Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix

"Over kill much? Well, unless you want them to die really hard..."

Introduction

Okay. At the time of this review being made, I have never played the prequel of this game, making this my first time reviewing this game series.

When I first got this game, I thought it would be one of those generic FP shooters that tend to lack taste after a long while. Well, this game did get some good reviews, as well as bad, it had hung around for a while, and I really enjoyed it. Though there were some issues that were in need of working on.

Story: 6/10

Basically, you play as John Mullins (for you vets out there, he returns) and you're after a bio-chemical scientist who is making a biological weapon of mass destruction (this term has already been over-used before...). Your job is basically to investigate on how, and why is he making this weapon before it's too late.

Now from my point of view of this story, I really think that these types of stories, had virtually went unoriginal over time. When I was playing this game, I almost forgot what I'm trying to look for in the missions. I mean, come on! This story was leaning towards on being a bit static, yet trying to be dynamic. Unfortunately, the heels of this story were dragging against the ground, and therefore, eating it's own dust. So really, I didn't like this games storyline.

Gameplay: 7/10

This one is big. The gameplay of this game was okay overall, despite of its story. Like those other FPS games, the standard ''WASD'' and mouse controls are used in general. Though the arrows can be used as well, depending on your taste of controls. The AI in this game is not bad, but there is some bugs that are in need of fixing. You can play random missions through a Random Mission Generator in the menus. The modes include demolition, infiltration, assassination, and escape. Though I was a bit disappointed since it can only let you choose 4 maps in the ''random'' missions generator.

The AI in the Random Missions were a bit annoying. For example, when you are playing in a demolition map, your partner can get in the way, and therefore, giving you a chance to give him lead poisoning. :P Even while playing the game, I do find this game a bit too realistic.

The selection of weapons were great, like the SOCOM pistol, the M4A1 w/ M203 Grenade Launcher, the AK-74 w/ bayonet, the Rocket Propelled Grenade, and a lot more. Though, I was expecting to see more selection for the sniper rifle, since it only provided one. I mean come on, if this game is as realistic, then the terrorists/enemies wouldn't likely be using the same sniper rifle in your standard equipment, right?

Anywho, going to the multiplayer mode, the gameplay changes. From here, you can choose what you would look like from the game, and your controls and overall settings. There are different modes you can select in the multiplayer game, like deathmatch and capture the flag, just to name a few. You can play in different set of maps found in the single player games, but you can also play custom maps provided at certain servers. The only catch is that this mode is not as gory as in the single player mode. Overall, the balance between the modes are okay, and I give it an 7. (I told you the gameplay was big :P)

Graphics: 9/10

The graphics in this game were amazing. I was a bit surprised that this game does not require much processing speed, and yet the graphics were just fine, thanks to the Ghoul II engine used in Quake. The weapons polygons had a lot of detail overall, and the players/AI models were great looking as well. The levels around the game were nicely done too. I gave this a 9 because my video card (TNT2) was slighty having a laggy frame rate by some of the high polygons (even though I put down the settings, it still lagged :/), yet when I'm playing in the multiplayer mode, the frame rate is 30/60 fps flat. But overall, it's a 9.

Sound: 9/10

The overall sound is great. The music within this game really sets the mood, depending on different levels. If you configured your sound settings right, you can actually have dynamic music. Slow music for stealth, or fast music when detected by the enemies. This is somewhat similar to the Metal Gear Solid series. The sound effects were realistic, and the voice overs and acting were also good and thought out pretty well.

Re-playability: 6/10

Well, this game had fallen to my ''mediocre'' list. It was great playing it the first time. Though, playing through the single missions again, would get very boring. Though I still found the Random Missions Generator an okay, but it too can get boring over time. The multiplayer is the one that gets the highest score for obvious reasons (playing against other players over the internet, etc., etc.) So therefore, it's a 6.

Final Thoughts

I somewhat enjoyed this game. But unfortunately, the story didn't get me into the game. The multiplayer was a lot more fun than the single player, again because of obvious reasons. My recommendations are that if you like graphical, gory, and cool looking weapons, then this game would suit you. Otherwise, just skip this game and move on the the next shelf. There are plenty more First Person Shooters out there.

Overall score: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 10/31/03