The cult hit Soldier of Fortune is coming to a PlayStation 2 near
you, thanks to our friends at Majesco. When released on the PC over a year ago, Soldier of
Fortune found an audience with folks who wanted lots of gore and a storyline. If
thats what you want, then look no further this game delivers. Big time.
Soldier of Fortune puts you in the role of John Mullins, decorated
Vietnam vet and all-around bad mofo. As the press release states: "The only thing
colder than the steel in your hands is the ice in your veins." Damn thats cold.
Surprisingly, the general plot is pretty tender: Terrorists have stolen four nuclear
warheads and it is up to you to track them down. Along the way youll battle
soldiers, terrorists, and skinheads in order to save hostages and prevent a thermonuclear
storm of global destruction. Thats sweet, isnt it?
The game features 26 levels of gameplay in 10 discreet missions.
The gameplay is story-based, and youll have to fulfill mission objectives along the
way. There is an arsenal of nasty weapons at your disposal, and these will be handy for
blowing away the opposition. The locational damage system is also really sweet. It defines
26 "Gore Zones" on each character, which allows you to make death a slow and
excrutiating process. Or, you could make death a quick and messy affair, its all up
to you. Gore Zones allow for effects such as blowing off limbs individually, or blowing
away just half of an enemys head. With the heavy machine gun it is possible to cut
an enemy off at both knees before he hits the ground.
Sound violent and gory? It is. Soldier of Fortune is not for the
squeamish or easily influenced. However, for most sane folks its pretty exhilirating
to delve so deep into the action. And you have to feel good to blow away terrorists
threatening the world with complete annihilation, right? Multi-player is a bit harder to
justify, but its just a game. Splitscreen multi-player will support four combatants,
and Majesco is hopeful to incorporate online networked play, too. That will be a tight
squeeze with the PS2 network adapter and hard drive coming out so close to the projected
release date for this game, but we wish them luck.
Overall, youll want to keep an eye out for this title, which will be rated
Mature. Soldier of Fortune is set to release in September of 2001 for the PS2.