L04: Amateur

The big negatives that tend to be lodged at Freedom Wars relate to its difficulty curve and overall balancing.  Different players have trouble at different points in the game, with some players reportedly feeling stressed even at the very start of the game, but the concensus points to missions at the end of the game being especially problematic. 

Crew

I’m also happy to announce that we have several weeks of DLC planned for all of you, including free DLC every week until the end of November!  Everything from weapon packs and hairstyle additions to battle music and sticker packs is on the way, so please keep checking back to download the latest content and keep your Sinner stylish! 

L99: LIMIT BREAKER

Freedom Wars is being released in North America today, and Sony Computer Entertainment have confirmed that patch 1.20—which adds an online 8-player PvP mode to the game—will be available today as well. 

In addition to adding the PvP mode, the patch will eliminate the online pass that was required in Eastern territories, and will also make balance tweaks to the game. 

Sony say they plan to support Freedom Wars with free DLC every week until the end of November.  They also point out the game is compatible with both PS Vita and PlayStation TV. 

L99: LIMIT BREAKER

Freedom Wars has already been out for a few months now, but it seems like Sony have further plans for the franchise.  They say that that a big announcement will be made during the “Sinners Festival,” which is scheduled to take place in Osaka, Japan this weekend. 

The above map shows the stage layout of the Panopticon-themed event, where fans will get to participate in various events and purchase exclusive goods, or be a part of a Freedom Wars quiz challenge to win prizes. 

Attendees will also get three exclusive trading stickers at the event, which also includes rare stickers of the game’s three Vocaloid-esque idols as well.  They’ll also have events where fans will get to use their Vitas to show off their best character customizations. 

The schedule for the event shows some of the events they’ll have, such as cooperative and competitive tournaments.  There’s also a message at the bottom that reads, “Something will happen during the finale at 18:00!?  Stick around and keep your eyes on the stage!” 

Various voice actors and developers are also expected to make an appearance during the event.  While Sony didn’t share any hints as to what this announcement could be, it wouldn’t surprise us if it were an updated “G” version of the game or maybe even a sequel. 

The event will take place on January 10th, 2015 from 11:00am until 18:00pm. 

L99: LIMIT BREAKER

A new project surrounding Freedom Wars‘s “Propaganda Idols” is in preparation, producer Junichi Yoshizawa announced during Sony’s “Sinners Festival” event in Osaka today. 

The keyword for the project is “5.”  Five new songs will be released in some form down the line, and the “Contribution Girls” are alluded to be getting a new unit. 

The Contribution Girls are an idol group in the game world designed to raise prisoners’ motivation.  Their members are Coni (voiced by Momo Asakura), Opti (Sora Amamiya), and Panna (Shiina Natsukawa), and have previously released singles such as “Sentenced to 1,000,000 Years of Love” and “Panopticon Work Song #1.”  Their music has been released in CD form under the title “Super Contribution Drive Music Collection.” 

This was actually announced during the music stage event.  That “something” teased for the last stage event earlier this week was just a present lottery for attendees to win an autographed standup from the presenters. 

L99: LIMIT BREAKER

In Freedom Wars, the “Propaganda Idols” are an idol group in the game world designed to raise prisoners’ motivation.  Its only known unit was the “Contribution Girls.”  And back in January, Sony teased a new unit would join the group.  Today, they’ve been revealed as the “Contribution Guys.” 

The Contribution Guys are made up of Yu (voiced by Eiji Miyashita), Gi (Takuya Eguchi), Wel (Kenji Akabane), and Alto (Seiichirou Yamashita).  Their debut single is a new rendition of “Let’s Contribute!  The Imprisonment of Love is 1,000,000 Years.” 

Sony also announced the release of the 1,865 yen “Super Contribution Promotion Music Collection,” a music CD that includes an arrange of eight songs from the Contribution Girls.  You can view and preview its contents over at Amazon Japan. 

L99: LIMIT BREAKER

Sony has announced the PlayStation Plus free games for December, and Freedom Wars is among them.  The PlayStation Vita title was released in 2014 and set in a dystopian future where all humans live in Panopticon prison states and fight wars against one another in an attempt to earn their freedom.  Players’ characters begin with a 1,000,000 year sentence for the crime of being alive. 

The other PlayStation Plus free games for December are King’s Quest Chapter 1: A Knight to Remember and Gauntlet: Slayer Edition for the PlayStation 4, Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and SSX for the PlayStation 3, and Rocketbirds: Hardboiled Chicken for the PlayStation Vita.  The free games will be available to download on December 1, after the PlayStation Store updates.