Freedom Fighters Lives on in the Memories of Gamers

Popularity doesn’t always indicate the quality of a game. Some titles you might never have heard of, but they are just as good, or even better, than their more well-known compatriots. One that got lost in the shuffle is Freedom Fighters, all the way back in 2003. This was the year of Pokémon Ruby/Sapphire, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Final Fantasy X-2, Need for Speed: Underground, and many other hits. Even though the competition was stiff, why did Freedom Fighters not attract enough attention? It’s something many players have asked themselves over the years.

A world breaks apart

Freedom Fighters takes place in a world that looks a lot like the world circa 2003. There are some glaring differences, though. In this timeline, the Soviet Union was the first one to use an atomic bomb, which ended World War II. When we join events, it had just invaded South America.

Many Americans are nervous about the Soviet Union’s far-reaching influence. Christopher and Troy Stone, two brothers, are plumbers in New York during this time. One day, they are on their way to the apartment of Isabella Angelina, a political activist who uses every opportunity to criticize the communist states. She is nowhere to be found when they get to her place. Instead, they find Soviet soldiers.

The invasion of New York has already begun, and you, as Christopher Stone, have to find a path out of the chaos. Everything you know has changed in an instant. Soviet propaganda soon fills the airwaves, and soldiers patrol the streets. You soon fall in with a group of American freedom fighters (called terrorists by the Soviets).

Orders reach new ears

All this might sound familiar, in part because the plot bears a resemblance to the film Red Dawn. What is different is that, in contrast to the 1984 film, the Soviet Union did not exist in the real world by the time of Freedom Fighter’s release. This allowed the creators to be more playful while not worrying about causing too much controversy.

That’s not to say there aren’t emotional beats in the story. There are. But Freedom Fighter strikes an interesting tone — somewhere between a gritty comic book and a tongue-in-cheek alternate history novel. It knows too many details will only weigh it down in the end.

The invasion of New York has already begun, and you, as Christopher Stone, have to find a path out of the chaos.

After all, what we’re really after in a shooter is a great playing experience. Freedom Fighters delivers this in spades. For one, the game uses IO Interactive’s Glacier engine, also seen in the Hitman games, so the action resembles their popular shooter titles. The ability to recruit fighters to accompany you on missions is an interesting central feature.

Being a squad leader doesn’t feel cumbersome in the game, though. You only have a couple of commands at your disposal, such as "attack" and "defend", and you can order your soldiers to specific positions. The factor that adds depth to the system is the competence of the AI; your soldiers will take cover behind designated places, utilize mounted machine guns, and clamber over walls after you. It almost feels like you’re playing with humans, not lines of code.

Tactics that reshape a struggle

Freedom Fighters is unlike most shooters at the time. The Soviets’ firepower means you are a vulnerable combatant, not a superhero, and you rely on your squad mates, who can number up to 12 after you upgrade your charisma. Ordering them to take optimal positions during the intense confrontations is key. A good flanking maneuver or judicious use of different weaponry can also turn the tide of a fight.

If you fail, it doesn't feel too frustrating to retry a section either, because it is an opportunity to try out new tactics. The world, which comprises of gated open world sections, presents various opportunities to a sharp-eyed commander. The difficulty curve never feels too steep.

Freedom Fighters occupies an interesting space in the tactical shooter genre. It’s not as slow-paced and realistic as Rainbow Six, but it isn’t as gung-ho as perhaps a Call of Duty game. In the early 2000s, the familiar genre distinctions hadn’t solidified yet, and cross-fertilization between various genres wasn't too uncommon.

Computers and consoles that connect

Freedom Fighters saw release on GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC in 2003. The console versions received a multiplayer capture-the-flag mode, but PC players had to be satisfied with only the single player story mode. On the flipside, PC players could of course aim and issue orders with greater precision.

There are various reasons the game didn’t succeed in the marketplace. One reason might be that the game only takes about 9 hours to finish, and the multiplayer mode divided opinions. In the early 2000s, the replayability and campaign length was an important consideration when one bought a game, during a time when consumers had many other choices.

Freedom Fighters' qualities still won many people's hearts, especially in the years after its release. One aspect that still stands out is how your AI squad mates are intelligent enough to not ruin your fun. These squad mates actually enlarge the scope of battles, so that they feel more intense than in most single-player games. It might not have been a financial smash hit, but that didn't matter to the gamers who were lucky enough to find a copy.

In 2003, Io Interactive released that simplicity, when done well, can create a game that is easy to pick up, but also opens a player’s imagination because they don’t have to worry about complex systems. That specific dynamic leads to light-hearted experimentation in a game world that reacts to your choices. Freedom Fighters remembered to have fun, and welcomed us, the players, to do likewise.