Soldier of Fortune

The Good
Some levels in the game are a nice change from most of the indoor levels that the game has e.g. the levels with the snow and the final one at the ancient European castle. The violent features in this game such as the fatal head-shots or blowing off limbs can be fun for a while, but then the novelty wears off pretty quick. Besides, this was done years ago in another shooter called Chasm the Rift, which was much more fun. The fights with the boss characters was amusing.

The Bad
Frankly, there is not much to like about this game. I'll give the reasons here. First of all the level design in this game is bland. Some underground levels like the subway and meat processing plant are monotonous and boring. The choice of color for the wall textures was poor too. The weapons which are very important for any FPS game are unremarkable and do almost the same kind of damage. So, whether you use a pistol or shotgun, you can still blow off an enemy's limb without a problem. The music and the sfx were repetitive and insignificant. The voice acting was mediocre at best. In fact, I had a hard time believing this game was released by one of my favorite developers.

The Bottom Line
It's a first person shooter that everybody has heard about because of it's so-called excessive, over the top violence. If that's the sole reason you bought this game, you will be sorely disappointed. Believe me, there are other much better games out there.

The Good
I like this game, because your adventure takes place in many different countries, and the story is like a B-rated movie (and I like B-movies! ;)). John Mullins is like Chuck Norris. With two friends he fights against terrorists and defends the free world against a nuclear disaster. I like the fights against the Nazis, because they are very funny. The scripted sequences are very good. When I played the game, I felt like I really was a Soldier of Fortune.

This game is truly the best using the "Quake 2" engine, and it combines it with the ghoul engine. Many PC magazines claim the game's graphics are bad, but I really liked the real light effects and the animations of reactors. I'm looking forward to play the second part :)

There's a lot of gore in this game, but you can turn it off. When you do it, you have a really good game with fantastic levels and a wonderful story.

The Bad
I don't like the gore in this game. It is too realistic. Too much blood and too much pain. I don't like the ending of this game, but it isn't so important.

The Bottom Line
If you like Chuck Norris, you are going to love "Soldiers of Fortune".

The Good
The body animations are awesome, and so realistic there is a violent and non-violent version of the game. Heck, it's more satisfying than sneaking up behind a camper in Quake 2! Other than the gratious violence, there is a fun, terrorist-killing game, and a good multiplayer. (It's VERY fun to shoot the arm off your opponents in multiplay.)

The Bad
Sometimes too mindless; not as good and suspensful Half-Life.

The Bottom Line
Kill terrorism in a first-person view with realistic blood and gore.