Soldier of Fortune (computer game)
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| Soldier of Fortune | |
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| Developer(s) | Raven Software |
| Publisher(s) | Activision |
| Engine | Quake II engine |
| Release date(s) | March 27, 2000 |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player, multiplayer |
| Rating(s) | BBFC: 18 ESRB: Mature (M) |
| Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows, Linux, PlayStation 2, Dreamcast |
Soldier of Fortune is a first-person shooter game created by Raven Software and published by Activision on March 27, 2000 for personal computers. It uses a modified Quake II engine. It was later released on the Sony PlayStation 2 as well as the Sega Dreamcast. Loki Software also made a port for Linux. Based on its success, Raven Software and Activision later published Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix in 2002 based on the Quake III engine. Initially released for personal computers, the sequel was later ported to the Xbox.
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[edit] Background
Soldier of Fortune was developed to be based on the Soldier of Fortune magazine. About midway through the game's development, Raven Software hired a professional mercenary, John Mullins, to act as a consultant on the game for purposes of realism and accuracy. A fictional version of Mullins was eventually made into the game's main character.
Soldier of Fortune was one of the first "real-world" first-person shooters, with modern weapons and human opponents, as opposed to more fantasy/sci-fi oriented games like Doom or Duke Nukem 3D.
[edit] Story
The story involves the theft of nuclear weapons, and the main enemy turns out to be an Afrikaner Neo-Nazi group based in Germany. At the beginning of the game, terrorists steal four nuclear weapons from a storage facility in Russia, and proceed to sell them to various Third World nations. This is a prelude to the acquisition of advanced Weapons of mass destruction by this terrorist group.
John Mullins, working as a Soldier of Fortune for a mercenary organization known only as "The Shop", and his partner, Hawk, are assigned to prevent the nukes from falling into the wrong hands, and stop the terrorists in their plans.
[edit] Gameplay
A controversial video game, Soldier of Fortune was best known for its graphic depictions of firearms dismembering the human body. This graphic violence is the game's main gimmick, much like geo-mod of Red Faction or bullet-time of Max Payne. The game details extreme graphic violence, in which character models are based on body parts that can each independently sustain damage (gore zones). There are 26 zones in total. The makers call this the GHOUL system. A shot to the head with a powerful gun will often make the target's head explode, leaving nothing but the bloody stump of the neck remaining; a close-range shot to the stomach with a shotgun will leave an enemy's bowels in a bloody mess, and a shot to the nether regions will cause the victim to clutch his groin in agony for a few seconds before keeling over dead. It is possible to shoot off an enemy's limbs (head, arms, legs) leaving nothing left but a bloody torso. Non-violence is also a possibility, if the player was a good shot it was possible to shoot an enemy's weapon out of their hand, causing them to cower on the floor in surrender. There is also an option to disable gore.
[edit] Criticism
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Most fans of the game consider Soldier of Fortune to be a solid and entertaining shooter, one of the game's greatest praises being its graphic depiction of gore and violence, of which the fandom consider to be more realistic than most first-person shooter games. Critical reaction was mixed at best, Soldier of Fortune received a Good or 7.7 out of 10 in its review at Gamespot.com, and scored 7 and above in areas such as graphics and sound.
Critics however consider the gameplay to be fairly "arcade-ish"[citation needed] and not in any way different from other more science fiction-oriented first-person shooters. Some critics compared Soldier of Fortune to games such as Counter-Strike[citation needed], others designated the game as nothing more than Quake with terrorists instead of aliens[citation needed]. Tactical shooter fans in particular criticize the game's total lack of realistic combat, and lack of innovative depth to the gameplay, calling it a "blast-fest". Soldier of Fortune indeed resembles twitch shooters such as Quake or Unreal, rather than tactical shooters such as Rainbow Six and the SWAT series. Such a criticism is obviously preferential, as the same complaint could be made for any first-person shooter game that is not considered a tactical shooter, and is therefore open to debate on whether or not it brings into question the actual quality of the game itself.
[edit] Controversy
In 2000, after receiving a complaint from a member of the public about the explicit content of the game, the British Columbia Film Classification Office investigated and decided the violence, gore and acts of torture were not suitable for persons under 18 years of age. In a controversial decision, the game was labelled an "adult motion picture" and was rated Restricted. Restricted "adult motion pictures" are mainstream films (not hardcore pornography) that are judged to be suitable only for adults and must be displayed or stored in a segregated room or area inaccessible to minors. In Germany, the game was placed on the index.
