Back before Homefront and Homefront: Revolution, there was another alternate history-themed video game that flew under the radar. Developed by the same team that was responsible for Hitman‘s rise to fame, IO Interactive also developed a third-person shooter known as Freedom Fighters. While it was generally well received at the time, the game ended up becoming a cult classic among all the fans who originally played the game. Now in its most recent re-release, Freedom Fighters has a chance to show why it was so beloved in 2003.
IO interactive even expressed on social media that fans have been asking for a re-release, remaster, or remake of this game for years, and for good reason. Freedom Fighters made a lot of important innovations in sandbox, open world-like design back in 2003, things that were later implemented in hugely popular open world games years later. Alongside a provocative and patriotic setting (if a bit on the nose) that only a few games have tackled, bringing the Freedom Fighters franchise back after a long hiatus is a very good sign.
Back when development began on Freedom Fighters, it was a very different game. Initially the game was unveiled as “Freedom: The Battle for Liberty Island,” and was meant to have hybrid action combat split between a turn-based strategic mode and a third-person shooter mode. Presumably because of Hitman and Hitman 2‘s massive popularity, at some point that turn-based mode was implemented directly into the shooter gameplay instead with the game’s squad system. This system was one of the many ways that Freedom Fighters was incredibly unique at the time.
Freedom Fighters takes place in an alternate universe where Russia “wins” World War II, and becomes the strongest nation in the world. Players take control of the lesser-known video game plumber Chris Stone, who goes to fix the plumbing in the apartment of a known American revolutionary. Then, during the invasion of New York by a Russian occupying force, Chris joins the titular revolutionaries in the fight to reclaim America back from the Soviet Union. The game takes place over several months, as the revolution grows stronger and the Russians are pushed out of New York.
In a lot of ways, Freedom Fighters ended up being very indirectly formative for sandbox and open world games. Freedom Fighters did some interesting things with the game’s systemic world, as each region of New York was divided into certain districts that involved a lot of purposeful backtracking. There would be anywhere between two to four zones in a region, but each contained a pivotal part of the Russian army’s strength. Various regions would be guarded by different forms of the Russian military’s strength, like helicopters that patrolled and guarded major strongholds, or troop convoys that would respawn enemies in cleared areas.
This is where the game’s simple yet clever world-building made progression in the game seem both organic and purposeful. For example, if a heavily armored helicopter is guarding the fire station, players would want to backtrack to the harbor district and destroy the helipad, which makes the fire station much easier to liberate. Not only that, but each successful sabotage increased players’ charisma, allowing them to recruit more squad mates to fight with them. This was never a required task, but sabotaging various parts of the Russian army’s strength evoked the feeling in players that the actions they were taking meant something in the revolution.
Freedom Fighters also employed a ton of other, smaller world-building elements that made the adventure much more immersive. After every mission, players returned to the game’s hub world in the New York sewer system. With each liberated region of New York, the rebel base in the sewers grew bigger as more tents and supplies were erected in the base. While the base-building was never as systemic and widespread as something like Metal Gear Solid 5‘s expansive systems, it still accomplished the same level of immersion. Both visually and functionally, this progression emphasized the player’s revolution was growing stronger.
This is also where the “Charisma” and squad-based mechanics come into play. Throughout each mission, players can recruit an increasing number of teammates to fight alongside them. Players had access to three simple commands, but it was yet another gameplay feature that emphasized the importance of the player’s revolution. As pivotal moments occur throughout the game, like rescuing hostages or destroying the Soviet Union’s military infrastructure, the player’s Charisma levels up. As Charisma increases, players can recruit even more fighters to their cause. This kind of system showed up in games like Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood more recently, but Freedom Fighters did it in 2003.
For most fans jumping back into the re-release, many are hoping the success of this launch on PC could lead to a reinvigoration of the franchise. Even though Hitman‘s reboot has done remarkably well for IO Interactive, fans of Freedom Fighters have been asking about the status of the franchise for years, and whether a remake/remaster or sequel was coming. IO’s always been vocally proud of the Freedom Fighters series, even though a planned sequel in 2005 was eventually cancelled. Many are hoping the success of this re-release could potentially spur on a sequel in the series, 17 years after the original game’s release date.
Freedom Fighters is available now on PC via Steam, GOG, and Epic Games Store.
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