Freedom Wars (PS Vita) Review

What The PS Vita Needs.

 Freedom Wars is the much-anticipated and latest exclusive for the PS Vita, and at this point, its what the system needs right now. Featuring high production values, an interesting premise, and neat gameplay, Freedom Wars is looking to give the Vita  a big boost, and it truly does. Lets go over this new offering by Sony's Japan Studio.


STORY- Set on Earth in the distant year of 102014, Mankind lives in various Panopticons (cities), waging wars against each other. You take the role of an amnesiac "Sinner" -- criminals who must serve their panopticon to decrease their sentences-- whom must defend his or her's panopticon from enemy "Abductors", giant machines who abduct citizens, and defeat neighboring panopticons who are hostile. The story goes deeper later on, but some gripes I had is it takes itself too seriously, thus interrupting the gameplay at times. Also, the characters get less development, which tends to make you care less about their fates.

Fight For Your Freedom.

GAMEPLAY- The gameplay is the meat of Freedom Wars. Similar to titles such as Monster Hunter and God Eater, Freedom Wars is a third-person action game featuring both online and offline play. Weapons include rocket launchers, swords, assault rifles, etc., your most trusted ally is your thorn. The thorn allows to easily zip between areas and take down abductors. There are three types of thorns that are offensive, defensive, and healers, find the one your're good with and stick to it. Furthermore, another addition is your "Accessory", which is your customize-able A.I partner whom will assist during battles. They can be assigned different orders as you claim entitlements -- rights that gives you freedom to walk, talk, customize your sinner and accessory, etc. in your panopticon-- such as "Cover Me", "Destroy Parts", and so on. Missions include taking out enemy abductors and rescuing citizens stored in their pods, as the difficulty of the levels increase, they will be accompanied by enemy sinners, gun turrets , and even other abductors. One thing is the difficulty later in the game, when it spikes, it spikes hard. This may sound discouraging but fortunately you can play online with others to help you. Overall, the gameplay is the star of the game and gets more fun when you're playing online (make sure you have a stable connection first).

The gameplay is great and addicting.

PRESENTATION- The presentation scream AAA production. The character models are sharp, backgrounds are detailed, and overall designs are among the best on the Vita, they even look astonishing on the PlayStation TV. The audio is only in Japanese, which is great, but from a AAA game you'd expect English audio, a lazy move by the localization team. The soundtrack is great and fits the dystopian tone of the game well, and would like to hear more of it.


OVERALL- Freedom Wars is a must-have for any PS Vita enthusiast, those looking for Monster Hunter-like journey, and those who are willing to dust-off their Vitas for a good game. Despite the story getting in the way at times and minor presentation issues, the gameplay and visuals are the best aspects of the game and its truly one of the best Vita games out there. 


IMPRESSIVE