Saturday 29 June 2002

Pic of the day: Freedom Force title screen.

Irrational super-heroes

Yes indeed. Despite my repeated exposure to superhero comics as well as PC games and the Internet, it was only today that I accidentally learned about Freedom Force. In this case, Freedom Force is a superhero computer game for the PC, made by Irrational Games. Now that's a name to live up to. The game is, in effect, single-player and somewhat limited (22 or 23 missions according to reviews), but even so it is remarkable. It is the first (and perhaps only) game to break the dread superhero games curse.

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In the past, there have been repeated attempts at creating PC games based on the superhero / supervillain concept. This makes sense, as there is a great overlap between superhero comic book readers and computer game players. The attempts usually came as far as providing great mouth-watering screen shots, and displays of the "nearly finished" product at computer games expos. Then the games invariably died. Presumably fighting giant bugs is a lot more fun for superheroes than for computer programmers.

But Freedom Force is actually for sale. I may buy it – right now I'm playing a demo – but I don't think it will be one of my favorites. It seems to be way too mouse driven (remember, I still have a problem with my wrist and hand) and quite frankly too linear. But a colorful semi- parody superhero game seems definitely worth trying out, if one is into those genres.

One thing I notice is that the characters, while fairly detailed, are meant to be seen from a distance. Even the cinematic view isn't all that close-up, unless you press your nose against your monitor ... You won't spend time studying anatomy. (Except in the character creation screens, where it is quite obvious that both male and female pictures live up to expectations of heroic proportions. Ahem. There are also downloadable skins, I have not seen any of those.)

I wonder if this is not the reason why this game succeeded while the others failed. I have had this suspicion for a while, seeing as the female characters in particular were every inch as generously endowed as their paper counterparts, that this may have been what distracted the developers from ever finishing their work. The closer it came to release, the more bouncy heroines there would be hopping around in the studio. Knowing programmers, this could be quite a distraction. If I ever set out to create a superhero game, I'm assembling an all female team. Certainly women aren't distracted by the male form in the same way ... or if they are, at the very least they are scientifically proven to be able to think of more than one thing at a time.

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There's supposedly another superhero game coming out this month, Hero X, but I can't say much about that. It seems to be rather "budget" compared to the irrational exuberance of FF. But at least it is not merchandise for something else. I don't think I am ever going to buy a game that is like a souvenir for some book or movie or whatever. (What is not merchandized these days? Jesus action figures, for God's sake! What's next, a Jesus vs. Satan deathmatch for the PS2?)

Anyway, more about Hero X when it arrives here, or other important news about it does.

Oh yes, the Hero X home page, and the ever delayed massive multiplayer superhero game City of Heroes home page. "I link, therefore I am."