunting mission awaits you. it's cool, love the what if scenario. i always loved a game where a sniper can take you down in one shot. always a challenge to pick them off before they pick you off. that crouching walk, tho...XD