''Freedom Force'' is a

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed and published by

Sunsoft , is a Japanese electronics manufacturer, video game developer and publisher. They are known for their video games under the brand name Sunsoft. History In April 1971, Sun Electronics Corporation (alternatively called Sun Denshi) was founded i ...

for the

Nintendo Entertainment System The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on 15 July 1983 as the and was later released as the redesigned NES in several test markets in the ...

in 1988. The player takes the role of a sharpshooter in a counter-terrorist organization. This is one of the few games to require the

NES Zapper The Zapper is an electronic light gun accessory launched within the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America on October 18, 1985. It is a cosmetic redesign by Nintendo of America's head designer Lance Barr, based on Gunpei Yokoi's , ...

light gun A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games, typically shaped to resemble a pistol. Early history The first light guns were produced in the 1930s, following the development of light-sensi ...

accessory. The game was released in arcades by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

on the

Nintendo VS. System The is an arcade system that was developed and produced by Nintendo. It is based on most of the same hardware as the Family Computer (Famicom), later released as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). As Nintendo was planning to release the ...

as ''VS. Freedom Force'' that year. In January 1988, it was announced as a 1-megabit cartridge at the Winter

Consumer Electronics Show CES (; formerly an initialism for Consumer Electronics Show) is an annual trade show organized by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA). Held in January at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Winchester, Nevada, United States, the event typi ...

Gameplay

Players assume the role of an anti-terrorist gunman who must kill terrorists without shooting any of their hostages. Different levels include an

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

that has been taken over by the terrorists and a city street. The game has some blood, but it lacks gore; a small red splotch appears on the chest of the hit targets. The screen scrolls from left to right, with terrorists or hostages popping out of windows and doors. Unlike other shooters, the powerups (being either energy, ammo or weapons) are obtained by shooting the lower-right box when an item appears there. After every two stages, a bonus game can be played for bonus points. This bonus game is a word game similar to Hangman, in which the player shoots letters to uncover the word. During this game, the player can have 5 misses. If the player gets 5 wrong letters or the timer runs out, the bonus game ends without any earned bonus points. If the word is completely revealed, the player gets a time bonus.

Reception

At Winter CES in 1988, ''

Computer Entertainer ''Computer Entertainer'', also known as ''The Video Game Update'', was an American video game newsletter. Based out of Los Angeles, California and edited by Celeste Dolan, it was published monthly between 1982 and 1990. It regularly featured news ...

'' said "This one is definitely not for the squeamish, but it should be very popular with those who enjoy the more violent games." In July 1988, it reported that ''Freedom Force'' was

's "best game yet. And they've made the best use yet of the Zapper light gun by building a game around a theme that's as topical as the evening news: the taking of hostages by terrorists".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Freedom Force (Video Game) 1988 video games Arcade video games Sunsoft games Light gun games Multiplayer and single-player video games Nintendo games Nintendo Entertainment System games Nintendo VS. System games North America-exclusive video games Video games about terrorism Video games developed in Japan Video games developed in the United States Video games scored by Naoki Kodaka