Freedom Wars (PS Vita) Review

The premise of Freedom Wars is superb. Take the role of a criminal. The crime? Being an unproductive drain on resources. The sentence? One million years of penal servitude. As the "accessory" NPC companion to the character so eloquently puts it: "Your existence and consequent consumption of resources constitutes grave crimes against society." After suffering a head injury and losing all their memory the protagonist's sentence is reset to this crazy figure, and they get to begin anew trying to buy their freedom.

Freedom can be bought in two ways: either by taking part in missions or donating rewards and salvage found during those missions to reduced years of the sentence. These missions are fought against other "Panopticons." In this post-apocalyptic setting the world has split into these "Panopticons," representing different areas that are constantly at odds with each other over resources and each other's citizens.

The sentence doesn't just decrease, though. There are a ton of rules and regulations prisoners or "Sinners" must adhere to; failure to comply results in additions to the sentence. Speaking to the opposite sex? That's more years on the sentence. Speaking unnecessarily? Years on the sentence. Not speaking? Years on the sentence. Laying down to sleep? No prizes for guessing what happens. However, the system allows for the purchase of "Entitlements" using a currency from completing missions and donating goods that can make life a little better.

Unlocking these Entitlements allows all of the above and more. Being able to run for more than five seconds and stray 20 yards from a constant NPC companion (accessory) are necessary quick purchases to make the quest hub bearable. It all has a very 1984 feel. Entitlements come in many other forms, too, from the useful better gear loadouts for the team NPCs and the ability to retain more rewards from missions, to cosmetic outfits and colour palettes for both the player character and their accessory companion.

Enough about the setting! What about the gameplay? Freedom Wars is first and foremost a Monster Hunter clone, taking on design, gameplay and style choices, but replacing anthropomorphic cat people with androids, and the dino and dragon creatures with mechs. It keeps the genre mainstays of repeatable missions, ad hoc multiplayer and craftable equipment, though.

The combat is fast, dynamic and fun, with the ability to use numerous weapons, both melee and ranged. Various calibres of gun and styles are available, including machine guns, miniguns, missiles and rocket launchers. All of these weapons come on top of a piece of equipment that all Sinners are provisioned with, the Thorn. The Thorn is a whip/hookshot-styled accessory that comes in a number of styles with different abilities on each; it can be used to grip onto enemies or surfaces and then be used to fly towards them by reeling it in, allowing Sinners to hang from walls or ceilings or even enemies. It adds a great extra dimension to battles.

The enemies are generic humanoid cannon fodder, known as Abductors, and can come in a number of styles; classic biped mechs with cannons are the norm, but there are also some fantastical designs, such as robotic chimeras and dragons, along with even more 'out there' creations. Fighting the Abductors is a highlight of the game. Using the Thorn, Sinners can attach themselves to weak points of the enemy and then mash a button to slice through it. Choosing where to attack strategically can be fantastic, cutting off limbs and weapons or even using the Thorn to tie up or pull the Abductor over for the team to go all out. The combat takes some adapting to, but once it's down it's great fun; switching between melee and ranged is very smooth and battles with Abductors are dynamic and exciting.

The team-based interface allows for adding three NPCs to the party in single-player, along with the player's accessory. Both the accessory and the team can be given instructions via the touchscreen.

Freedom Wars also offers both competitive and cooperative multiplayer. This is often the drawn with Monster Hunter, where up to five players can team up and there's a great deal of replayability thanks to it.

Though there is a great game here, there are some issues. The pacing could be better, with large sections of story not being broken up with combat stages. The camera can be tricky when in a fast moving battle and there's a limited amount of maps.