Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich Preview

Beware evildoers, wherever you are!

Now that hardly seems fair now does it?

I may be a super-hero, but I’m not a guide!

For as far as I can remember video games and comics were always a fine money-spinning mix. In Freedom Force players were able to play as superheroes, upgrade their characters, and march through a variety of highly interactive environments. With impressive audio, bright and colorful visuals, and substantial content, this comic-style tactical RPG, was an outstanding achievement and one of the best titles to emerge from Irrational Games (even now it seems like a nice brake from those Marvel classics). Now, almost two years after its release, the development crew at Irrational resolved to continue the franchise with Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich. Although the game is still pretty much under wraps at this point, we've decided to share a few preliminary details with you guys.

Unlike the original, Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich takes place in a setting much different from the lovely and cheerful surroundings of the early 60's. This time around, players take their superheroes on a ride through the harsh battlefields of World War II, struggling to overpower the Third Reich, the Blitzkrieg, and the original Axis of Evil. (Sticking to historical facts, it would be rather difficult to overpower a fairly abstract term like "the fast war" [i.e. Blitzkrieg] - 2Lions) Along the way you'll be coming across a variety of brand new characters such as Black Jack, Sky King, and more. The way ahead, however, won't be safe and pleasant, since it's mostly occupied by nasty villains like Fortissimo and Red Sun. On top of these, the game presents numerous new additional characters as well as never-before-seen henchmen.

The game will allow you to choose one of the six playable characters all of which play a significant role in the game's storyline. The fast-paced role-playing is still the crux of gameplay. One of your main goals is to improve your team of heroes. Naturally, each character is upgraded gradually as the game progresses. Completing various tasks and heroic deeds, characters will be awarded "Prestige Points" which can be used for leveling several skills and abilities. Throughout gameplay players will fight villains, eventually unlocking more powerful skills. To freshen things up a bit the design team threw in cool super-powers like "Dancing Dead," "Aztec Mercy," "Whirlwind Tour," and more. We are also intrigued by the freshly incorporated necromancy powers that were given to certain new characters. Using these powers grants you the ability to bring back characters that have been KO-ed. Such powers will surely increase the level of strategic combat.

Those of you familiar with the original probably recall some of its drawbacks. Freedom Force occasionally exhibited certain AI bugs which slightly reduced the challenging aspect of gameplay. In addition to that, there were a few minor interface issues which also kind of slowed things down. These problems are something Irrational Games promises to iron out in the sequel. Basically, Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich will see enhanced AI behavioral patterns as well as a tweaked and polished interface for a slicker gameplay. Concerning enemy intelligence, the developers opted to establish independent AI routines so players will have as little micromanagement as possible. Unlike before, your teammates are now able to respond on their own accord, and that should give you enough freedom to focus on your chief characters. But AI basics are yet to be fine-tuned in such a manner that will also allow you to enjoy the tactical depth of gameplay.

Russell Crowe is not fond of skeletons.

Russell Crowe is not fond of you either!

Apart from expanding the boundaries of gameplay with an assortment of innovative features, considerable effort was invested in establishing up-to-the-minute visuals. So far we know that Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich will boast more polygons in the environment and on character models, as well as bigger and richer textures. Just check out the high-res screenshots we've got lined up for you. Other technically up-to-date features were also incorporated, such as more complex shadows, dynamic lighting, etc. Enhancing the main visual qualities of the game's predecessor was also one of the developers' top priorities. So, once again, you'll be seeing top-notch animation and excellent artwork worthy of eminent comic books. Interactive scenery is also being worked on and will surely offer players more variety next to throwing cars and fighting your opponents with lampposts (sound familiar?).

According to the development team at Irrational, the multiplayer will be as involving as the game's single-player campaign. We don't know the exact details on this newly enhanced multiplayer at present, but we are aware that it's being built from scratch. More stability and fluidness was also promised in the MP. As you all probably know, the first game offered a well-designed and detailed character editor - which was, naturally, devised to make the mod community happy. The sequel has a whole variety of new features and fresh tools for mod-makers, thanks to which, gamers can use their imagination and creativity to incorporate new skins and characters into the game.

That's all the info we have at this time. Right now the game doesn't have an exact release date. We do know, however, that Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich is geared towards the second half of 2004, so keep your shirts on; we'll have more news for you in the following months.