Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix (PC)
By Susie Vee

Way back in the good old days of 2000, a cool little PC game called Soldier of Fortune landed on our hard drive. It seemed like another also-ran, action-heavy FPS, but a combination of clever level design and an inventive game engine kept us addicted for weeks.

The original SoF was kinda blocky, based as it was on the already-outdated Quake II engine, but the game’s claim to fame was a modification developer Raven made to the engine. They called it the GHOUL engine, and it basically added location-specific damage to the game, often with gruesome results. The effect was usually more cartoony than gross, and a shotgun blast to the leg would leave a bad guy hopping on his one remaining foot.

Fast forward to 2002 and the long-awaited sequel. You’re back as real-life merc John Mullins, and apparently, there are still tons of generic bad guys who are all itchin’ to get shot in the head. This time, the graphics are cutting-edge, and the GHOUL engine is back, providing even more opportunities to kill people in interesting ways. If you get the idea that there’s a lot of violence and over-the-top gore in the game, you’ve got a keen grasp of the obvious.

Approached with tongue-in-cheek, it can be amusing, but sometimes it is a bit much. Enemy animations include wounded bad guys trying to crawl to safety, and plenty of overly dramatic “ugh, they got me!” spasms. Blood and gore can be turned on and off, but that has very little to do with the game’s ultra-violent content.

Despite the technological improvements, SOF II just isn’t as fun as the original. The first Solder of Fortune started with a great NYC subway level, and then took you to a shootout on a moving train. In the sequel, you basically run around tons of warehouses and anonymous-looking buildings. There’s a nice jungle level, with some AI-driven squad mates, but it’s only inventive environment in the game.

Anyone looking for female role models won’t find much in SOF II. John Mullins is so Midwestern macho, he’s even got a big goofy mustache. But for some mindless shooting, it’s still one of the better entries out there.

There are some stealth sections, but they seem tacked on. It’s very hard to stay out of sight, and chances are, no matter how well you do, you’ll still have to blast your way out of whatever situation you’re in.

One inventive touch is the Random Mission Generator. The game mechanics are fun, and sometimes you want to just play a quick round and not bother with slogging through the game’s inscrutable story and convoluted save system (based on your difficulty level, you get a certain number of saves per level). With the mission generator, you pick a terrain type, a mission type and a few other variables, and the game whips up a quick one-shot level for you. Sometimes the random placement of items and enemies doesn’t make much sense, but often it’s a lot of fun.

Soldier of Fortune II doesn’t have the same thrills of the original, but if you’re in the mood for some fast-paced action, and don’t mind a liberal helping of gore, it’s worth a shot.

SCORE: 8.5