Like its predecessor, Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich is a short, sweet, and easy experience. Being a "sequel," it loses most of the novelty of the first game.
When the original Freedom Force appeared on the PC gaming scene in 2002, it was a colorful, entertaining game that had probably done the best job to date in bringing the comic books to the video game world. It had some obvious deficiencies however, including a game that was too short, an online match-up system that lacked appeal, and a limited toolset that didn't encourage custom missions as much as it did custom skins. While many mod websites produced a library of skins for every Marvel and DC superhero in existence, there just weren't enough custom missions that matched the excitement of the original game, and the online battle system was only interesting enough to keep the most hardcore Freedom Force fans logged in. The final deathblow came with the release of the MMOPRG City of Heroes which provided easy hero customization and a large online gaming world that Freedom Force couldn't compete with. Still, the first game made enough money and generated enough interest to warrant a sequel, but unless you were hopelessly addicted to the formulas of the first game, it may not bring enough new life to the Freedom Force series.
The gameplay engine in Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich is almost a carbon copy of the first Freedom Force game. If you remember the mechanics of the first game's real-time combat system, then you should have no problem reacquainting yourself with the second game. Even if you didn't play the first game, assuming you've been around the block in the PC gaming market, you'll learn the gameplay system quickly. As with the first game, the second one is played out in a series of missions with each level having certain mandatory objectives as well as optional objectives that further increase your prestige and allow you to level up your characters in-between missions.
Employing the same formula that endeared Freedom Force to gamers, the second game starts off again with its own Adam West Batman-esque story. It brings back some of the old charm from the first game, but frankly, the cocksure voices and cheesy stories get boring after a while. Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich probably meets the standards of a quality expansion rather than a sequel. Many of the random superhero origins are the same stories from the first game and unlike the first game, most of the heroes are not introduced in the middle of a mission. Maybe the most disappointing aspect of Freedom Force is that many heroes will not be necessary and you never feel as if you are experiencing a story from your superhero's point of view. There are a few new faces in the sequel, but the game takes off where the last one ended and unless you're a big fan of the "Wham! Pow! Oomph!" story in the first Freedom Force, you may not find much interest in the second game of the series. Even the villains continue where they left off in the first game.
Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich also suffers from one of the same flaws as the first game. It's too easy! As long as you control your superheroes in a slow methodical fashion with frequent pausing to make sure they aren't getting caught in disadvantageous situations, you should be able to complete each mission with few play-overs. It's made even easier because you are allowed to resurrect your superheroes once on each mission. Another example of the lack of difficulty is the fact that perhaps the toughest head boss in the game is actually inserted halfway through the game, rather than at the end. Even the custom character option further adds to this wearisome easiness, and with a basic knowledge of gameplay mechanics, you can easily create an "uber hero" who will be almost impossible to stop and allow you to breeze through any mission. (See the bottom screenshot to the right for an example of "Uber Man.")
While not a very recent release, Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich is still new enough to have a robust online community and this reviewer is sad to say that most of it has disappeared. You will rarely find online gamers to start up a quick game using the multiplayer game mode, and will probably need to set up games on fan message boards instead. The mod community has fallen apart, especially compared to the first game that had so many sites and gamers contributing their time and efforts. Some of this may be due to the comic book companies actively going after video games that violate their copyrights, but most if is probably because of the aforementioned entry of City of Heroes which essentially offers everything the online Freedom Force community wanted in the first place. It would be wise to check out some of the links in this review and immediately download custom content because some of these sites may no longer be maintained in a few months.
Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich doesn't appear to be a system hog at all and even outdated systems will probably be able to set most graphics at their highest settings. (Recommended: 1.8 GHz processor, 256 MB RAM; Required: 733 MHz processor, 128 MB RAM) More advanced features such as anti-aliasing are not offered in the options menu which mostly dedicates itself to shadows and detail level. This reviewer found a smooth playing experience with no game changing bugs, although your own experience may vary with different hardware and software on your system.
Your enjoyment of Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich will probably depend on your love of the subject matter. If you appreciate the gameplay and stories which pay homage to a history of comic book stories and art, then you'll probably get a kick out of the short but sweet play-through in this game. If you haven't touched any title in the Freedom Force series, my advice would be to get a copy of the first Freedom Force game which, in this reviewer's opinion, is a superior game, and much cheaper and easier to find on GameTZ. If you find yourself wanting more, then give Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich a try. This is one of those games that is a terrific purchase in a bargain bin, but should be approached reluctantly if you're giving up any more than peanuts.
This game played on a system with: AMD Athlon 2700+ 2.2 GHz 1 GB of DDR 400 RAM Radeon 128 MB 9600 Pro Video Card 1024 x 768 Resolution
(Screenshots in this review are from this system and are not what your game may look like with better hardware and higher resolutions. Screenshots were also reduced to fit GTZ requirements and may have been distorted in the process. Game was maxed out on all video settings.)
