Released in 2003, Freedom Fighters was that odd ball little game that had everything except popularity. Like the kid in the class who is really good at math, science, and social studies but remains unpopular because he/she lacks the looks. That's the game Freedom Fighters was, the one no one talked about except only a few, and when you told people how totally awesome it was, they never believed you. An original IP, created by IO Interactive, the same dudes responsible for the Hitman series of games, and more recently Kane & Lynch. The game feature some of the most unique game play available at the time. It wasn't just run and shoot (although you did a lot of running and gunning) but it also introduced a squad command. Remember this was during a time when every video game and it's sister never had seen such a interesting idea. Sure games did it, but none did it quite like this. It was easy to pull off, and never took you out of the action. As for the story, well you were killing Russians. The story was set in a what if scenario, and in this case it was what if Russia attacked the United States, New York City to be exact. Surprisingly interesting with plot twist, and good characters the game moved at a steady pace, that never let up until the final moments. As the game progressed your squad would increase, eventually maxing out at 12 men. You could take care of the enemies yourself or send your guys to do the dirty work instead, which made strategy something of a choice. For me though, the multi-player was what kept me hooked. Large scaled battles would ensue, with one player controlling the Americans, while the other handled the bad Russians. The goal was to collect bases, and at these bases respawn points for you to gather more AI controlled teammates, to send out and attack the opposite player. It was addictive, and serve for hours apun hours of sheer delight watching my little Red Army minions die and respawn repeatedly. Overall, Freedom Fighters was one of the most underrated games of its generation. Reviewers shunned it with mediocre scores, and players didn't bother with it at all. Like alot of games in the industry it was not rewarded for it's original ideas, and well thought out gameplay. Sure it never starred a guy in a green metal suit, or an Italian plumber, but it did help me waist away plenty of hours. For that, I raise the flag to Freedom Fighters, a game that got lost in time like so many others.