Freedom Force is essentially a real-time, squad-based strategy game. What's different about it, though, is that your team consists of superheroes.

The game is set in the early sixties in New York City. Your team of superheroes, Freedom Force, is locked in battle with the forces of Lord Dominion, a diabolical being from another dimension.

Freedom Force consists of 14 unique superheroes, each with his or her own special powers. You must select your team before each mission and learn to use their powers cooperatively in order to accomplish your goals.

The game has a bit of a comic book feel to it, but the game is certainly not flat as a comic book panel. Instead, your superheroes will wage their war for justice in a 3D environment that is affected by the actions of your heroes and the villains. Cars can be thrown at enemies, buildings can be crushed by superhuman powers, etc.

Control is accomplished through context-sensitive pop-up menus that list the possible interactions between a character and the target object or person. While the game takes place in real-time, players who prefer a slower pace can pause the action when selecting commands from the pop-up menus.

A good superhero games have been strangely absent in computer gaming for a very long time. Strategy gamers are twice-blessed by the fact that the first one to come along in ages is an RTS game.