Maroc - 3RD-STRIKE.COM - A La Une - 08/Jan 17:00

FREEDOM WARS Remastered – Review

Sony’s PS Vita handheld seemed like a technical marvel at the time, but sadly, it did not gain as much traction as the PSP did. Even so, the powerful handheld did have a lot of great titles, and that brings us to the subject of today’s review: FREEDOM WARS. FREEDOM WARS was originally released for the PlayStation Vita back in 2014, and while it was received quite well by Vita players, it never saw a sequel. Now, it seems that the title is getting a second lease on life thanks to a remastered version, which might open the door for future installments. That being said, we’ll first have to see if FREEDOM WARS has withstood the test of time. Story FREEDOM WARS Remastered actually has a rather interesting story. The game takes place in a dystopian future where simply being alive deems you a so-called Sinner. Sinners are considered to be a strain on the resources of the few Panopticons (settlements) that are left on the planet. Sinners will have to serve a million-year sentence, where they can work off their time by going on dangerous operations to protect the Citizens who are deemed worthy to live out their lives as free people. You start the game with a custom character who was a high-ranked Sinner, only to lose your memory during a battle, forcing you to restart your sentence. Losing your memory is a sin after all. Visions of a strange character who tells you you are the chosen one are also triggered shortly after you lose your memory. It feels a bit convoluted and like an information dump at the beginning, but as you progress, the puzzle pieces slowly fall into place. The story will revolve around you working your way up the food chain, a mystery character who comes from outside the Panopticons, and a massive event that is soon to occur. While FREEDOM WARS Remastered does have a few stereotypical characters thrown in for good measure, the story feels original and actually quite captivating. The pacing, however, does feel a bit off at times. Graphics Right off the bat, it’s clear that FREEDOM WARS Remastered isn’t going to push your PS5 to its limits, but it does look so much better than the original PS Vita version. The remaster has a higher resolution and everything simply looks crisp on the big screen. The textures look a lot less muddy, and the game runs extremely smoothly. Of course, as it’s a remaster and not a remake, the developers still had to work with the limitations of the original handheld version. Due to this, there’s a lack of visual variety when it comes to enemies but also the levels you’ll be fighting in. You will find yourself battling other Sinners and Abductors (massive robots) in the same handful of arenas over and over again. While there is hardly any time to enjoy the view when you’re on a mission, we would have loved a bit more stage variety. Other noticeable items are invisible walls, some clipping here and there, and wooden animations. Even so, the anime aesthetic of FREEDOM WARS Remastered does allow the game to get away with a lot more than a realistic-looking title. Sound The sound design of FREEDOM WARS Remastered is great. The soundtrack is more expansive than initially thought, and the game even offers players the option to listen to individual tracks and pick and choose their favorite tunes for during combat missions. Many of the in-game dialogues are also fully voiced, which is also great. The English dub is appropriately cheesy, which is not uncommon for games like this. Your accessory (android that follows you) and the announcement system use text-to-speech for the dialogues, which wouldn’t be an issue if many of the words hadn’t been mispronounced. More than often words would be voiced incorrectly, to the point we required the subtitles to ensure we knew what was said. It never got too bad, but it did warrant a mention in our review. Gameplay FREEDOM WARS Remastered is a remaster of the 2014 FREEDOM WARS game for PS Vita. The game is a bit of a jack of all trades, as you’ll have combat slightly reminiscent of Monster Hunter, quite a bit of micromanaging, crafting, and even some competitive online components. Nonetheless, the offset is straightforward as you’ll have to complete missions to reduce your sentence and gain privileges while also being on the lookout for better gear to tackle harder missions. There are no standard difficulty options in the game, except for a mode that makes things quite a bit harder. Combat takes place in fairly small arenas in which you’ll have to battle other Sinners, small drones, and massive Abductors. There are different objectives to complete for missions, as you may have to rescue a specific number of citizens, kill all enemies, or even capture different points. You will be able to move around freely with your chosen loadout, which can consist of two weapon sets. The game offers melee and ranged options, and it’s recommended to check enemy info before starting a mission. If you happen to choose a ranged-only loadout against an Abductor with shield generators, you might have a hard time completing the operation. Ranged weapons work pretty much the same as they do in most third-person shooters and melee weapons follow a more hack-and-slash-based format. You can only lock on when performing melee attacks. On top of that, you’ll have your so-called thorn, which allows you to move around the battlefield in an Attack on Titan-esque fashion. Outside of movement, you can also use your thorn to drag down opponents or to attach yourself to allies and enemies. When attaching yourself to enemies, you can attack them as well, or you can try to sever armaments and shield generators, for example. While the controls still feel a bit rough around the edges, it’s a satisfying combat system. As stated before, the game has melee and ranged options for combat, and there is still a bit of weapon variety. You can choose between more nimble and faster melee weapons and bigger bulkier heavy hitters. The same counts for the ranged weapons, which range from classic assault rifles to launchers and miniguns. There are different rarity variants of the weapons, and you’ll also have to commit yourself to upgrading your weapons and adding modules to them, further enhancing their capabilities. It’s quite a bit of micromanaging and crafting that goes on between levels, but it does pay off in the long run. Outside of this, you’ll also have to unlock new entitlements, allowing you to start upgrading weapons in the first place. These entitlements also upgrade the gear of your allies but can also involve simple things such as running around unescorted, and so on. Contributing to your Panopticon is also reflected in an online score which is shown on the leaderboards. The game also has a few online modes where you can tackle operations together or even duke it out amongst yourselves. During our review period, however, we were unable to try out these functions as there were no other players to be found. We like the idea of these online modes, as it creates a bit of additional replay value. All in all, the game holds up quite nicely, even with its decade-year-old engine running underneath everything. The gameplay is still very satisfying, and we’re happy to see the game finally reach a broader audience. Sadly, more obvious things like having to fight in the same handful of arenas over and over again do become a bit underwhelming after a while. We would have perhaps loved smoother controls and a bit more stage variety, but all things considered, this is a fun title. Conclusion FREEDOM WARS Remastered is a title that may have received a new lick of paint and a few additional features but its core has remained fairly the same as the original 2014 release. The game successfully transitioned from a handheld format to the big screen and we only found it a shame that it wasn’t a proper remake. This is a franchise that deserves a real second lease on life, and this remaster is a great way to do just that. If you played the original and feel a hint of nostalgia, you’ll be amazed at how the remastered version looks and plays. If you’re looking for an original experience, albeit a bit rough around the edges, you’ll have a blast with this one as well. We honestly hope that FREEDOM WARS Remastered is the first step to a new entry in the series.