Midwinter 2: Flames of Freedom is an action and strategy hybrid that was published by MicroProse Software Incorporated in the early nineties. It was developed by Maelstrom Games and features a futuristic, science fiction theme. While it was also playable on the Amiga or the Atari ST, DOS was basically its main format. It is a first person game, with a fair dose of shooter in it. It is the official sequel to the original Midwinter game. It also has very obvious elements of a role playing game.
Midwinter 2: Flames of Freedom takes place a year after the initial game ended. Midwinter is gone, having slipped beneath the ocean following the thawing of the world. The Peaceful Atlantic Federation is still in command…for now…but it is being constantly threatened by the Saharan Empire…a bit of symbolism revolving around the fall of water and rise of the desert. The only buffer between the two factions is the Slave Isles, which is under the rule of the Saharans.
The gamer will play a stealth operator working on the side of the Atlantic Federation. Your overall goal is to stop Saharan activities in the Slave Isles in order to prevent the last buffer zone from falling. This will require assassinations,
acts of sabotage, and the ability to entice rebels living on the islands to take up arms.
The missions that you will undertake are very open ended, but any success will cause the islands’ rebels to further assist your cause. There will be land, sea and air missions, and units that will correspond with these missions at your disposal. Despite their differences, most of them are controlled in exactly the same manner, so no confusion will happen in the interface. You only have one character, however, at your disposal, but he is fully customizable. You will be provided with a strategic map that can help you to determine what the most likely targets will be and how to best serve the Federation.
The open-endedness of all the missions is a very cool feature of Midwinter 2, and the user will have to use his wits and strategic planning to determine what actions will yield the greatest results on each island. The game is very complex, also because there is little direction for the player. Those players and spy fans patient enough to learn the best way to approach the first couple of missions will earn their rewards and will be inspired to move to the more difficult ideas that the game offers. This is a detailed, and fun game.
