Freedom Force (2002 video game)
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| Developer(s) | Irrational Games |
| Publisher(s) | Electronic Arts, Crave Entertainment |
| Engine | NetImmerse |
| Platform(s) | Windows, Mac OS X |
| Release date | 2002-01-09 (US) 2002-07-12 (UK) |
| Genre(s) | Real-time tactics, Tactical role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T), PEGI: 12+ |
| Media | CD-ROM |
Freedom Force is a real-time[1] tactical role-playing game[1][2][3] developed by Irrational Games and published by Electronic Arts and Crave Entertainment in 2002. The player guides a team of superheroes as they defend Patriot City from a variety of villains, monsters, and other menaces. A sequel, Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich was self-published in early March, 2005.
The game is noted for its humorous but respectful evocation of the Silver Age of Comic Books; in particular, its visual style emulates the art style of the Marvel Universe co-creator, Jack Kirby. Also important is its versatile, expandable game engine, which has allowed a considerable fan-community to spring up. Total conversions featuring Marvel and DC Comics characters have been created.[citation needed]
The characters of Freedom Force are the creation of Irrational Games artist Robb Waters. Waters, who has been involved in the videogame industry for over a decade, including the creation of the characters of Thief: The Dark Project as well as the PC title System Shock. In concert with game-designer Ken Levine, Waters created an homage to Kirby with both the personality and artistic-expression of Freedom Force's characters and villains.
From January to June 2005, the story of the first Freedom Force game was retold in a six-issue comic book miniseries published by Image Comics. This series was scripted by Eric Dieter and featured Jack Kirby-influenced artwork by Tom Scioli. Dieter also wrote the series and served as community manager for the official website's forum, "Freedom Fans".
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[edit] Plot
The alien mentalist Mentor, fleeing Lord Dominion and his invading forces, heads towards Earth in a small spaceship containing many canisters of the mysterious "Energy X." Lord Dominion's ships pursue Mentor and destroy his craft just outside the Earth's atmosphere; the blast scatters containers of the substance over the metropolis of Patriot City. Energy X strikes several of the city's inhabitants, giving them superpowers that typically echo their personality traits (for instance, Minuteman's staunch patriotism and El Diablo's fiery temper) or draw on the situation they were in when energized (e.g., The Ant or Nuclear Winter). Most of the game is set in Patriot City, but a number of other locations and time periods are used, including magical realms, prehistoric times, and realms entirely removed from time and space.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Heroes
- Minuteman - Frank Stiles worked on the Manhattan Project in World War II, where he learned that a co-worker, O'Connor, was turning secrets over to the Russians. His efforts to out O'Connor only ruined his reputation; in 1962, he is a bitter old man, feeding pigeons in the park. He chances to see O'Connor speaking to a man who is apparently a Russian agent, so he follows them. Unfortunately, he is spotted and fatally wounded. Dying, he slumps against the statue dedicated to the Minuteman, when a bright flash of light heralds Energy X, turning him young again and giving him patriotically-powered abilities. Minuteman has superhuman strength, making him a powerful melee fighter using his staff, "Vigilance." He can also gain the "Minute Missile" early on, which allows him to stun an enemy from a distance. In addition, he has some of the more accurate throwing skills among the core characters. Minuteman is a pastiche of Spirit of '76, Captain America, and a host of other patriotic superheroes. The statue of the Minuteman that Frank Stiles reaches for is directly modeled after the Statue of the Concord Minute Man that resides in Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord, MA.[citation needed]
- Mentor - A mysterious alien who is fleeing his home planet to bring news to Earth that Lord Dominion is on his way to conquer them. He possesses mental powers ranging from enraging nearby enemies to curing psychic trauma, and energy powers including some radiation attacks. It is never stated whether Mentor gained his powers by an Energy X "transformation" or if they're common to his race. A mentalist archetype, reminiscent of the Martian Manhunter or Professor Xavier of the X-Men. His design is very close to the member of the Shi'ar Imperial Guard with whom his name he shares. He is also prone to exclamations like "Rings of Rexxor!", in the manner of Doctor Strange.
- El Diablo - A hot-headed Latino and former gang member, granted powers of fire by Energy X, El Diablo joins the ranks of Freedom Force after saving Minuteman and Mentor from the clutches of Nuclear Winter. Wielding the power of fire, El Diablo starts out able to fly and shoot gouts of flame at foes. Later in the game, he is given more powerful ranged attacks, including the ability to make objects explode. He considers himself a ladies' man but his main target, Alchemiss, constantly rebuffs him. As a fire-based character, he is vulnerable to cold attacks. Reflecting his fiery temper, El Diablo has difficulty focusing his powers, often resulting in poor accuracy or misjudged power use. He is also apparently mildly claustrophobic. He is similar in abilities and personality to the Human Torch.
- Man-Bot - Ted Taylor was handsome, athletic, popular, and incredibly shallow. One day while driving, he was hit by an incredibly powerful but unstable bolt of Energy X. Ted was suddenly charged with an enormous amount of power that he had no control over; waves of explosive energy surged from his body unpredictably. In desperation, he turned to his scientific genius brother for help. His brother's latest project, an armor-like suit meant to provide mobility for the disabled, was able to contain the destructive power of Energy X, but Ted would have to stay confined in it until his brother could cure his condition. Ted refused this perceived 'imprisonment' and his brother was tragically killed by an unexpected surge of Ted's power shortly thereafter. Wracked by guilt, Ted dons the suit and vows to redeem his superficial life and his brother's death by fighting crime as Man-Bot. While Man-Bot is incredibly strong and is capable of using Energy X in powerful ranged attacks, he is also slow and can suffer uncontrolled energy explosions which injure friend and foe alike. With experience, he also gains the useful ability to transfer energy to other characters. Man-Bot frequently broods about the burden of his destructive powers, and knows that he will be forced to live in his containment suit forever, for the sake of everyone around him. An armored hero, akin to Iron Man, but his powers and personality are similar to those of Cyclops or The Human Bomb, who also needs a restraint to avoid wreaking havoc. His powers isolating him from humanity and the effect it has on his personality is similar to the Thing.
- Alchemiss - Catherine Larchmont-Price gained her powers during a dream when the mysterious figure of the Goddess imbued her with her spirit. She follows the Goddess's instructions to fight evil, and her powers revolve mainly around sorcery and dimensional summoning. Alchemiss tends to have a snarky attitude and doesn't like to ask for help; she refuses the attentions of most men, yet interestingly makes several advances toward Man-Bot over the course of the game. She has few direct-damage attacks and focuses more on status change and knockback abilities. A Jean Grey/Marvel Girl and Scarlet Witch pastiche, who will transform later on into a cosmic powered Dark Phoenix like character known as Entropy in the sequel.
- The Ant - John Miller was an intelligent, nerdy student, picked on and bullied often. While observing a colony of ants in fascination, a ray of Energy X infused him with ant-like superpowers, including great strength, the ability to burrow, and the ability to scale walls and throw "acid bombs". The Ant is a born bookworm, generally quiet and introspective but also a bit of a clown, constantly wisecracking during fights. The supervillain Shadow had kept him under her control with drugs, using his control of giant Energy X-infused ants to attack Patriot City. Freedom Force broke her evil spell over him and he immediately joined the team. He has a number of moderately powerful melee attacks, and can throw acid bombs and summon swarms of ants. He can also climb walls or burrow underground for protection or to bypass obstacles. His personality, abilities, and origin are reminiscent of the Marvel Comics Spider-Man and Ant-Man characters.
- Liberty Lad - Young Nick Craft was a huge fan of Freedom Force, the founder of their fan club, and a comic book aficionado. Star-struck, he followed the team everywhere, despite Minuteman and El Diablo's warnings for his safety. Tagging along during a confrontation between Freedom Force and the villain Pinstripe, Nick was seriously injured. Minuteman gave him a blood transfusion that both saved his life and granted him powers similar to his idol. Nick christens himself Liberty Lad and becomes Minuteman's sidekick, boasting super strength and speed as well as limited molecular control. He is very fast and agile, has decent melee attacks and a variety of grenades, but as a youngster cannot stand up to punishment as well as most heroes on the team. He is a "sidekick" character in the same vein as Bucky or Robin.
- Microwave - An advanced robot from a far-flung alternate future where machines rule the earth, Microwave appears suddenly during a battle with Pinstripe and attacks Freedom Force. After being incapacitated, Microwave is reprogrammed by Mentor and becomes a member of the team. Very strong, slow and tough, but vulnerable to electrical damage, Microwave's main strength lies in his radioactive beam and projectile attacks and the abilities to "genetically alter" enemies and clone himself. Reminiscent of the Vision and Red Tornado, robot characters who joined the Avengers and Justice League respectively. Microwave's appearance was influenced by Wildfire.
- Eve - The beautiful Eve appeared unexplained in Patriot City Park, wearing a bikini-like outfit of foliage. Her origin is never fully revealed, but she plays a major role in defeating Pan, which may indicate that she is the embodiment of a mythological nature-force as well. Mysterious and quiet, Eve rarely speaks unless directly questioned. She wields a bow and variety of arrows with great accuracy, and can also call upon plants to blind or bind enemies. Her appearance is very similar to the early appearances of Poison Ivy in Batman comics. Her personality and later connection to the Greek God Pan are parallels to Wonder Woman.
- Man O' War - Hank Waters was a grizzled fisherman, but he'd had a run of bad luck. He was taking his beloved ship, the Man O' War, to Boston to turn it over to the bank when he discovered a young female stowaway on board (see Sea Urchin below). A vicious storm struck, during which Hank Waters was thrown overboard. As the stowaway struggled to rescue him, both were struck by Energy X. Hank found himself possessing power over the sea and electricity, which he used to calm the raging storm. Naming himself Man O' War after his treasured ship, he becomes a crime-fighter along with his new sidekick, Sea Urchin. He is one of the more physically powerful characters in the game, has good ranged attacks and can gain the ability to fly. Man O' War's voice is very reminiscent of that of actor Sean Connery and is the water-powered archetype, analogous to Aquaman or Namor the Sub-Mariner.
- Sea Urchin - The same incident that turned Hank Waters into Man O' War gave super powers to Merry Mason, his young stowaway. Like Man O' War, Sea Urchin has electrical and sea-related powers, but much less powerful. Most of her attacks are bubble-based, using her bubble-gun. Like Liberty Lad, she is young and much less durable than other members of Freedom Force.
- Law and Order - Just before mob boss Franky "Scrambled Eggs" Carbone was to stand trial, Pinstripe's goons rigged Judge Wilson's car to explode. Wilson was killed instantly, but there was a witness. Judge Wilson's assistant Sarah had seen Pinstripe at the scene, even though the explosion blinded her. Sarah was placed in the protective custody of an Officer Samson, an inexperienced but honest policeman who refused to abandon her to the mobsters trying to silence her. Facing down the corrupt police officers about to kill them, Sarah and Samson were simultaneously struck by Energy X, fusing them together into a composite being. Sarah became Law, wielding a mighty sword, and Officer Samson became Order, who attacks with an enormous gavel. Only one aspect of the duo can exist at once, but either can transform into the other at will. Law is a powerful healer and a quick but relatively weak fighter, and Order is a slow but powerful warrior. They may be a small nod to Cloak & Dagger. Additionally, their Mob crime vs the legal system origin story recalls early Daredevil comics, right down to Sarah's blindness.
- Bullet - Dwight Arrow was an Air Force pilot known for being the "fastest man in the sky." During the Vietnam war, his plane was hit by Energy X, which granted him super speed. After his plane crashed, he not only outran the bullets of his pursuers, but ran all the way across the Pacific to America. He decided to become a crime fighter, adopting the identity of Bullet. Bullet is the fastest hero in the game and can also sprint short distances near-instantaneously. Additionally, he is relatively strong, which makes him a valuable melee character. Bullet can also stun enemies by running into them at high speeds and can generate small whirlwinds that hurl people and objects upwards. He is the speedster archetype, not unlike The Flash or Quicksilver.
- Blackbird - Blackbird was originally only available to people who pre-ordered the first game, but it was soon discovered that all three pre-order characters were available by the addition of a line in the configuration file.[citation needed] A burglar who was frequently in and out of jail, Cassandra Calloway realized that crime really didn't pay. While trying to decide what to do with her life, she was hit by a burst of Energy X and decided to instead fight crime as Blackbird. She has several bird-like powers and abilities, including flight, a "talon-scratch" melee attack and a ranged sonic attack. Not unlike the DC Comics character Black Canary or Marvel Comics character Black Cat.
- Iron Ox - Iron Ox is another pre-order character, a washed up English boxer who was imbued with Energy X and given super powers. In many respects, Iron Ox is a typical strongman character but he is not especially vulnerable to mental attack as most "brutes" are. However, he is extremely vulnerable to electricity. Iron Ox speaks in a stereotypical posh English accent.
- Supercollider - Another pre-order character, Supercollider's origin is unknown. Like all of the pre-order characters, he doesn't have an origin clip and his description states him as being either an alien or a genetic experiment. The sequel indicates via in-mission dialogue that Supercollider has had numerous run-ins with the law. He has a roughneck attitude and looks like a bulky orange-skinned humanoid wearing a red armor. He has very powerful melee attacks and an active defense force field. He is perhaps based on the Fantastic Four member The Thing.
[edit] Supervillains
- Nuclear Winter - Formerly a Soviet agent named Sukhov, Nuclear Winter was transformed by Energy X into a being made of ice and dedicated to the destruction of his capitalist enemies. Nuclear Winter possesses strong melee attacks and ice-based projectiles, but is physically slow due to his icy temperament. He is the first supervillain to be defeated by Freedom Force in the original game and the sequel. Here, he steals an atomic bomb which he plans to detonate within Patriot City. As Minuteman's arch-enemy, he can be viewed as an analogue to Captain America's foe Red Skull. His ice powers are similar to those of Mister Freeze.
- Pinstripe - Joey "Pinstripe" Rigotta was a run-of-the-mill mobster before gaining powers from Energy X. He is a relatively minor villain, defeated early in the first game, but is directly responsible for the creation of Liberty Lad and the composite heroes Law and Order. Pinstripe looks like a typical 30's-movie gangster with a cigar in his mouth and a pinstriped suit, but with purple skin. He is virtually immune to physical attacks and knockbacks, and his tommygun fires ordinary bullets and a density-increasing beam that can ground flying heroes. He uses mobsters and street thugs as henchmen, who wield bats, pistols and grenades. Possibly inspired by comic book mobsters like Kingpin and Tombstone.
- Shadow - Once a famous supermodel, Amber Autumn was extremely vain. When she sustained a tiny scar on her cheek, Amber went mad, convinced that she was horribly disfigured. Energy X gave her powers of darkness, which she uses to destroy the "beautiful" society from which she had banished herself. As Shadow, she wears a mask to hide her "ugliness" and transforms ordinary citizens into Dark Men, misshapen cloaked minions with weaker versions of her own powers. Shadow can become invisible, and can blind her opponents with a ranged attack. In her subterranean lair, she enslaved The Ant with mind-controlling drugs to assist her in her restructuring of Patriot City in her own twisted self-image. After she was defeated and unmasked by Freedom Force, the Dark Men swarmed over Shadow and pummelled her in a rage over her beauty. She was given another chance to live by Time Master at the end of the game. In Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich, she is mentioned as being locked in a mental asylum. Her situation is very similar to Marvel Comics villains Mole Man and the Morlocks as well as Doctor Doom.
- Deja Vu - Deja Vu is an escaped mental patient who was empowered by Energy X, he always speaks in rhymes and can clone himself at will. He carries a ray gun that causes radiation damage and creates a large ray cannon which can create evil duplicates of anyone, whether hero or ordinary citizen. He uses his duplicates to frame Minuteman for various crimes, a common comic book plot. Deja Vu's personality and behavior is highly reminiscent of the Riddler, while his powers closely resemble those of Multiple Man.
- Mr. Mechanical - Mr. Mechanical was a failed architect with bizarre sensibilities. His buildings were unstable and caused many injuries and deaths when they collapsed. He was driven out of architecture after an important structure he was commissioned to build collapsed only a week after its unveiling, he claimed that it was sabotaged by petty minds jealous of his genius and incapable of appreciating his wonderful works. Appealing to his insane sense of injustice and revenge, Time Master enlisted Mr. Mechanical to create an army of gigantic robots to wreck Patriot City's "inferior" buildings. Reminiscent of early Fantastic Four enemies such as the Mad Thinker.
- Pan - The Greek god Pan was summoned to Patriot City by the Time Master in order to create chaos and further test Freedom Force. Smitten by Eve, he captures her and forces Freedom Force to rescue her from his floating island fortress. As an antagonistic Greek god, Pan is remiscent of villains such as Ares (in DC and Marvel comics).
- Lord Dominion - The cruel ruler of the race known as The Domain, Lord Dominion had supposedly conquered all dimensions but one: ours. Bored with straightforward conquest, Lord Dominion decided to allow the Earth to destroy itself by imbuing the worst, most despicable humans with Energy X. Mentor stole one of Dominion's ships loaded with Energy X capsules and fled towards Earth, hoping to bestow its powers upon good people to counter the evil plans. After his defeat by Freedom Force, Lord Dominion becomes the team's reluctant ally against Time Master. An indirect pastiche of the Skrull and other evil aliens that were common sights in Marvel Comics titles like the Avengers and X-Men.
- Time Master - This mysterious creature holds sway over the power of time itself. He is revealed as the ultimate villain in the first game, having directed or manipulated the lesser villains to attack Freedom Force. He used Man-Bot as a living power source in his scheme to destroy the Celestial Clock, thus stopping time in the universe and making himself immortal, as the only thing his chronal powers don't allow him to do is halt his own aging. Although he appears to explode after being defeated, the second game retcons events so he survived but lapsed into a dormant state in which Freedom Force handed him over to the American government. Similar to other giant cosmic-powered threats such as Galactus and the Anti-Monitor. His character design and time-traveling powers are a striking resemblance to Kang the Conqueror.
[edit] Sequel
The game Freedom Force was followed by a sequel, Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Mirror of Freedom Force FAQ
- ^ Freedom Force Q&A (HTML). GameSpot (July 17, 2000). Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
- ^ Allman, Mark (October 22, 2000). I Want to Be a Superhero (HTML). RPGPlanet. Retrieved on 2007-11-26.
