Let me first start off by saying I LOVE THIS GAME! I got rid of my PS2 ages ago and I was so POed that I could never play this game again. I had to write a little review about it because this game is 4 years overdue for my telling about its amazing gameplay.
You play a plumber in New York City (imagine that) who gets caught up in an invasion on the United States by the Russians (grandpa Joe WAS telling the truth). His brother is kidnapped and Chris places his trust on a band of rebels that are working out of a sewer cavern that looks big enough to house the nukes needed to bomb the hell out of the invaders. After you're introduced to the rebels and such you're set out on your first mission. To rescue Isabella, the imprisoned rebel leader. To do this, you must go through stages to ensure the rescue of Isabella. The stages are usually separated into three to five separate parts in your current area. Each of these parts need to be overthrown with sabotage to the enemy's resources in that area. To complete the stage, you will need to raise an American flag at the points with Russian flags. Once each flag point has an American flag risen, the level is complete.
For those of you who know Jesper Kyd, I don't think I have to go into details about the music in this game. But, for those of you who don't, the music is phenomenal. It's packed with epic scores sung by the Hungarian Radio Choir. Anyone from Hungary? I would really like to know if they do intros for the radios there, because I thought they were excellent. Better than our American radio jingles. Jesper Kyd, I-O Interactive's music mastermind puts in his best to make you picture running into battle with an AK and an American flag ready to kick ass and take names. Freedom Fighter's makers put their music in good hands. I have the soundtrack, believe me, I listen to it on my way to work and drum on the dashboard. I know, I know. But Kyd's got amazing talent. Just listen to the Hit-man trilogy.
SO. Final score. 8/10 Graphics -- 7/10 - Yeah, they were good. But they looked somewhat chunky. Everyone was muscular and well built, except for Chris's brother who looked like Super Mario.
Gameplay -- 8/10 - Truly epic gameplay. Actually felt like you were turning back the invasion. I could definitely see a movie adaptation with the way the actions in the game were. Everything is very Band of Brothers'ish. It has it's moments of running into the invaders guns-a-blazin' and it has it's stealth moments. Although the gameplay is excellent, I could definitely be seeing many of you punching in your cheats during gameplay. It's difficult to fight the Russians when everyone on your team doesn't want to follow your direction and ends up getting killed, leaving you buddy-less and hiding from gunfire with out any health packs. Unless you're on very easy mode, health packs are scarce, and so is ammo. You will sometime find yourself resorting to your plumber's wrench. Recruiting members into your squad is as easy as cooking pie in a microwave oven. But getting them to follow your direction is probably as easy as finding a unicorn in your glove-box. They'll go to where you want them to go, but then they'll run back to you and tell you they're "ready when you are." I often found myself saying, I'm ready for you to stop jerking off and go investigate the area I told you to. But they'd probably nod and laugh and say "good one, boss." Combat -- 9/10 - Like I said, much of the gameplay is epic and it will have you screaming into battle with an AK and a Molotov expecting to mow down the opposition. That is, if the opposition didn't have unlimited man power and a hell of a lot more firepower. Just think of the idea of running into combat without any backup as throwing a snowball into the gates of hell, then imagine that you're the snowball. You wouldn't last two milliseconds before becoming Rebel Hamburger Meat. That being said, you can use the invader's weapons against them, not the helicopters with high-powered machine guns, but the smaller 50 cal machine guns. Grenades are impossible to use not only because they can take out everything and it's mother, but because the Russians pussy out and run from them every time you throw one, but of course our guys yell grenade and stand over it as if it were a magical device capable of making you invincible. They guessed wrong.
Sound -- 9/10 - Jesper Kyd really brings techno industrial music back from the tattered ruins of the 1990's espionage films and wraps it into a nicely wrapped gift-box. Other than the music, every other sound was standard. The voices were somewhat overdone, but nothing to bitch about.
Replay-ability -- Slim - Yes it was a good game to play with through the first time, but the whole Guy gets Shot At, Guy Rescues girl, guy runs through building, guy gets betrayed yadda yadda shtick gets a little repetitive after a while and you find yourself shouting "GOD I HATED THIS FRIGGEN LEVEL!!" at every turn. But, you still want to replay it on a day when the bullies at school told you you couldn't do anything right. Rescuing New York City from Russian invasion sure sounds right to me.
From the Review Square, JC
You play a plumber in New York City (imagine that) who gets caught up in an invasion on the United States by the Russians (grandpa Joe WAS telling the truth). His brother is kidnapped and Chris places his trust on a band of rebels that are working out of a sewer cavern that looks big enough to house the nukes needed to bomb the hell out of the invaders. After you're introduced to the rebels and such you're set out on your first mission. To rescue Isabella, the imprisoned rebel leader. To do this, you must go through stages to ensure the rescue of Isabella. The stages are usually separated into three to five separate parts in your current area. Each of these parts need to be overthrown with sabotage to the enemy's resources in that area. To complete the stage, you will need to raise an American flag at the points with Russian flags. Once each flag point has an American flag risen, the level is complete.
For those of you who know Jesper Kyd, I don't think I have to go into details about the music in this game. But, for those of you who don't, the music is phenomenal. It's packed with epic scores sung by the Hungarian Radio Choir. Anyone from Hungary? I would really like to know if they do intros for the radios there, because I thought they were excellent. Better than our American radio jingles. Jesper Kyd, I-O Interactive's music mastermind puts in his best to make you picture running into battle with an AK and an American flag ready to kick ass and take names. Freedom Fighter's makers put their music in good hands. I have the soundtrack, believe me, I listen to it on my way to work and drum on the dashboard. I know, I know. But Kyd's got amazing talent. Just listen to the Hit-man trilogy.
SO. Final score. 8/10 Graphics -- 7/10 - Yeah, they were good. But they looked somewhat chunky. Everyone was muscular and well built, except for Chris's brother who looked like Super Mario.
Gameplay -- 8/10 - Truly epic gameplay. Actually felt like you were turning back the invasion. I could definitely see a movie adaptation with the way the actions in the game were. Everything is very Band of Brothers'ish. It has it's moments of running into the invaders guns-a-blazin' and it has it's stealth moments. Although the gameplay is excellent, I could definitely be seeing many of you punching in your cheats during gameplay. It's difficult to fight the Russians when everyone on your team doesn't want to follow your direction and ends up getting killed, leaving you buddy-less and hiding from gunfire with out any health packs. Unless you're on very easy mode, health packs are scarce, and so is ammo. You will sometime find yourself resorting to your plumber's wrench. Recruiting members into your squad is as easy as cooking pie in a microwave oven. But getting them to follow your direction is probably as easy as finding a unicorn in your glove-box. They'll go to where you want them to go, but then they'll run back to you and tell you they're "ready when you are." I often found myself saying, I'm ready for you to stop jerking off and go investigate the area I told you to. But they'd probably nod and laugh and say "good one, boss." Combat -- 9/10 - Like I said, much of the gameplay is epic and it will have you screaming into battle with an AK and a Molotov expecting to mow down the opposition. That is, if the opposition didn't have unlimited man power and a hell of a lot more firepower. Just think of the idea of running into combat without any backup as throwing a snowball into the gates of hell, then imagine that you're the snowball. You wouldn't last two milliseconds before becoming Rebel Hamburger Meat. That being said, you can use the invader's weapons against them, not the helicopters with high-powered machine guns, but the smaller 50 cal machine guns. Grenades are impossible to use not only because they can take out everything and it's mother, but because the Russians pussy out and run from them every time you throw one, but of course our guys yell grenade and stand over it as if it were a magical device capable of making you invincible. They guessed wrong.
Sound -- 9/10 - Jesper Kyd really brings techno industrial music back from the tattered ruins of the 1990's espionage films and wraps it into a nicely wrapped gift-box. Other than the music, every other sound was standard. The voices were somewhat overdone, but nothing to bitch about.
Replay-ability -- Slim - Yes it was a good game to play with through the first time, but the whole Guy gets Shot At, Guy Rescues girl, guy runs through building, guy gets betrayed yadda yadda shtick gets a little repetitive after a while and you find yourself shouting "GOD I HATED THIS FRIGGEN LEVEL!!" at every turn. But, you still want to replay it on a day when the bullies at school told you you couldn't do anything right. Rescuing New York City from Russian invasion sure sounds right to me.
From the Review Square, JC