Crossover: Freedom Force
It's often said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and 2002's seminal superhero real-time tactical game, Freedom Force proves that idea in extreme forms. Much like Sean of the Dead, Freedom Force manages to serve as both loving tribute to the Golden Silver Ages of comics (the Golden Age appears mainly in its sequel, Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich)and ripping satire all at once.
Robb Waters, a comic industry veteran of well over a decade, designed the titular team of heroes to evoke the looks, powers, and origins of several characters to resemble a number of Marvel heroes created by Jack Kirby... that alone was enough to make comic nerds adore it because Kirby is probably the closest thing we have to a patron saint. At the time, the game's graphics were highly-detailed and featured very bright colors that were similar to those used by comics back in the 1950s and 60s; the result was a striking visual style which wowed a lot of us back then. Even cooler was the fact that the game's engine was easily expandable, which allowed a huge fan community with custom maps and characters to pop up and create their own heroes/adventures.
But it was the humor in the game which really made Freedom Force such a winning title. While the storyline was something straight out of the Cold War era and the comics produced during that time, the dialogue and voice acting was so hammy that it was impossible to not laugh during a number of cutscenes. But, underneath the humor, Freedom Force impossible to not sense the love for the superhero genre, which is more than enough to twinge the faded and brittle heartstrings of even the most jaded comic fan.
Boy of Tomorrow
Posted to Comics on 22 August 2007
Other stuff like this: crossover, el diablo, freedom force, golden age, minuteman, real-time tactics, satire, send-up, silver age
