Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix

aka: SOF2
Moby ID: 6428
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

The stakes are higher in this sequel to Soldier of Fortune. The player is John Mullins, a patriot, weapons specialist and anti-terrorist mercenary, who takes on a new threat bio-terrorist organization and their Gemini virus. His mission is to neutralize the terrorists before they unleash the virus.

Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix features over 55 levels and an all new Random Mission Generator mode. The game uses the Quake III: Team Arena engine with GHOUL II technology and its models are designed with 36 damage zones along with 16 dismemberment zones.

Spellings

  • Солдат Удачи 2 - Russian spelling
  • 命运战士II:双重螺旋 - Simplified Chinese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

214 People (186 developers, 28 thanks) · View all

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Reviews

Critics

Average score: 80% (based on 53 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.6 out of 5 (based on 70 ratings with 8 reviews)

About as good as it gets

The Good
The game's graphics are currently the best on PC. Charachters have moving eyes, separate teeth and lips, even all five fingers are separate, and you can see commando teams communicating with hands. The scenery is equally beautiful, with ultra-high resolution textures. Jungle foliage waves in the wind and your gun's chrome shines bright, like the gun had just come out of the factory.

The audio of the game is at least on par with the graphics. The weapon sounds have reasonable amounts of bass ( Get a subwoofer! Even if it is only for this game, it's worth it!). The other sound effects are also very well done. Even the voice acting is excellent. I can't tell if the russian and chinese lines of dialogue are authentic russian/chinese, but at least the german ones are real. Moody music completes the audiovisual perfectness of the game. The music reacts to the happenings of the game, alternating between slow, beautiful themes and faster, action-packed parts. The credits list only one man responsible for both music and sound, and that man should get a medal or something for his efforts.

Level design is superb. Althought the levels, as with almost all the other shooters, are just a path from point A to point B with stuff to shoot in between, they never really feel like that. The maps have a lot of variety and that actually makes them different. Unlike certain WW2-themed shooter, here fighting in an enemy-filled town is totally different and requires different weapons and tactics than fighting in a snowy, fog-filled forest. And a hostage situation on an airfield is a totally different story.

Also, unlike that same WW2-themed shooter, the enemies are "fair". Their AI is very good, one of the best in the FPS-genre. However, that doesn't make them demi-gods, but just more human-like. They make mistakes, like accidentally shoot their own soldiers, or make a grenade bounce back at them. A very refreshing change from robot-like enemies from most of the recent shooters.

And the human-like enemies also get wounded and die like humans. Head shots kill always, and close-range shotgun attack ends up doing bodies without body parts and body parts without bodies. Althought the gore is still present, it seems to be a little downtuned from the first part. Total dismemberment is now very rare, and the cutscenes contain only a few killings (As an info for those who haven't played the first game; in original SOF almost half of the enemies ended up being less than whole humans, and there was something like one or two cutscenes where someone didn't die). However, the gore is more realistic, and in some occasions, can be pretty disturbing - partly because the figures are so real looking. Of course, you can turn mature content off, making the game less violent.

The weapons of the game are well done, well balanced, realistic and real. You'll end up using all of the guns, and even the pistols are somewhat useful, which is pretty rare in modern games. The enemies use weapons that they might also use in the real life - Colombian guerrillas use AK-74's, while Hong Kong's criminals use UZI's. This also apply to the grenades - there are many frag grenades, stun grenades, smoke grenades, thermite grenades and 40mm grenades for your M203 launcher under the barrel of the M4 rifle. There are even rocket propelled grenades for the RPG-7 weapon system and smaller, 20mm grenades that come in a clip and are used with the ultra-modern, computer aided OICW multi-purpose weapon. The OICW is very exotic and rare weapon. I've seen it only in one other game - Ghost Recon. In that game, it was just another assault rifle, but here it is represented accurately as a assault rifle with computer assisted grenade launcher and sniper capacibilities. The aiming of grenades with the computer thingy is a bit tricky, and slow, but it is well tutored during the game.

The Bad
The only REAL cause of complaint are the stealth missions. Althought I like stealth games (Thief 2 is one of my favourite games), here the stealth factor is made very poorly. The enemies see you through darkness, fog, rain and foliage, and when they see you, the alarm rings. No matter if the enemy dies a microsecond after he sees you. To make things even worse, you cannot use any guns - not even the silenced ones - without the alarm ringing. So you are stuck with the knife. Fortunately there is only one mission where you absolutely MUST remain unseen, and only three other maps with optional stealth. Failing to be stealthy in those maps results in an endless swarm of enemies, though not nearly as annoying and unfair like Medal of Honor. Just an enemy or a group of enemies here and there. In fact, if the stealth factor had been implemented like that in Deus Ex (with separate alarm consoles) or Thief (wounded guards scream and alert others), I would have loved it. Now it adds only to the fustration.

Another cause of complaint is the length of the game. Althought they say it contains over 70 levels (didn't count, could be), levels are a lot shorter than those in the original. This is made up by rising the difficulty level a lot. When the game is set to the easiest level, it is about as easy/hard as the Medium of the original. But when thinking that you could easily complete the first half of the original game with only your knife, this is not necessarily a bad thing. Beginners could still have more fun with easier titles than this.

The game is also has some bugs, like crashes here and there and invisible walls around some enemies (amusing while throwing knives, annoying when using rifles and really dangerous when using grenades). The user interface also makes it impossible to save over your old savegames, and if you are not using quicksaves or limited saves, you can reach hundreds of saves. The game started to crash in the load game menu, when I had a little over 200 save files, but removing the older ones corrected the problem.

On the other hand, quick- and autosaves are implemented very well. The quicksave slots store up to five most recent saves, and autosaves are made in the start of the mission - and you have autosaves for ALL levels, not only the most recent one.

The Bottom Line
Despite the bad stealth factor and some bugs, it is pretty much the best shooter I have played.

If the bugs are corrected, this might well be the game of the year, and easily worth your money and time.

Windows · by Aapo Koivuniemi (41) · 2002

One of the best and bloodiest warfare related fps to date.

The Good
We've been spoiled by the number of top notch war shooters in recent months. With titles like Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Medal of Honour it's a pretty hard time to complain. The only things that really were left out for me was that I like my war shooters a little more modern and I want to see some damage being done! MOH was fantastic but when someone gets a point blank shot to the head they aren't going to just fall over without a scratch. The whole effect just makes me feel once again like I'm sitting in front of a computer. SOF2 addresses both of these points and keeps everything else at a high enough standard to stand tall alongside all the MOH's and RTCW's in the world. Basically an evolution of the overrated original SOF, SOF2 provides better everything. The graphics smack you in the face they look so good so high end Geforce owners are in for a real treat with this one. Jungles actually have foliage at last, character models are detailed with more explicit deaths and the damage models are more finely tuned than any I've ever witnessed in a video game. Gunfire will actually blast people backward with appropriate force and jets of blood pump out with dismembered limbs. Needless to say that this game is not for kids but parents or the squemish should note that a violence lock can be applied that allows for the fine tuning of any aspects of the gore or disturbing images in the game so you can make it very tame if you'd like. Weaponry is realistically depicted with even the aim going out if you hold the trigger for too long in the automatic firearms. Loads of great scripted sequences in the gameplay have been introduced such as clearing out a jungle village alongside a team of marines who work with you and a very cool escape along a winding road manning the mounted gun on the back of a truck. Thanks to a good balance of realism and good old fashioned action hero style gameplay the missions in the game are (mostly, more on that in a minute,) loads of fun to play. The difficulty level can be scaled to your liking in a custom difficulty mode too. Sound is also great with gunfire, screams and explosions being the main flavour peppered with the clank of footsteps and conversation, all of a high calibre and music is very nicely orchestrated, giving a perfect action movie feel.

The Bad
At times SOF2 can really push the frustration level a bit too far. Some stages are plain stupid such as the sneaking stages. An alarm can be set off the very second an enemy even hears you and I mean the very SECOND. Even if the enemy hears you stick a knife in the back of his head the alarm goes off before the slicing action is even complete which is just plain stupid. It feels a lot like the sneaking element of the game wasn't even finished. Sometimes the enemy see you a little too quickly. An example of this would be in a stage in the snow where seeing anything more than about 10 feet away is impossible. Suddenly someone with a mounted M-60 starts blasting away at you even though there's no way they'd be able to see you yet since they are over 20 feet away. There is also the annoying tendency of enemies to know exactly where you are just because they are on alert even though they haven't actually seen you yet.

The Bottom Line
A top-notch war fps that comes highly recommended but with some minor reservations. Not for the squemish.

Windows · by Sycada (177) · 2002

My personal guilty pleasure.

The Good
Soldier of Fortune 2 is like a cheesy action movie starring Chuck Norris. There isn't a complicated plot, there isn't a lot of good supporting characters, but there is plenty of running, gunning, and more than enough bloodshed.

In SoF 2 you play John Mullins, a soldier of fortune who works primarily for a secret agency called the Shop. He's a counter-terrorist, and he has his work cut out for him when a group of mysterious baddies steal a deadly biological weapon and plant a mole inside the Shop.

This of course leads to a chase across several countries, including Russia, China, and several other international hotspots. And it leads to a lot of shooting with an arsenal of weapons that would make most militias drool with envy.

The plot is silly, trite, and only serves to move you along from location to location, but I think that's actually a plus in this case. The cheesiness of it takes some of the sting off the gruesome violence.

And it is gruesome. You can blow limbs off, sending the severed pieces flying in fountains of gore. You can slice up enemies with your knife, sending chunks of brain and face everywhere. And yes, you can shoot people in the groin and watch them double-over in true pain.

I don't honestly think this is a plus, but it is a gimmick that works to shock you for a little while before becoming ignorable.

Overall, the Quake III graphics engine doesn't do a bad job here, although watching characters talk is sometimes painful. At least the sound and music hit home very well.

There's also a solid multiplayer mode, but unless you're playing LAN, you won't find any good servers anymore. Newer games just edge this one out in the multiplayer arena.

The Bad
Now, there are plenty of faults to SoF 2, and they aren't easily ignored.

The AI for instance is about the cheapest I've seen in years; sometimes the enemy feels very realistic, taking cover, trying to pin you down, and then you see them do some of the bone-headed things that instantly take you out of the immersion of the game. Running back and forth like ducks while you shoot them, getting stuck on corners, and charging at you blindly are all some of the things they do. They also have an uncanny ability to spot you no matter where you are, making the stealth missions hard and annoying. Especially since, once they see you, the alarm is raised automatically.

I guess the Force is with these guys, huh?

Also, though you have tons of real-world weapons to play with, none of them behave properly. Your best tactic is just to hold down the trigger and spray a wave of bullets at the bad guys. This also takes you out of the immersion the developers might have been trying for, but it only adds to the action-movie cheesiness of the whole thing.

The graphics are another weak point. Though they look good, the environments are bland, and the animation horrible. The characters jerk around like they're puppets being controlled by an insane puppet master.

The gameplay also gets repetitive. You shoot down a small army of enemies, pull a switch, open a door, and go on to the next level to do more of the same.

The Bottom Line
So, with a big list of complaints, and a lack of originality, why do I like this game?

It's like I said, this game is a cheesy action-fest filled with brain-dead enemies, generically evil villains, and a tough hero with enough firepower to make Rambo jealous. And that is why I like the game.

Of course, this isn't a recommendation to you; it is merely a note that, if you're looking for an old-school, shoot the baddies and move on, game, then this might be for you.

So long as you aren't squeamish.

Windows · by Steely Gaze (208) · 2008

[ View all 8 player reviews ]

Trivia

German version

To avoid having the game banned in Germany because of its violent nature, major modifications had to be made to the game's story line and graphics. The game now takes place in a parallel universe called Hysperia (!), where mankind was completely wiped out by machines. The machines then began to develop human-like emotions, which also led to common human problems such as war and crime. All humans, including enemies and the main character John Mullins, were therefore replaced by Cyborgs. As a consequence, all blood and gore effects are missing. The censored German Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix is regarded by most players as "the most censored game ever in Germany". A doubtful title indeed...

The UK version has a region lock, meaning the game is censored when installed on a system with a German version of Windows. Humans are still humans and the story does not change, but everything else applies.

The Xbox version is not effected.

Installation

The game's installer features an audio narrative and slideshow telling the background story of the game. Because computers continually get faster, it's possible to finish the installation before the story has successfully completed. It helps that the game comprises two CD-ROMs and the user can continue listening to the audio while the installer is waiting for the next disc to be inserted.

John Mullins

The protagonist, John Mullins, is named after the real-life mercenary, who has been Raven's exclusive consultant during the making of this game. The character's background is also similar to that of the real John Mullins.

Awards

  • GameSpy
    • 2002 – Special Technical Achievement Award (for its random mission generator)

Information also contributed by DarkChojin and WildKard.

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Related Sites +

  • Save the World, But Only in Mac OS X
    An Apple Games article about the Macintosh version of Double Helix, with commentary being provided by MacPlay President Mark Cottam (July, 2002).

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 6428
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Corn Popper.

Additional contributors: Unicorn Lynx, Wormspinal, Zeppin, Klaster_1, Cantillon, Patrick Bregger.

Game added May 25, 2002. Last modified January 16, 2024.