Freedom Force was brilliant because...

[Sorceror]

    I realise that this is somewhat of a "noob" post although just how "noob" anyone can be for a ten year old game is a moot point.  And I think this is what makes Freedom Force so special - few games ever inspire that degree of loyalty.  I'm sure this has been done before but I think for the designers who might still check out these forums the praise is worth repeating.

    For me: -

    1) Freedom Force appeared a labour of love.  I'm sure even bad games had designers and coders that may have poured their hearts into them but Freedom Force just felt that the folks who made it had synthesised what people loved about superheroes, purified it, and made it into a computer game.
    2) Freedom Force had so much that you would want to do with superheroes - pick up lamposts and hit enemies with them, climb up skyscrapers, jump up skyscrapers, fly, do fire, electricity, radiation and energy blasts, throw cars at enemies, mind blank enemies, enrage enemies, freeze enemies, fight thugs, fight gunmen, fight gangsters, fight dinosaurs, fight giant ants, fight enemies who become your allies, fight giant robots, fight warrior women, fight replicants, fight aliens, fight supervillains, fight gods, and fight giant pan dimensional villains who threaten the very universe itself.  Whew...
    3)  The details.  The extras which weren't essential to the game working but made it special.  The little snippets of capatalist/ American propoganda on EVERY object - even waste paper bins.  And the wonderful comic covers for each episode - the artwork capturing the best of golden age/ silver age American comics.  The cheesy origin videos - they could have been so much better but they were brilliant because they weren't.  The voiceover - how many takes did the speech about "what could be more wonderful than a virtuous all American girl ?" at the start of the Pan episodes take ?
    4)  The characters - Minuteman, El Diablo, Man o' War, Eve, Ant Man, Man Bot.  I like Mentor now a little better now I've worked out how to use him properly.  I know the characters were lovingly stolen from, sorry, inspired by, the great Marvel and DC heroes but within the games they began to develop their own personalities and lives.

    In the decade since Freedom Force there may have been some better games but I think few will have ever had the fun factor of Freedom Force, the feeling of entering its own special universe.  So come, post, and give praise to the creators of our heroes...

Sorceror.

 

[cmdrkoenig67]

I agree with you, Sorcerer.  They are fantastic games...I love them to pieces. 

Dana

[Sorceror]

One further addition to which I have only alluded to below - the risque humour.  Don't overdo it - it's a children's game and the innocence is a very big part of FF's appeal.  But I loved Pan's line to Eve "You've tasted my nectar, now feel my venom".  Did anyone else spot just how naughty that was ?

S.x.