Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix

The main crux of the game is obviously the single-player campaign and this time it revolves around biological weapons and the former Soviet Union. This of course gives you plenty of chances to experience snow, deserts and Eastern European cities.

While Solider of Fortune 2 has plenty to offer in both the single and multiplayer arenas, one of its greatest strengths is its random map-generating option. Here it takes the same mission each time, but applies it to a randomly generated map with randomly generated bad guys. As you can imagine this makes for endless gameplay that will forever keep you on your toes.

With a truck load of weapons ranging from a simple knife to handguns to rocket launchers, those of you who like their weapons won't be disappointed. Better still is the ability to carry more than one type of the same weapon. Okay, so it's a bit implausible as to how you can carry everything, but hey when you have this many weapons, who cares?

Taking advantage of their work with Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast, the graphics and sound that Ravensoft, the games developers, have managed to create are very impressive; with large, open, expansive scenery mixed in with close-quartered cities everything has a great atmospheric quality to it.

This is a great game, that builds not only what Solider of Fortune achieved, but also on the developments that have been made in the industry by both Ravensoft and other developers. - Jason Denwood

1) The AI. It does some smart things such as flanking maneouvres and such, but it's overly accurate, can see you even when you can't see enemies, and enemies who crouch in grass or water can't be seen but they can somehow unneringly hit you.

2) The dammage modelling is pathetic. OK, headshots are indeed instant-death using an assault rifle, but it takes 3-4 body shots before an opponent is even thinking about not blindly attacking. This isn't a bit off, it's PLAIN WRONG.

For me these two things have seriously detracted from what otherwise would be a superb sequal to the orriginal.


possibly the best first-person shooter since goldeneye!!!   August 3, 2002
Leddo (somewhere in southport)
16 out of 18 found this review helpful

When I originally played this game the first thing that struck me was its similarity to, in my opinion the greatest ever
first-person shoot 'em up, Goldeneye for the N64. I don't think it's as revolutionary as Goldeneye but the way the SOF2 first feels is similar.

The A.I. is some of the most realistic i've ever seen with enemies sneaking up on you, hiding behind objects, and covering themselves with gas grenades. They match you step for step.

The graphics and the soundFX are superb. The detail is outstanding and characters are all very crisp and lifelike. Splinters and shrapnel fly out of whatever happens to get shot and the diagetic sounds also add a very realistic atmosphere the to game, especially the level in the Columbian jungle.

Not only are the levels very well detailed but the designs are some of the best i've seen. Each one is very challenging in it's own way. Some rely on stealth and others, purely running round shooting everything that moves. Also, the game boasts a Random Scenario Generator which means that every time you re-start a level the enemies and surroundings are always in slightly different positions which means you can never rely on your memory to get you through them.

Only playing the demo I didn't get a clear idea of what the storyline is like but if i was to go off the rest of the games aspects i would guess at it also being very well thought out and scripted.

I know one thing though, i'm buying the full version today!!!

And so should any first-person shoot 'em up fans!


Wasted opportunity   June 2, 2002
Rich (England)
11 out of 18 found this review helpful

Unfortunately, this game is only OK. The graphics are pretty good but not spectacular. It takes the Quake engine and really doesn't push the envelope as much as it promised to. For example, mirrors don't actually reflect, and the animation of the in game characters is inexcusably poor. In this day of motion capturing real actors, I would have thought this could've been easily avoided. Characters have been provided with small stepped 'mincing' walks which completely goes against their hard images! There is also problems with the much vaunted damage modelling. Occasionally an aimed single shot will seem to completely miss your target at close range! While these random misses could be put down to realism - maybe - it's definitely annoying and not particularly authentic considering the sharp shooting qualities of the man you're supposed to be playing! It definitely doesn't give you too much confidence in the game. Secondly, when a 'mark' is going down in his death throes, riddling his slowly collapsing body with bullets doesn't result in any change to his animated expiration. To give an example, sometimes after shooting a guy in the torso area, he'll slowly collapse clutching his arm in agony. But shooting him any more doesn't result in him hitting the deck any faster! Or maybe I'm just a little sick and shouldn't be trying to do this (!?) Also, a dead body will 'twitch' violently when you shoot it again. This works nicely except where you shoot them in the toe and they still have a full body twitch! Apart from these small graphical glitches, there are other annoying things - like not being able to shoot while prone. Why not? There is no good excuse for not being able to do this. And sometimes upon having mission objectives updated, doors will magically unlock themselves when only a second before they were impassible! While restricting the players movements to certain sections of a level is necessary, a less idiotic way of doing it should have been implemented. Also, and quite a major point, you are given the ability of moving dead bodies away from patrolling guards to stop them raising the alarm. A great idea, except for some reason, the bodies dissapear after a while anyway if left alone, leaving just a puddle of blood (which also vanishes eventually) and a weapon! What's the point of including a 'realistic' feature like being able to move dead bodies if dead bodies don't behave in a realistic way!?! However, there are some very nice touches, like shooting through windows and having them only partly break before shattering them with a sustained burst. And the explosions and smoke effects are quite nice. Overall though, the quality of the 3D models lets it down (witness the poorly rendered helicopter in the columbian level) and the game feels very unfinished. It IS a good shooter, and the weapons are very nice, but it's not enough to make it stand head and shoulders above the pack. A dissapointment.


soldier of fortune 2 best FPS ever ,or just another seqel   September 25, 2002
10 out of 12 found this review helpful

I recently purchased soldier of fortune 2, and can honestly say that it is one of if not the best first peron shooters avalible at the moment. It covers so many areas that FPS games should, for example some people just like to run around manickly shooting limbs off, and for this i can definitley reccomnd the online multiplayer mode. however for the more safisticated gamers out there, it has to be te one player side of the game, admittedly te storyline leaves a lot be desired, but has the story ever realy been an important part of these games... NO,if i want to get involved in an in-depth saga i'll play final fantasy or somthing like that! now to the weapons, their is a wide variety to suit almost all players ranging from mult-man killing machines like the grenade launcher, to the super precise sniper rifle which to be honest requirs more skill to successfully master, (which is probably why i prefer the grenade launcher). and of course the graphics are top notch, you do find the odd glitch and dodgey animation but otherwise its next to perfect. so overall i would definitey reccomend this to any FPS fan and posibly even those who wouldnt usualy choose them!!!!!