Back in 2002, Freedom Force hit PCs and quickly became a sleeper hit by providing action RPG fans with a compelling blend of great gameplay and a rich back story detailing a brand new canon of superheroes. Now the sequel has finally arrived and fans of the original should be very pleased with the results. The core gameplay has been largely unchanged, but fortunately holds up very well considering its age. Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich presents a brand new storyline that serves as a nice continuation of the original plot and the gameplay should be easy for fans of the first game and newcomers to pick up and play.

Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich begins shortly after the first game with one of the team, Man Bot, still trapped in an alternate dimension. The team must now face a new threat as the Third Reich rises to power. Even though the team is short one member, they gain the support of a few new members like Tombstone, Green Genie and Blackjack. Plus, each of the playable characters from the first game still has their original bios that tell how they gained their superpowers in great classic comic fashion, and there are brand new ones for the additional members.

For the most part, the gameplay is the same as the first Freedom Force. You guide one to four members of the Freedom Force team through a variety of missions, defeating enemies and utilizing the individual strengths of each member. For example, El Diablo makes good use of fire but has a weakness to ice and lovely ladies; Mentor has the ability to control the minds of your enemies but isn’t very physically strong and can’t take a lot of damage, and so on. You can also take full advantage of your surroundings, jumping on buildings in order to get a better ranged position against your enemies or use objects in the environment like parked cars and streetlights to lay the smack down. As you complete objectives in missions you gain prestige, thus gaining more superheroes for the team.

The character creation tool from the first game has returned, allowing you to create your own superhero and pair them up with your team of do-gooders. You can edit any number of traits in them, giving them a unique look and special moves that reflect their individual attributes. There are also some great modding tools that allow gamers to create their own games using the Freedom Force engine.

The multiplayer elements in Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich are also pretty sweet. There are some standard game types like Deathmatch, Arena, Team Arena and so on, but there are also the cool Story-based mode that allows you to create your own scenarios - writing the story, choosing the good and bad guys, the location, the game type and so on. You can even select comic book cover art to add more atmosphere to the scenario. 

The graphics look very good, but not too updated from the original three-year-old game. The character models look pretty good, and the environments have a great look to them. There are also some enhanced lighting effects and some nice shadow effects. Overall, the look is very vibrant and colorful, and does a fine job of representing the world of comic books. 

The sound effects are pretty good. The voice acting is very over the top, and each character has his or her own larger-than-life personality, which adds to the game’s atmosphere. The music is also quite well done, being appropriately campy and keeping with the overall mood. 

Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich is a great action-RPG that captures the spirit of the golden age of comics. While it doesn’t change a whole lot from the original, fans of the first game as well as newcomers should enjoy this great sequel. 

Gameplay: 8.5
Another fruit from the “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” tree, Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich doesn’t change a whole lot from the first game, but still stands as a great action RPG with some nice team-based gameplay elements.

Graphics: 7.5
Freedom Force vs. The Third Reich has some great new graphical features like enhanced lighting and shadows, but overall the look hasn’t changed much from the original game.

Sound: 8.5
The musical score and over-the-top voice acting does a fine job of keeping the mood.

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 8.5 
Freedom Force works as both a spoof and homage to the golden age of comics. The great story and interesting characters will no doubt thrill comic book fans, given their faithfulness to the subject matter.

Multiplayer: 8.5
The multiplayer is composed of some familiar multiplayer staples like Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch, and also the great new Story-Based mode, which allows you to completely customize your scenario, from the story to the villains and heroes.                                                                               

Overall: 8.5
Freedom Force vs. the Third Reich is a fun action RPG with a great story and unwavering authenticity to the comics on which it is inspired. Fans of the first game as well as anyone who enjoys comics or action RPGs will have a good time with this one.