Freedom Wars

Freedom Wars and its story-driven RPG action could put PS Vita on the map in a way that previously hyped titles have been unable to do. A few bothersome elements can’t derail an exciting game with a wholly unique premise.

Freedom Wars is a ray of light in PS Vita's catalogue thanks to its deep plot. A must for the handheld, but only for those who like Japanese games. Even so, it's a recommendable game for those looking to spend many hours in order to reduce that million year sentence.

A dystopian, Orwellian future mixed with a third person shooter, Action RPG, some strategy and deep options of customization gives PS Vita one of those titles the machine should receive more often. Freedom Wars is, like Soul Sacrifice for example, a title which has it flaws, but what really matters is the sum of its parts. It's long, funny, oriented to single-player and multiplayer. And it takes us and turns us into post-apocalyptic world prisoners, fighting for our freedom in a mixture between Judge Dredd, THX 1138 and an anime story. A great choice to give some AAA ration to our Vitas indeed.

Freedom Wars has its shortcomings, but I would still consider it one of the top Vita games available.

Not only is Freedom Wars one of the best games available for PlayStation Vita, but it will keep you busy for months with great gameplay and the superb 4-player co-op mode. A must-have for any action/RPG fan.

It may look like a Monster Hunter clone, but Freedom Wars is much more than that. Whether you play alone, or you go online and hunt with friends, this dystopian action/ RPG will be the best thing that has happened to your PS Vita for a long time.

Freedom Wars offers a clever twist to the Monster Hunter formula with tons of content to play through, but clunky controls, cryptic crafting and painfully long missions hurt its overall value.

Once you get the hang of the complex controls and slight camera issues, you're in for a breathless, exhilarating time staring down giant robots, outmaneuvering your rivals, and rescuing your betters.

Freedom Wars is a game that is a pleasure to play and it feels completely appropriate for the handheld.

Despite having some areas that need improvement, Freedom Wars is very easy to sink many hours into and is a thoroughly engaging handheld experience all-round. Complaints that the Vita has very few great games of interest have rightfully been met with scorn, and Freedom Wars is a strong addition to the system's library.

While its plot is intriguing, the characters themselves don’t do much to elevate it beyond being just a good story. I enjoyed my time with the game, and I’ll continue fighting for my Panopticon in the months to come.

This third-person shooter looks like a generic JRPG, but don't judge it by its cover, because Freedom Wars is one of the best games for PS Vita. The fast-paced action, deep customization and Monster Hunter-like team battles will make you forget about the cheesy anime clichés and stay in this dystopian world for hours.

George Orwell meets Monster Hunter in what feels like one of Vita's oddest and most significant exclusives yet.

There's constantly a hook that keeps me coming back for more, even if it means sitting through another chunk of tedious story.

It's the PS Vita's biggest release this year, and likely will be for some time. If you own a PlayStation Vita or TV, you'd be crazy to pass up Freedom Wars.

In one breath, Freedom Wars will either delight or subvert what you think about role-playing games whether you’re well versed in Japanese gaming or not.

Fulfilling, inspired, dramatic and well designed action adventure game with a great sense of collaboration between PS Vita players all over the world. An enjoyable Monster Hunter-type game.

The concept may not be very original, but it is a solid and addictive experience, with some unique features that action fans will definitely enjoy. It's a great fit for PS Vita and if you like haunting monsters (ahem), you should give it a try.

We sure don't have the new Monster Hunter, but Freedom Wars is a good game to keep an eye on. If the premises and the narrative structure of the game had to be maintained at early hours levels, we'd be talking about a true masterpiece. Good game, anyway.

It may not be what it could have been, but there's still a lot to like underneath the awkward design blips.

It doesn't come without it flaws, but it's still an interesting hunting game, bestowed with a well crafted narration.

Freedom Wars is a decent enough Monster Hunter-esque game that the Vita really needed. It’s not without its faults, but while I may have explained these at length, they are not enough to detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.

Freedom Wars delivers an action RPG in an accessible, pickup-and-play, portable package.

While in the beginning the battles are as dramatic as they are dynamic, in the end you’ll rather remember the clunky UI and the basic story.

Competent as a handheld third-person shooter/RPG hybrid. Alas, the final act doesn't deliver on the promise of its premise. [Christmas 2014, p74]

Freedom Wars feels like the result of an ambitious team that gave up halfway. The missions where you fight against giant robots are much fun, especially because they distract from the many problems that occur in this game.

The game comes so very close to being an amazing experience but the gameplay doesn't quite match with its excellent concept.

With its intriguing universe and vertiginous aerial combat, Freedom Wars seemingly possessed all the weapons to win the battle of the monster hunters. But the narrative is slowly being pushed in the background by the repetitive flow of missions required to craft more and more powerful equipment. Fortunately, the gameplay is both sharp and deep thanks to the polyvalence of the thorn, which opens a tactical approach that perfectly gets into cooperation, multiplayer representing the main reason to take part in these never-ending conflicts.

Freedom Wars is a solid action RPG that's put behind bars by a slew of elements that end up lacking.

Freedom Wars is not a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination. Its flaws are obvious, constantly present and, in the case of the storyline, disheartening. However, the gameplay itself is good enough to lift its quality above average.

Freedom Wars is a decidedly solid action-RPG.

In a way, I guess, they're kind of a stand-in for Freedom Wars as a whole. They — like the game — may look nice, and they may be part of a story that's surprisingly engaging. But the moment they — or the game, for that matter — actually have to do anything, it all falls apart.

For game that wants you to spend hundreds of hours playing it, Freedom Wars is depressingly shallow.

Freedom Wars can't match the series it aims to ape, but this is almost as worth checking out for its bizarre, clever conceit as its satisfying, if shallow, combat mechanics. [Christmas 2014, p.87]

Though it makes a sound first impression it’s ultimately held back by a forced narrative and gameplay segments that fall by the wayside.

The striking visual style, the intriguing premise that’s expertly tied in to the gameplay- it all felt like it was going to be a special experience. But at the end of day, the poor balancing of difficulty and dubious mechanical design choices makes this one really hard to enjoy and even harder to recommend.

There’s plenty of potential here, to make a Monster Hunter clone Western gamers can really get behind, but all its best ideas are sacrificed to endless grinding and repetition.