Brutal Shooter From Heretic and Hexen Creators. Soldier of Fortune Showed No Mercy to Opponents
Soldier of Fortune is one of those series that had a bright future ahead of them but was eventually lost in the darkness of history. Let's check out what Raven Software's masterpiece had to offer players besides brutality.
Heretic and Hexen are titles that need no introduction to any fan of action games familiar with titles from the turn of the century. In 2000, the company in charge, Raven Software, opted to take a "sidestep" and suggested creating a game set in modern times. This led to an incredibly brutal shooter, which gave rise to a cult brand that didn't bask in splendor for very long. Let's see if Soldier of Fortune still looks as good after all these years as it did when it was released 24 years ago.
Nukes in unauthorized hands
The story told in Soldier of Fortune focused on the theft of nuclear warheads by neo-fascists capable of anything. During the game, we took on the role of John Mullins – a mercenary employed by the organization The Shop, tasked with disrupting the plans of criminals posing a threat to global security before the situation spiraled out of control.
Although the plot was rather secondary in Soldier of Fortune, the main character's role deserves special attention. John Mullins was inspired by a real mercenary of the same name and surname, who had several missions in Europe, Africa, and the Middle and Far East under his belt, and served as a consultant on Soldier of Fortune, which was intended to increase the level of realism of this title.
Military trip around the world
The driving force of Soldier of Fortune were missions that took us to different corners of the world. We began our adventure in the New York subway and then went to locations such as Sudan, Siberia, Iraq, Kosovo, Tokyo, and Germany. Throughout the game, we completed the tasks assigned to us and pushed the action forward, steadily moving closer to the grand finale.
The levels we visited amazed us with their designs and diversity. Among them, we could find, among others, a speeding train, an ice-bound wasteland, a German castle, or a big slaughterhouse. The developers made an effort to capture the specifics of each region and ensured that we wouldn't become too bored while playing. As we moved through various locations, we frequently had to use our weapons because the enemies were doing their best to hinder our mission goals.
We eliminated opponents using a rich arsenal that included a shotgun, a revolver, a submachine gun, an assault rifle, and a sniper rifle, as well as a flamethrower, a rocket launcher, and... a futuristic microwave cannon. Furthermore, the majority of the firearms had a secondary firing mode; for instance, a rifle could shoot long or short bursts, and a flamethrower could be converted into a type of grenade launcher. Concluding the topic of murder tools, it should be noted that the devs failed to obtain licenses for real weapon designs and their names. However, a player who is familiar with the topic could easily recognize the individual models (except for the microwave department mentioned earlier).
Bloody bath
Soldier of Fortune owes its status not to a not-so-bright plot idea, nor to the variety of locations or the wide range of guns. What distinguished this title from many other titles at the time of its release was its brutality. The GHOUL system implemented in the game allowed the developers to divide enemy bodies into 26 interactive parts, each sustaining damage independently.
Because of it, we were able to knock the gun out of the enemy's hands while aiming at the weapon, and shooting at his leg made him start limping; however, a headshot resulted in his rather unremarkable death. On the other hand, when we grabbed the shotgun, we could tear off enemies' limbs or decapitate them. As a result, nothing stopped us from marking our path through the subsequent locations with the torsos of enemies left behind, from which bloody stumps protruded.
However, it should be noted that Soldier of Fortune didn't force us to use these "attractions." The enemy, deprived of his weapon, surrendered and we could have left him alive. Additionally, violence could be deactivated using a special code. The stats at the end of each mission showed us how successful we were at "clearing out" locations of criminals. We learned from them, among other things, about our earnings and neutralized opponents.
There is one more issue related to enemies in Soldier of Fortune. Namely, their artificial intelligence, or rather its lack. Enemies typically advanced and fired, occasionally getting stuck on obstacles and environmental elements. What they lacked in virtual intellect, they tried to make up for in numbers (we rarely came face to face with a single opponent) or dirty moves, such as popping up behind Mullins' back and attacking him from behind. This meant that even though they weren't behaving very smartly, it was worth regularly saving the game state.
Apart from the single-player campaign, the described game also provided a comprehensive multiplayer mode, featuring team-based gameplay options like Capture the Flag or Deathmatch.
As for the quality of the graphics in Soldier of Fortune, at the time of its release, it looked solid but wasn't groundbreaking. The devs decided to use the id Tech 2 engine and although they heavily upgraded it, at the time of their project's debut it was already outdated. Today, the game can be unsettling with its angular character models and crude animations, as well as its raw-level designs; however, the variety of the latter can still be enjoyable.
What happened next?
Soldier of Fortune was warmly received by players and reviewers. The game in question performed much worse on consoles (PlayStation 2 and Dreamcast), but today few people probably remember that it was even released on them.
In 2002, the developers returned to their new brand and gave players Soldier of Fortune 2: Double Helix. The game, which appeared on personal computers and the first Xbox, repeated the success of its predecessor. However, after its premiere, the series disappeared without a sound until 2007, when Soldier of Fortune: Payback appeared on PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The Cauldron studio's game displayed a low level of quality (ratings of 4.5-5/10 speak for themselves). Given the fact that since the premiere of Payback, we haven't heard a word about a potential fourth installment, it can be safely assumed that it managed to kill the series.
How to play Soldier of Fortune today?
At the time of writing, Soldier of Fortune is available on GOG.com for $9.99. A used copy of the physical edition of this game for personal computers costs around 10-15 bucks. The PlayStation 2 version can be purchased for around $10. The most expensive version is for Dreamcast, which costs over 40 dollars.
