Freedom: First Resistance Review

However, the one thing I must mention in Freedom's defense is that I was rarely bored during the game (except when I was running around not knowing how to solve a certain puzzle). Freedom: First Resistance has an original approach to the multi-character gameplay. I especially liked the fact that you get to operate three characters during a single mission. Keeping an eye on every member of your team is not a simple task and you're gonna have to be careful with every step you take (every cake you bake - ha!). Each character has his individual skill, durability, capability, and weapon control. Leo is a renowned electronic genius recruited by the resistance only thanks to Angel's personal influence is the only one who can help access high security areas that are sealed with complex computer locks. Specific individuals can only carry certain items. For example, Angel cannot use the huge Catteni stun rod because it needs to be managed by someone massive and sturdy; that's where Jimmy and Zared come in. Jimmy was with the resistance from the beginning. He's one of the rare survivors of the human force that desperately tried stop the invasion of the alien race. He's the most physically-powerful member of your team. Zared is the Catteni that decides to join you in your cause. Only Zared can manage certain alien weapons, so take good care of him. Once you grasp the character's individual aptitudes, your team can then be a fully functioning unit. You can use all kinds of tactics for defeating your foes - one of my strategies was wasting them from afar and then coming sneaking close to finish them off.

The alienish weaponry was constructed with style and simplicity, and it looks quite nice. Every character has the ability to use the Catteni pistol; it's light and precise. I don't want to go into every weapon now, but since I mentioned these I would also like to point out my favorites: the blue Force Whip (the one that looks like Obi-Wan's lightsaber) and the best bloody weapon ever made - the astonishingly enormous Catteni blaster. That thing can perform miracles, particularly when fired at close range. Alas, it is only meant for Zared. So you can just forget about the fantasy of Angel carrying a huge grenade launcher and anxiously trying to look like private Vasquez (Aliens). BTW, even things like the traditional baseball bat made their way into the game's arsenal (yeah, pissed off driver's best friend; not really an alien weapon, is it now). They are useful and can knock down the mightiest foe.

Working and thinking fast are the key elements for your success in missions. In certain situations there's simply not enough time for contemplating your actions, you just have to synchronize your moves and go with the flow. The controls respond well and it doesn't take a long time to get use to them. Also, the inventory is easily accessible; so you can browse through your items and not have any difficulties while choosing your 'lethal weapon.' In addition, every object that can be manipulated will light up once you get close to it. These aspects make the gameplay more intuitive and allow you to enjoy the game more.

The assignments that you'll have to comlete are various: scouting for certain individuals, making trade-deals, taking specific enemy weapons out of action, blowing up Catteni bases etc. etc. After playing a while, you will notice that most of the locations are recurring too often in the game. The Mall, for instance, is a scene where you'll be returning three or four times. This can also be said about some of the Street locations. Venturing through the same locations for three times can really irritate the hell out of you, especially if your objectives boil down to the old 'find something to open something' chore.

Environments in this game can use more work in general, as well as the animation, which needs more detail in the NPC department. The commendable part is that when you talk to some of the NPCs they will not stand around just barely moving their upper lip, a few of them move about spontaneous and very realistic. The dissatisfaction arises when you see the poor textures of the NPC models. Some seem pretty lifeless and numb to whatever action you perform. Thankfully, one of the things that kept me going during the entire game are the attractively designed interiors with highly detailed textures. This all depends of course on the capability of your graphic card. My GeForce displayed some pretty nice visuals -- the light effects are satisfactory, and the character shadowing especially creates an impressive visual effect. The relieving camera view is in third person perspective and is easy to manage.

All right, I always point out the corny story, bad models, recurring scenes and enemies, and so on. This time however, there was a certain good feeling that prevailed throughout the whole game. A possibility exists that the music helped conquered my heart. The tracks are a bit short but extremely effective at explicit moments. You can hear a dynamic modern Matrix type of rhythm, also the sensuous and soft melodies of a Spanish guitar. There are also many different voiceovers, which match the appearances of the characters. I have to come clean and state that I enjoyed playing as Vasquez...er I mean Sanchez. Leo and Zared are cool guys and can be the reason I liked playing the game for such a long time. To put as bluntly as possible, the models are lackluster and the repetitious locations can drive you crazy, but I plainly fell in love with the characters (I guess this is the segment where Anne McCaffrey did her job well).