Freedom Fighters (video game)

Freedom Fighters
North American cover art
Developer(s)	IO Interactive
Publisher(s)	Electronic Arts EU: IO Interactive (PS2)
Writer(s)	Morten Iversen
Composer(s)	Jesper Kyd
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows GameCube PlayStation 2 Xbox
Release	PAL: September 26, 2003 NA: October 1, 2003
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Freedom Fighters is a 2003 third-person shooter video game for the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. It was developed by IO Interactive and published by Electronic Arts.

The game is set in an alternate history where the Soviet Union has invaded and occupied New York City. The player takes the role of Christopher Stone, a plumber turned resistance movement leader, fighting against the invaders.

Freedom Fighters is a third-person shooter, in which the player navigates through the streets of New York with a controllable squad of team mates while fighting the occupying Soviet forces. The player gains charisma points by performing various deeds, such as capturing a base or destroying enemy supplies. The more charisma gained, the more squad mates the character can recruit, up to a maximum of twelve. The player can direct recruits by giving them simple orders such as "follow," "attack," and "defend."

The console versions' multiplayer revolves around securing flags and bunkers. The flag is usually in the center of the map. Bunkers are positioned around the map, and spawn either Soviet soldiers or American freedom fighters. A game can host up to four players via split-screen who may choose between the Soviet and American sides. Each side has a different set of weapons which the players can switch during battle. The players' charisma meters are set to eight, so each player can have a maximum of eight soldiers under their command; however, if it is a four-player battle, each player can control a maximum of four soldiers. The PC version does not support multiplayer.

The Soviet Union became a world superpower by dropping the first atomic bomb on Berlin, ending World War II, and propping up communist states throughout the globe which begin to surround the US in the present day. New York plumbing brothers Chris and Troy Stone travel to meet with their next client, an activist named Isabella Angelina, only to find her apartment abandoned. The Soviet Union launches a surprise invasion of New York City and suddenly Soviet soldiers, led by General Tatarin, seize Troy. Amidst the attack, Chris escapes to the streets, encountering a man named Mr. Jones and resistance member Phil Bagzton. After rescuing Isabella from a police station and Troy from a post office, the group retreats to the sewers and sets up a base of operations as New York is lost, with the media now being controlled by the Soviet Union.