I consider this one of the underrated, unsung heroes of gaming. Seriously. This game didn't get enough exposure and doesn't seem to be known to many people, and I think I may be the only person I know who's actually played through it. It's something of a diamond in the rough, if that's not overly theatrical.

Freedom Fighters is set in a slightly alternate reality which starts with the Soviets dropping the Bomb on Germany to end World War II. This changes the political climate, putting the Reds on top after the conclusion of the war. Fast forward to the 1990s, and the Soviets dominate most of the world, either directly or indirectly. The game starts as the Russians attack their only still-standing opponent, America, with a blitz on New York City.

Freedom Fighters is a third-person shooter, the camera permanently centered just over your character's head. You play a simple, everyday man caught up in the midst of the Soviet invasion. The game is also somewhat of a tactical shooter--in the course of the events, you recruit people for your resistance movement and can give them commands in battle. The command system, while not as deep as I would like, gets the job done, and the computer AI is surprisingly competent. Everything is mostly done like a shooter: keeping things simple and easy to execute on the fly.

Graphics in the game are along this philosophy, too. While textures are more detailed than I had expected, everything still has a "simple" look to it, again trying to avoid over-cluttering things. The urban landscapes of New York still look convincing, though, and lighting effects are decent as expected--I got pretty much what I was expecting to see, and none of it was terribly bad. With the camera set back as far as it is, character models still look great and bullet effects are especially good-looking.

The game's controls fall along the familiar pseudo-shooter lines. Movement is simplistic, with an order system that is based on the now-familiar method of aiming the reticle at a given spot and choosing a command from a circle of choices that pops up. You can order men to take a location, hold one defensively, take cover and heal up, or form up on you. Aiming is easy and targeting a breeze. All of it just...feels satisfying. As I stated above, the AI, both friend and foe, is more than competent and you can trust a squad of friendlies to hold the attention of a Soviet post long enough to sneak up the back way with another squad and take it without much trouble.

All done and said, it's a great game that I never hear people talk about. I always wonder how a great work like this gets almost no exposure, or a sequel for that matter. That's my one complaint about this game: length. At most, it's an eight-hour game, and feels entirely too short. By the time the credits roll, you feel like you're just hitting your stride. But then, that's the Xbox version. Maybe I'll get the PC version one day and find some mods for it, since EA is unwilling to make a franchise out of this gem.