Tonner Cyn Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 Anyone looking forward to this one? I played the original when it came out a few years back but it was my brother who really got into it. He had to go to Colorado to help our folks out recently and didn't even know this was coming out. Now he has something to help him ease the withdrawal pains from WoW . From what I've seen on the net, this one is getting pretty good reviews. There doesn't appear to be much significant change from its predecessor, but for those who liked the tone of the first one that might not be a bad thing. I guess this is supposed to be out tomorrow but it looks like the Best Buy on my way home has it, and for only 29.99. I guess I'll have to pick this one up and give it a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cyberwoo Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 I absolutely couldn't stand the demo. Everything from the camera angle to the graphics just anoyed me. I kept thinking maybe I was missing something because of all the possitive press and user rankings on fileplanet. I guess this type of game just isn't my thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonner Cyn Posted March 14, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 I've managed to get a few hours of play into this one over the weekend (between family and WoW) and I have to say I'm liking it so far. I did play the original Freedom Force when it came out but not for very long (my brother did much more). Because of that I can't compare FFvTTR to its predecessor. First off, I want to mention the camp. If you can't deal with the over-done voices, the silly catchphrases, and the Kirby-esque designs, this game - this series - is probably not for you. It is a bit silly, but intentionally so. The designers really captured the feel for this era of comics in the original and it continues nicely in this game. The other thing that may be a detraction to some people is the lack of flexibility in the character design/improvement. I guess I would say that this is not an RPG and that the player is not meant to have unlimited control over how the characters develop. As you complete missions, some of your characters will gain levels. With these levels come character points, which you can use to improve existing powers (from 1 to 5 levels), buy new powers (which are predetermined and require the previous power to be upgraded to a certain extent), or attirbutes (not like STR or DEX, but more like general things that can give your character bonuses). This model does limit the depth of your characters as one player's Minuteman will end up being very similar (if not 100% the same) as another person's. The replayability comes in using different characters to do the various missions once you have completed the game. The only drawback to this is that certain scenarios do have required characters. The gameplay is pretty much what I remember from the original. You will control a squad of up to 4 heroes. You can left-click to move them (individually or as a group) or click on an enemy to have them attack. Selecting one character and right-clicking will bring up a menu of power choices to use, one of which can be set as your left-click default. I've had a few pathfinding problems which resulted on one member of the squad getting stuck, but by taking control of that one character the problem was easily resolved. If you are in the middle of a fight and don't issue an orders to a particular character, the AI will take over and have that hero attack the nearest enemy. After just a few chapters I think I have gotten through the prologue of the story and am about to get the gist of the main storyline. It's a little hokey, but again representative of the era the designers are aiming for. I'm curious to see where it's going to go. I've managed to upgrade a few of my characters a fair amount and have recruited a couple of new ones who seem pretty powerful. I know cyberwoo (sorry, I still don't know everyone's name and can't always remember who you are/were at HTF ) did not enjoy the demo, but I would still encourage people who have interest in the superhero genre to give the game a shot. I was fortunate and picked it up for only $29.99 last week - which I feel is definitely worth it - but the price is probably now $10 more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark E Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 Any Canucks out there can order this from Amazon.ca right now for $29.99 Canadian, I should point out. It works out to about $40 with shipping included. I'm glad the camp is still there. One of the things that made the original game so endearing is that it's a loving homage to the black-and-white 60's morality of the old comics, where every villain was easily spotted by everybody who wasn't a hero. But I digress on my love for the original Freedom Force, as that's a story for another day . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romier S Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 I still need to get around to buying this game. With all of the major releases, I've been putting it off (especially with the PSP looming) however given that I get my check in a few days, I'll probably go ahead and splurge a little and get my superhero thing on:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Sheets Posted March 14, 2005 Report Share Posted March 14, 2005 I'm glad the camp is still there. One of the things that made the original game so endearing is that it's a loving homage to the black-and-white 60's morality of the old comics, where every villain was easily spotted by everybody who wasn't a hero. Yeah, as a comics geek I love that these clearly know the old comics and know how to do a perfect homage to those old eras. The game's style works because as campy as it appears it never mocks the source material. I love the way the Golden Age heroes are done in this one, too, as the art style for their origins changes from 1960's Jack Kirby to 1940's Jack Kirby. I hope they follow through with their plans to update the next sequel to the 1970's The gameplay is still essentially the same, with some minor tweaks, which is great. So far it feels more balanced to me, although that might be because you don't start off with Man-Bot and his extremely handy Transfer power. Plus, many of the new characters are more defensive/support-based in their abilities. Green Genie is great for giving the team a breather, but she can't *hurt* people very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark E Posted April 3, 2005 Report Share Posted April 3, 2005 Yeah, I wasn't a huge fan of Green Genie in the demo because she couldn't kick any ass . I finally picked this up today and am enjoying it immensely. It's the same game, but a new story and some new features. I notice they fixed the trick from the first game that let multiple people feed off the same xp cannister, darn it . Maybe it's my imagination, but Alchemiss doesn't feel quite as damn useless either (though I'm not recruiting Liberty Lad any time soon ). I'm only on the third mission, but the change in locale for that mission and the shifted style/music was a nice treat. Minute Man's grasp of global politics in the era is hilarious. I like how they kept the humor and improved on it a bit; Mentor gets a lot of good zingers with his poor grasp of earth, and El Diablo is still the man. I still can't stand using Mentor though. But oh well, still loving it. This one zoomed on up my 'to complete' pile. I hadn't realized how much I missed the gang until I started playing. The introduction sequence alone was kick-ass (the group yell was a really nice touch) in its own way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Sheets Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Yeah, I wasn't a huge fan of Green Genie in the demo because she couldn't kick any ass . Yeah, but some of her powers are hilarious and quite useful when things get hectic. I love turning people into flower pots Maybe it's my imagination, but Alchemiss doesn't feel quite as damn useless either (though I'm not recruiting Liberty Lad any time soon ). Alchemiss is definitely improved, especially because she's a real flyer in this one. I love using her repulsion power to kick people off rooftops. I liked Tombstone a lot once I got his abilities built up. Minuteman is damn near useless since the game is now less friendly to melee fighters, especially toward the end. Mentor sucks. He's actually even suckier than he was in the first game, and he was pretty bad in that one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark E Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Yeah, repulsion is a damn fine power given how many bad guys hang out in high places. Shame to hear about Minuteman. I may try to use him more anyway though, just because I love his cheezy patriotism so damn much . One nice touch was having access to characters that cost to recruit in the first one. Bullet is so awesome and I never recruited him during the first game, which I greatly regret now. He's just so powerful that it's freakin' sick. That whirlwind power is very handy. I'm a big fan of the vertical damage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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