Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix

"Just the multiplayer alone is worth the price!!"

Introduction
When I played the first Soldier of Fortune (geeky pun not intended), it blew me away. Just the thrill of blowing people to bits with a wide assortment of weapons brought me hours of non-stop entertainment. When I had the chance, I quickly picked up the sequel, and once again, I'm blown away..... somebody help me pick up my spleen!

Story
The first SoF wasn't known for it's deeply involving plot. A small elite terrorist faction has stolen some nukes and threatened to destroy the free world, and mercenary-for-hire John Mullins is the only one who can stop these bad guys from completing their evil agenda.

This time around, it seems Raven actually put a little more effort into the story, though it's still thin as a sheet of paper. John's back as a mercenary-for-hire, working for the super-secret anti-terrorist organization (how many of these are there?) The Shop, which was introduced in the first game. Without giving too much away, a deadly biological virus has been unleashed in South America. John's sent to check it out, and he quickly finds out a more sinister plot (cue ominous music) and he traverses the globe from Hong Kong to Columbia; from weapons factories to the busy downtown streets; fighting terrorism and uncovering a conspiracy. Once again, it's very "B-Action Movie", but, again, it works.
Score: 6/10

Graphics
SoF 2's graphics are really something to behold. The environments and character models are highly detailed. The game's series gotten a new face lift with help from a modified version of id's venerable Quake 3 engine, and the result is fantastic. Everything looks crisp and clear -- even the smallest details: from the swaying underbrush of the jungles to the falling snow of remote mountains. The lighting effects are most impressive. As are the gun models, which look exactly like their real world counterparts.

Also returning is Raven's infamous GHOUL modeling system, which allows dismemberment of bodies. The gore's been upped and now it's called the GHOUL II. It now allows even more advanced gore -- gibs, red goo, burning people, etc. Definitely not for the squeamish. Fortunately, there's a parental lock that let's you take out or allow what's in the game.
Score: 10/10

Sound
SoF 2's sound, while not as impressive as it's graphics, is still done fairly well. Every gun has unique sounds, although some of the weapon reloading and explosion sounds are quite the same.

The music really fits into the game better than the first. From the tense jungle rhythm of the Columbia levels to the old, oriental music of the Hong Kong levels, every sounds nice and crisp. The voice acting is pretty decent, though sometimes, when they're trying hard to sound really dramatic, it just falls flat and they end up sounding like wooden stiffs.
Score: 7.5/10

Gameplay
Ah...yes...The gameplay is the highlight of SoF 2. Most missions involve you completing a set of amount of objectives before proceeding to the next level, all the while blowing away any regular gun-toting joe who gets in your way. There are a few times when you'll have to watch your fire and avoid hitting civilians or your team-mates.

Once in a while, the intense gun fights are broken up with either rail-shooting levels or stealth segments. The rail-shooting levels are awesome and make up some of the funnest parts of SoF 2. Usually, in these levels, you're stuck to a vehicle and you have to man the guns while the driver tries to get away unscathed.

Then there's the stealth missions. The stealth mechanics feel very unfinished in SoF 2. They did give you the ability to lean around corners and pick up bodies, but they're fairly useless. There may be a few times when you'll have to peek around the corner, and the body-carrying function is completely useless during a stealth mission because bodies will disappear after 20 seconds or so. And once you get spotted, it's game over. You read correctly. No alarm to disable, no time to snuff the guard before he runs to the alarm. It just goes off, as if these guys has some kind of telekinetic powers. The stealth missions are really more hit and miss, and they do hinder progress. In the long run though, it's not that big a deal.

Now what would any FPS be without weapons? SoF 2 has a ton of weapons! 14 real world fire-arms, which include a wide range of pistols, shotguns, sub-machine guns, rifles and heavy weaponry. Of course, few of these will actually be used. Most of the time you'll be using a rifle or shotgun. The heavy weapons and side-arms are seldom used, but they do have their uses in the game. The same goes with the 10 types of hand grenades you'll get. Most of them are various high explosive grenades, though you'll get some goodies to play with, such as incendiary grenades (time for a barbeque!) and stun grenades (don't flashbang yourself!).
Score: 9/10

AI
The AI is perhaps one of the most impressive I've seen in years. Enemies (even on the lowest difficulty level) will dodge, roll, peek around corners, and even throw back grenades that you toss at them! Of course, the AI's not perfect. Sometimes, when there's no apparent way they can spot you, they do and nail your ass, and when they toss back your grenades, they always seem to land right in front of you, giving you very little time to run away. This makes the game hard for casual gamers to get into, and even, at times, difficult for me.

NPC AI is not as good though. In one group of levels, you'll have to work along with a group of Marines. There were occasional times when they just stood still and you'd have to shoot them to get them moving again. Hostages would sometimes get stuck in walls momentarily or run right in front of an enemy firing his weapon.
Score: 8/10

Multiplayer
I haven't a chance to try all the multiplayer components of SoF 2 as I've been deeply absorbed in the singleplayer campaign and Team Deathmatch, though I hear the rest is good. There's standard Capture the Flag, along with new modes called Elimination, Infiltration, and Demolition (added through SoF 2's gold edition patch). Elimination is basically "kill the other team without having your own team wiped). Infiltration is a team-based game. One side has to infiltrate the enemy base, steal the objective and make it out to the extraction point alive, whereas team #2 must stop team #1 from succeeding. Demolition is kind of the same idea except one team has some explosives and the other must stop the team from bombing the target.

Multiplayer is really an adrenaline rush, but it'll take even the most seasoned UT and Quake players to get used to the MP. You shouldn't be overly alarmed when the first couple of times you play you get owned a lot. Sooner or later, you'll get the hang of it.
Score: 9.5/10

Bugs
Ah......bugs........this is what dragged SoF 2 from the perfect 10. The first game was relatively bug free, although an occasional crash to desktop was not uncommon. Too bad I can't say the same for the SoF 2. First off, there are already bugs in the AI which I've already mentioned before. There have also been reported instances where a bug would occur in a level, now allowing you to progress through to the next level. I also encountered a bug where the game just crashes and locks up your computer and they only way to correct it is a reboot. There's also a bug where you can't pick up more secondary ammo for one of the rifles in the game.

Replayability
There is a healthy dose of replayability in SoF 2, I'm glad to say, unlike the first one. #1 - You could run through the campaign again on a higher difficulty level. #2 - You could play around with the Random Mission Generator, which is a nice touch. You can set the parameters for just about everything in your custom mission: difficulty, type of mission, time of day, weapon selection and disabling/enabling a time limit! #3 - You could go online and play one of the several multiplayer modes mentioned above.
Score: 8.5/10

Conclusion
Soldier of Fortune is a great game - not without its faults though. Since it's an older game, it can be found retailing for about $20 - $35 at some stores. Fans of gore, high-octane FPS games, or of the first game will definitely want to pick this one up. Trust me - you will NOT be disappointed. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go blow someone's arm off.

OVERALL (*NOT* an average): 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/07/04, Updated 06/28/04