Great game, but needs a little configuration to get it to work in Windows 7 64-bit.

1) Find the executable "fforce.exe" in C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Freedom Force

2) Right-click on it and open the Properties

3) Click the Compatibility tab

4) Click the checkbox for "Run this program in compatibility mode for:", and select "Windows 98/Windows ME"

5) Click the checkbox for "Disable visual themes"

6) Click the checkbox for "Disable desktop composition"

7) Click "Apply" and click "OK"

8) Double-click the "fforce.exe" file to run the game directly, rather than going through Steam

(There is also a GoG version that basically fixes the dreaded curser bug, I really wish irrational would patch it even all these years later)

*edit 5/14/22, There is a link on the forums to a exe version that lets the game work on steam with out the dreaded cursor bug. If you own the game on gog you can always just copy it from that folder into your steam install as well and that will fix the bug for those that own both.



All you need to do is ask yourself how many games can you pick up a taxi cab and throw it at a mobster or beat giant robots with lamp-posts. Does that sound like fun to you? If so this could be right up your ally.

It is a wonderful delight for any old comic book fan. The characters are campy like the old batman/superman tv shows. The stories are fun and characters are a hoot like the fun loving sea urchin, or the speedy southern boy "Bullet." Mentor the master of mind control or Melancholy "Man-♥♥♥" will keep you going through the different stories and invested in the them. The only thing better than the characters are the villains, and the guy narrating does a great job. The game has many short stories, which play like episodes and they all lead up to a final showdown, worth getting too. (20-30 hours on average i would say)

The game has massive re-playability with leveling different characters, I think there are 12+ and you could play through the game 10 times and still have more characters to try. Not to mention the many character combo's and who to use the XP canisters to level up more. Leveling up certain characters can really makes them shine and give a whole new way to play them. Mixing and matching can lead to tons of different ways to play the levels. Who you bring on each mission, and which ones you give canisters too can really change the whole feel of the game.

I will say, the interface and game play takes a lot to get used to, if you aren't familiar with the older GUI's from the 90's it can be tough. But once you figure out how the hits work, and AOE powers and such, it really is fantastic.

This is one of my favorite games ever made, while FFII, was good, it just is not as good as the first. But if you do like this one, I highly recommend the sequel as it really is more of the same with some better balance. The second is a bit shorter, and is lacking in the amount of new characters. The game is more of a continuation that feels like an expansion verse the whole game of the first. The game is "Antastic!"

I love this game. The game is really old so people don't know about it but it has a huge library of custom content. you can basically put any hero you want into the game if you probe the internet for content. This game is a must have game as its pretty unquie. The ability to make your own hero goes far beyond any hero editor on the market today. the story line is very enteraining as well.

Although I love a lot of things about this game, the short of this review is that the game had a lot of technical issues back in the day, and still does- it's a pain to get running, and it's a pain to get things like the pathing bug resolved. While one can expect PC users to be problem solvers, I still think it's important to raise the flag with a non-recommendation.

With that (mostly) out of the way:

Freedom force is a top-down squad game with superhero motif and themes and character progression elements. The shining features of the game are undoubtedly its self-aware corniness, the ability to create your own superhero and fight alongside freedom force with them (Cancerquake did his duty well), and the voice acting.

To my knowledge besides its expansion, Freedom Force is one-of-a-kind, and tries to hit all the theme notes- secret societies, giant bugs, giant robots, aliens, gangsters, communists (in particular nuclear winter's theme song is a thing of greatness)- however it generally involves the same small sets of enemies for a number of levels in a row, and levels get really long with limited healing. I ripped through it due to a great custom character, and it still took a long time; the game manages to be both erratic and kinda boring simultaeneously. The giant robot enemies in particular are enormous wads of healthpoints.

The combat is serviceable- but arbitrarily either tough but manageable or an unending onslaught. One particular issue is when you're forced to bring heroes that are woefully unqualified for their required tasks. A couple notable examples are El Diablo's early battle with mobsters and freeze soldiers, any map where Minuteman actually needs to hit something, Liberty Lad's levels wherein he needs to survive eight fights when he can barely win three, anything with Eve or Deja Vu, and any part of the last gamut of levels wherein you will inevitably run out of steam many times. You are going to have to save and load to disarm Nuclear Winter's bomb. Probably a lot.

The combat is simply not balanced- throwing objects and area attacks are the only reliable ways to deal damage (and the latter don't work against fliers). Beams miss more often than not, melee is required but most of the good fighters miss often or take forever to swing and get trounced, and healing is a nightmare.

Through this tirade of flaws, the game still manages to be fun with its corniness- but that's sure to be a turn-off for some as well. There are a few points where maybe a little subtlety might have worked better, but the cheesy narrator and the hilariously sketchy comic-book origins are worth a lot of laughs, as do the alliterative item descriptions.

If you can struggle past the bad and you're not scared of a lot of savescumming and obtuse scenarios, the fighting is strategic to some extent and there's a hell of a lot of customization- as well as mods for traditional superheroes if you know where to look. Some people are going to love Green Latern helping the freedom force, and it's hard not to see that appeal.

Long of this review is, the game is cheap and novel, but you're probably never going to play it because it's a pain to do so. I ended up playing it due to a roulette.

Oh my god, why is this game so broken? I played this when it came out. I own a physical copy of it and finished it. It was super fun and campy. Wasn't a masterpiece, but it worked at the very least. Somewhere over the last decade someone broke it. Whoever brought his game over to Steam or what not used a sledgehammer to do so, because I swear on my life it was never this broken.

Move controls don't work or go where you command, huge lag in commands and execution animations, no collusion detection so characters can run right off the map and through buildings and everything in between. That was only in the first stage.

Look, I swear the game is not bad, the Steam version is just broken beyond belief. Maybe the GOG version works better, I don't know, but don't get it here.

Edit: Just played the GOG 2.02 version and that one works perfectly. None of the problems this one had. Just goes to show you if you want a working version of an older game, use GOG as Steam does not care about games of this age.

If you like squad based RTS gameplay you should love this game. If you also enjoy classic super-hero storytelling and to fool around with the might of superheroes then why aren't you playing this game instead of reading this recommendation?

FF is a game that the creators obviously put a lot of love into and it shows here and in the sequel. If you have any interest in the genre and/or subject matter then you'd be remiss not playing this game sometime before you stop playing games altogether.

Great game, ♥♥♥♥ port, get it on GOG where the emulation of old windows is proper.

A 2002 super hero game. It was near the time that I really hate EA for all the things they did to the game industry and decided to boycott the game and didn't buy it.

From what I heard from other friends this is still a quite decently made game that drags long long time.

Despite the bad impression I got so many years ago I finnaly decided to give it a try since it's a squad based RTS with all the different unit powers.

Yes.. it does drag on a long long time and I am finnaly near the end of it. The game itself was the way before all the super hero movies and strange heros that not native to DC or Marvel universe didn't get much recognition.

Objectively this game have fun old school comic graphics with old sound effect in text box trick to attract hardcore hero comic fans. All the different super powers from strength, regen, ranged blast, psi control are all in the game with nicely planned balance. Music is also very comic like and pretty fitting for the game.

The game difficulty is quite hard and you can fail some objects easily and have to save and load offen. For most level I had to try 2-3 times to learn all the surprises before I can do it perfectly.

There are also many many levels of this game and the story develops quite linear and semi interesting. It does feel like plots that you seen or read before from other comics if you are a hardcore fan of comic. For new fans of heroic games its just not all that suprising either.

Overall it's just quite so..so.. game that will provide some entertainment though the not too aged graphics and cheessy fun.

6.0/10 for a bare minimum recommendation. IF you have something else to play.. don't try this as it will take long and just so so...

7/10
This is a classic comic book game.
It's a classic game about comic books.
It's a game about classic comic books.
If you remember the classic days when comics were cheesy and entertaining. If you ever saw the old 4-colour editions of Marvel or weird tales, then you know what to expect here. The game controls are a little clunky, but you soon forget that as you get lost in the narrative complete with Golden Age staples like the patriotism and clear dividing lines between good and evil, right and wrong. The ability to create you own hero is great, it also provides a deal of complexity and possiblilities that outstrip any modern game. The only thing I've seen that tops it is "Marvel Super Heroes- the Role Playing Game" but that was paper and dice, so it doesn't count.

Firstly, I'd just lke to say that I bought Freedom Force (FF) at full retail years ago, and I've only just bought it on Steam due to ease of use. Don't let my 'time playing' mislead you as to my level of experience with this game.

Secondly, I am a massive turn-based tactical (TBT) nut. I love TBT games. A game in which intelligence rather than reflex speed rewards the player is my idea of heaven. I'm an older gamer, and despite plenty of time in Doom (and sequels), Duke Nukem 3D, Borderlands, ARMA, BF2 etc., I find my reflexes just can't keep up with the young'uns any more.

And so this brings us to Freedom Force, a realtime-with-pause superhero game that pays shameless homage to the pulpy artwork and storylines of Jack Kirby, the single most important figure in Golden Age comics (sorry, Stan Lee).

While not a TBT game per se, Freedom Force has the same structure of rewarding mind over muscle. The game starts slowly enough, with a single brawler-type character called The Patriot- an analogue of Captain America- and soon expands to incorporate other hero and heroine archetypes. Gaining experience gives you resources that allow you to add new characters from a bank of heroes that you encounter along the way.

One of the primary points of difference is the ability to also use these resources to recruit a custom character. I've played a couple of superhero-themed MMO's and the area in which they all fall flat is character creation. Where they offer 'archetypes' that require your superhero to conform to a template, Freedom Force gives you complete leeway to create any kind of superhero you want. The only limitation is that the more powerful you make your custom character, the longer it will take to obtain the resources you need to field that character.

Now, I'm not exaggerating when I say 'complete leeway'. Want a flying character who drains enemy special powers in a brilliant purple beam then fires them back in a green fireball that does AoE and DoT damage? Done. Want a 'Hulk' style character who throws cars around and absorbs enemy attacks to get stronger? Easy peasy. Want a male toon that seduces enemies into leaving cover using blown kisses, a la a cross-dressing Bugs Bunny, so that your compatriots can smash them flat? Well, it's not very fifties, but I'm sure it's possible.

In playing Freedom Force, you will encounter all kinds of classic 1950's enemies, from evil, Communist ice-villains and giant radioactive ants to self-duplicating cloners. This is where the incredibly deep customisation system comes into play. Every defence has a counter. Every counter has a counter-counter. It's a lot like the Cold War in that respect.

But all that aside, Freedom Force looks and plays brilliantly for a twelve-year-old game. With a fiendish, but not ridiculous difficulty level, amazingly deep customisation, cerebral gameplay and a perfect Kirby aesthetic, Freedom Force is likely the most underrated game ever released.

PROS:
-Deepest customisation ever seen in the superhero genre
-Great storyline
-Loving homage to Golden-Age comics

CONS:
-Graphics are soooo last-generation.
-Takes ages to get stupidly overpowered custom characters into the game.

NEEDS:
-A reboot, with better graphics, possibly set in the Silver Age of comics (1970's-1980's) incorporating new threats and themes. I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

WILL APPEAL TO:
-Golden Age comics fans
-Superhero fans who really want to create their 'perfect hero'
-People tired of superhero MMO's but still looking for caped action
-People looking for an tactical game with more flexibility than traditional TBT