Freedom Force--an RPG?

[Spazmo]

A lot of gaming sites and the Game of the Year awards thereof are naming Freedom Force as an RPG, and the developers themselves call it a tactical squad-based RPG. The question is: why?

I've played Freedom Force, and while it's a terrific squad-based tactical game brimming with fun, style, and humor, it's certainly not an RPG. It does have RPG elements wherein the heroes and villains in the game are all fleshed out using a relatively in-depth rule system involving primary statistics, special trait-like characteristics and superpowers, but the fact that you use characters pre-made in the game (you can make your own, but the game's characters fit in with the game better and are, well, better designed), that the game is quite linear (no choices are made by the player at all aside from which monster to go after first and how to take it out), and that you have no real control over character development beyond which power gets bought and improved first make the game's RPG nature quite questionable.

So why, then, is Freedom Force considered an RPG by the gaming press? Hell Neverwinter Nights is more of an RPG than FF (yeah, I said it), although Freedom Force is more of a game than NWN. How does a mere RPG style character system equate to RPG? FF is a tactical game, pure and simple, and I don't see how anyone could see anyone could see it any different.

 

[Vault Dweller]

So why, then, is Freedom Force considered an RPG by the gaming press? Hell Neverwinter Nights is more of an RPG than FF (yeah, I said it), although Freedom Force is more of a game than NWN. How does a mere RPG style character system equate to RPG? FF is a tactical game, pure and simple, and I don't see how anyone could see anyone could see it any different

Common misconception, really. If a game has a single stat it's an RPG. If there is no story whatsoever it's an action RPG, if there is some sense of direction, it's an indepth RPG. Quite simple, actually.

 

[triCritical]

And if its a first person shooter with stats its a first person RPG.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

Nope, it's not really a CRPG. I wish it were though, because the character system is pretty damned cool, actually. Rumor is that they're making a sequel, and if so, I hope they ditch the lame mission system and requirement of having certain pre-made characters in each area. Minuteman showing up as an NPC controlled by the computer in an area would be neat, but I want my own team, made by ME.. Not the ones forced on me.

I'd love it if they presented you with a city and just let you go where crime reports are, or even patrol at random.

I actually liked Hero X more than Freedom Force, but it didn't have a character system or experience, really. It was just a superhero action game that infogrames dumped on the market without telling anyone. It had missions, but in between missions, you could patrol the town and fight crime on your own.

 

[axel]

And if its a first person shooter with stats its a first person RPG.

No One Lives Forever had some (don't know how much of an effect they had) but everyone still considered it an action game. Not even any of that Deus Ex FPS with RPG elements stuff.

 

[Azael]

Freedom Force was a great and very fun game, I even liked its pause-and-play combat perhaps because it didn't seem like it used that timed round nonsense. The setting was really well thought out as well and it was just plain cool to have to fight commies and aliens with big heads. It's not more of a RPG than Jagged Alliance is one, however.

I would like a sequel to this game, a more open-ended one, especially if you're presented with some tough choices; Godzilla has attacked Poughkeepsie, but Mothra has been spotted heading towards NYC. Do you take a chance and go after Big G, or wait for Mothra to (perhaps) show up?

Nope, it's not really a CRPG. I wish it were though, because the character system is pretty damned cool, actually. Rumor is that they're making a sequel, and if so, I hope they ditch the lame mission system and requirement of having certain pre-made characters in each area. Minuteman showing up as an NPC controlled by the computer in an area would be neat, but I want my own team, made by ME.. Not the ones forced on me.

While creating your own Fantastic Four (especially since your own hero often became more powerful than the regular ones) would be cool, I didn't mind the fact that you had some funky superheros that could join you in your quest.

 

[Jed]

I really enjoyed Freedom Force when I was playing it, but I can hardly remember anything about it now. I think it was too stylized; sort of everything is well done, but nothing really stuck out. I dunno; it was fun, but I second the notion, "It was no JA2."

J

 

[Zetor]

It's a pretty good game IMHO, and definitely the best use of the 'paused real time' system I've seen so far. (you can even make it so the spacebar only slows down the action instead of pausing... kind of cool) Even though I don't care much for superheroes, (never was into comic books) it was still the #1 game of 2002 for me. (And I agree, JA2 was a better overall game for its time)
But the best part, to me, is its modability; since they use a *gasp* actual programming language [Python] for scripting, it can do pretty much anything. Definitely more versatile than NWN twisted with its "Ah, we won't need arrays, or structures, or data files" scripting language. The flipside to all this versatility is that scripting a mod takes significant programming knowledge; then again, that helps keep the quality of the mods up.
Oh, and the developers care about the game owners [releasing lots of content free of charge, holding contests with substantial rewards for such a small company, maintaining multiple websites...], which is kind of rare today, AFAIK.

my 2 HUF

-- Z.

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

It's a pretty good game IMHO, and definitely the best use of the 'paused real time' system I've seen so far. (you can even make it so the spacebar only slows down the action instead of pausing... kind of cool) Even though I don't care much for superheroes, (never was into comic books) it was still the #1 game of 2002 for me. (And I agree, JA2 was a better overall game for its time)

Yeah, I much prefer the slow down as opposed to pausing, since real time with pause feels more like an "Oh, Shit!" than an actual mechanic device. In this case, "Oh, Shit! Our action game has too much action for the player to control, so we have to do something quick to allow the player to control this game!"

Still, I'd much rather have a turn based combat rather than a real time combat which requires pausing or slowing down. The need for such things would suggest to me that a turn based system is in order just to control and interact with what's going on in the combat.

But the best part, to me, is its modability; since they use a *gasp* actual programming language [Python] for scripting, it can do pretty much anything. Definitely more versatile than NWN twisted with its "Ah, we won't need arrays, or structures, or data files" scripting language. The flipside to all this versatility is that scripting a mod takes significant programming knowledge; then again, that helps keep the quality of the mods up.

I agree that games that use actual programming languages rather than proprietary ones are typically better, since you're actually using something tangable rather than something that's a one shot deal for learning.

The only type of games where I think proprietary languages work better are those games like Omega, Mind Rover, Robot Battle, etc. where the goal of the game is to program the best AI tank possible. RoboCode, made by IBM and is freeware, uses Java as it's language, and there's some irritating consequences of having access to a robust language in terms of gameplay.

Oh, and the developers care about the game owners [releasing lots of content free of charge, holding contests with substantial rewards for such a small company, maintaining multiple websites...], which is kind of rare today, AFAIK.

A lot of those developers came from Micro Forte's Fallout Tactics team, BTW. Ed Orman, Tony Oakden, and Karl.. the.. programmer.. guy.. I can't remember his last name.

 

[Spazmo]

Well, I certainly liked Freedom Force better than FOT. Nuclear Winter is easily one of the best villains ever.

 

[Zetor]

Yeah, I much prefer the slow down as opposed to pausing, since real time with pause feels more like an "Oh, Shit!" than an actual mechanic device. In this case, "Oh, Shit! Our action game has too much action for the player to control, so we have to do something quick to allow the player to control this game!"

Still, I'd much rather have a turn based combat rather than a real time combat which requires pausing or slowing down. The need for such things would suggest to me that a turn based system is in order just to control and interact with what's going on in the combat.

I can only agree about turn-based being superior over real-time (plus, I somehow have the feeling you've debated this topic several times on several boards already ), with JA2 being the optimal mix of the two. I can't really see FF being a 100% turn-based game, though (not without major changes in the game system etc. at least); it's just that the style and 'comic-book-ness' kind of asks for a real time system, IMHO. FF2 is a different matter, though, and Ken Levine has already mentioned he'd love to use a system similar to the XCOM games for that. [cityscape and all]

A lot of those developers came from Micro Forte's Fallout Tactics team, BTW. Ed Orman, Tony Oakden, and Karl.. the.. programmer.. guy.. I can't remember his last name.

Microforte, eh? Ouch.. I didn't know that, though it certainly seems possible (both dev houses being located in Australia). And yeah, I know that FOT *cough* wasn't the paragon of tactical RPGs (I never played it myself after having read some reviews on it on the net, heh heh), but you gotta admit that System Shock 2 wasn't a weak game by any definition. [IGA did co-develop that one with Looking Glass Studios, but Levine was one of its main designers along with Spector, so IGA knows their stuff either way]

BTW, Omega r0x0red! One of the best C-64 games out there, though I never had the patience to really get into AI coding...

-- Z.

 

[huh]

I don't know, I couldn't get into FF. It just was too cheesy, I guess. The spandex suits and the Crayon graphics freaked me out. I thought I'd turn gay, or something (no offence to the gay people here).

 

[larpingdude14]

I don't know, I couldn't get into FF. It just was too cheesy, I guess. The spandex suits and the Crayon graphics freaked me out. I thought I'd turn gay, or something (no offence to the gay people here).

if you are saying stuff like this then my bet is that you are already gay :evil:
ff is awesome!!!

HAHAHAHA DISREGARD THAT I SUCK COCKS AND AM A REALLY HORRIBLE PERSON
YOU SHOULD ALL HATE ME PLX

 

[Lim-Lim]

If you play as a person, it's RPG.

Late edit:

 

[Applegate's Breasts]

Negromanciery is a horrible thing.

 

[Dark Elf]

First of all, the term "RPG" has experienced Zimbabwean hyperinflation for quite some time now, secondly, someone has to shoot larpingdude.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

Anybody want a shit-ton of meshes for Freedom Force vs the Third Reich?

 

[Sirus]

freedom force was a pretty cool game i never played the sequel

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

It's more of the same, with new features, engine improvements, even more fucked up MP code and Nazis.

Bought it when it came out, and immediately pirated a StarForce free American version to install.

 

[Norfleet]

The new one was, honestly, not as good, since they seem to have unnecessarily eliminated options in terms of power-usage. Now you only have 3 power points and everything costs either 0, 1, 2, or 3. Nothing in between. No more using powers at reduced power. Basically, the sequel reduced options as opposed to increasing them. Lame.