Soldier of Fortune (PC Game Review)

Soldier of Fortune (SOF) comes in the line of KingPin, due to its "body damage model". While in most 3D games, adversaries require a ton of bullets to drop dead, here a single (head) shot can be effective, but that will depend on the distance from where you are firing, and from other factors, such as if the enemy is using vest protection, or not.

SOF's realism translates in a game that is graphically very explicit: bodies will bleed, and body parts can get ripped... ouch! So, "viewer's discretion is advised", and Activision warns you about that while the software is loading; you can even "lock" most of the bloody features, if you are not a "mature audience".

My first recommendation is for you to turn the gore all the way up and kill everything that represents a threat - it is *just a game* and you have to be very brain limited, if you ever think(ed) about reproducing any gaming action on the "real world".

The storyline is all about you being a "soldier of fortune", which is not exactly the same thing as being a "mercenary" - here you always play for the "good guys".

As a SOF, you are paid to do the dirty laundry of the USA's government: above all, you are to wipeout a terrorist group, who is behind the stolen of four nuclear devices. The game has two parts: locating and eliminating the nukes; then preventing the people responsible for the hideous plan, of doing more damage.

The story is very strong, and it can be said that is owes nothing to most reviewer's reference: Valve's Half-Life (HL). HL really brought back the importance of building games over a sound plot, but now SOF goes a step further! Yes, it is that good! Unfortunately, you won't see magazines reviewing SOF with a 96% score - blood is a problem, as it can deploy reader's discomfort and protests.

SOF's action is spread all over the world. I still didn't complete the game; I just finished its first half, after finding the last of the nukes, in "Iraq 3", and I just started a splendid New York level, where enemies are much, MUCH more dangerous than ever before...

I have to admit that the "Iraq" levels are among the finest I have ever tried in a first person game, including all the "Quakes" and "Unreals". One of SOF's superb features is the dynamic music system, that is damn effective in every situation: for example, the music will change to a more stressing rhythm, whenever you are in trouble, and will ease to a calm melody, whenever you are just "gliding" through the map. The very progressive and natural way the music evolves is the top tech in the audio system. In Iraq this is more obvious than elsewhere, and other candies, such as the disguises, really contribute to Baghdad's excellence!

Weapons are chosen from real life hardware, a la Delta Force. I was impressed learning that there are silent weapons that can rotate 1200 rpm (Buldog T31)! But the best thing about SOF's weapons is that their differences are so important; for example, an assault riffle delivers a very different job that of a submachine gun... there are weapons very appropriate for close firing (one shot and they kill), but lousy if the target is not close; on the other hand, the sniper riffle is effective on long distances, but not the wisest choice for proximity fights, because aiming it is time AND health consuming...

Of course that there isn't much strategy required - it is just shoot baddies and use items, but this game is the nearest you can get of an interactive shooting action movie, and as technology evolves, the next-next-generation games will surely look a lot more like blockbusters, such as "True Lies" and so on...

I am playing (and willing to complete) SOF in the "medium" difficulty level, which can get quite hard. I'll post the game ending, whenever I get to it.