Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Fight for your Freedom in Freedom Wars

If you own a PlayStation Vita, then you may want to head on over to your local store (or online store) and check out the brand new exclusive "Freedom Wars." Unlike many new titles which release for $40-$50, this one is only $29.99, but don't let that fool you--Freedom Wars is a game packed full of content, and it also provides its players with quite the challenge.

The game itself follows "your" own story. You start the game, make a character, and then get sent to jail for 1,000,000 years. With such a high sentence, you are forced to live your "life" with as little freedom as possible. There is a limit on how much you can walk, how close you can get to others, and so on. You are a complete prisoner in every sense of the word. So, "where is the game in that" you might ask? Well, looking at the name you might be able to tell.

Freedom Wars is a cross between a third person shooter, and a monster hunting styled game. To gain freedom you must go on missions, take down giant robot bosses, and rescue people. Every player receives an android partner (whom looks human and is fully customizable just as your character), and with that partner you can accept these missions and slowly unlock more features in the game. You're given a wide verity of melee weapons and guns to take with you, you can upgrade said equipment/craft new ones, and you can also unlock more customization options for your character as well. While all of this may sound standard for a hunting type game, Freedom Wars does change it up quite a bit.

Along with your android partner, the game's main storyline can be played online with other players (and their androids), and it has a huge focus on teamwork; however it can be played competitively as well. With player vs player death match modes on top of the standard co-op structure typically seen with these type of games, Freedom Wars has a much higher focus on online play--and it doesn't stop there. At the beginning of the game players are asked to select a real world city to represent, which will let them compete against others across the world. Everything you do in the game helps build your city to make it stronger (and unlock rewards), and at times you can compete in community events as well. While players from other cities can still play together, those within the same cities get to work together and stride to be the best.

On top of the online modes, the combat system is unique as well. The game was co-developed by Shift (the creators of the God Eater) and plays similar to their other games with melee weapons hacking and slashing away at enemies, but with the inclusion of real world styled guns things are a lot different. Players can get to high ground to snipe enemies, they can go in for close range combat with flame throwers, or unload with smgs and mounted weapons as well. It's something rarely seen in hunting styled games, but they're not the only twists made to the gameplay. Characters are given a grappling hook which can be shot out of their hand at any time, which allows them to not only scale buildings, but swing around and climb on enemies as well. By hooking onto enemies and flying through the air, you can go for specific parts and begin cutting down said enemy bit by bit. Cutting off parts of the enemy not only weakens them, but it also gives you resources for new weapons and upgrades, and makes your job saving people a lot easier--which is also a gameplay twist not typically seen.

Rather than just killing bosses, rescuing people from these giant robot enemies is the true goal here. People get captured (yes, your android can be captured as well), and it is your job to save them by breaking open the enemy, and carrying the defenseless human/android to safety. While one runs, the teammates must provide cover fire and take on the boss to insure the mission's success. Once again the game requires a great deal of teamwork, and that's where this sort of game shines.

Although Freedom Wars has a reputation of being challenging with a steep learning curve, it's the type of game you have to try for yourself before you judge it. Some may be drawn to the story, but others will simply enjoy the boss fighting and PvP aspects. Whatever the case is, it's a game that at least deserves a chance. It may not be for everyone, but for only $29.99 you can't complain. Especially considering a ton of free DLC will be released each week until the end of November to farther the experience.

With that being said.... Go Chicago City!