Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix – XB – Review

No one knows the mercenary
life better than John Mullins does and it’s through his eyes that we get to see
the world as he sees it–both beautiful and filled with people dedicated to
destroy the beauty around them through chaos and violence.  Soldier of Fortune
II: Double Helix not only puts you back in the boots of the best mercenary money
can buy in this port of a great PC first-person shooter.  Let the flying of
limbs begin, this Xbox exclusive means to offer one great action-packed ride.
Yet does it come close to the brilliance of the PC version?  Soldier, there’s
only one way to find out.  Allow me to be your guide and do read on.

As far as sequels go,
Soldier of Fortune II didn’t change the way we play first-person shooters or
revolutionize the genre, but as a PC release it was a step up in the series in
every respect.  So you can see how its release for the Xbox would spark interest
from action fans and those of us who simply love the genre.  The game also
brings plenty to the table in terms of game modes and aside from the great
opening tutorial; we’re treated to a lengthy single player campaign as well as
some extra goodies.

Gamers assume the role of
John Mullins, a seasoned mercenary who is great at what he does.  He is so good
that an organization calling itself The Shop has hired him to work for them and
eliminate those terrorist threats that the world keeps seeing more of these
days.  One such threat has finally become too dangerous to ignore and John
Mullins is sent to stop a network of international terrorists cells that are
making good use of bio-weapons created by Doctor Ivanovich who Mullins rescues
in the first mission.  It seems that the Doctor’s protégé has taken up his
mentor’s work and is working alongside these networks of terrorists that range
from the Colombian militant terrorists groups to the new Chinese threat.

Mullins, this time around,
has a better selection of firepower that ranges from M16s with an attached
grenade launcher to a far more powerful shotgun.  Better still is the fact that
you can now pull the left trigger and use the butt of your rifle or handle of
your pistol and bash an enemy’s head in for a silent kill. The game does add a
few stealthy moments–you can now throw your knife–but seldom is it necessary
since the Soldier of Fortune games were always about going in with your gun
blazing.  The action is almost nonstop, except in the levels where Mullins is
back at The Shop’s main Texas offices just wandering around.

While the controls are
handled quite nicely and the action runs smoothly, this game has some pretty
glaring flaws . . . a number of them, I’m sad to say.  For starters, the enemy
AI is not as intelligent or responsive as the ones found in the PC version.
They react to attacks in the most oddest of ways, such as blindly running
towards the spot where they last spotted you and not really understanding that
you’re no longer there.   Some even get killed by the same grenade they just
threw or get blinded by their own smoke grenades.  The list is endless in this
department and it definitely could have been handled a lot better. 

On the bright side,
however, the game also adds plenty of different challenges aside from the single
player mode.  There is a Random Missions Generator that offers a few unique
mission types in three specific terrains you can choose (as well as the time of
day and what weapons you can take).  The missions are Assassination,
Infiltration, Demolition and a mode where you try to escape from terrorist
prison.  Multiplayer offers six missions: Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch,
Infiltration, Demolition, Elimination and Capture the Flag.

It is finally great to see
that Xbox games take advantage of the Xbox Live service and adding this
component to Soldier of Fortune II has certainly done wonders for it.  As far as
the online game modes (six in total), this game is up there with Return to
Castle Wolfenstein in terms of the sheer number of game modes and team
interaction.  This game creatively puts the Xbox Communicator to good use here
and allows gamers to use it like a walkie talkie when addressing fellow team
members or as an open-channel mode so you can intimidate your opponents.  You
can even create your own matches–allowing you to choose the terrain, time of
day, weapons and HUD elements.   If that wasn’t enough, you can also hook up
multiple Xbox consoles for some System Link fun. 

It’s unfortunate that the
game doesn’t even offer the same eye-candy the PC version showcased.  Sadly,
while the game is hyped as an “Only On Xbox” title, there are no exclusive Xbox
graphics features such as bump mapping.  Your surroundings look rather dull and
there is just too much fogging–especially in dark corners.  Character models
are also not as vivid or sharp looking as the PC game and limbs look very
strange after the enemy is killed.  Many times you’ll watch as bodies land on
crates, causing the bodies to lean rigidly like wooden boards against the
bloodied crate.  And while there is plenty of blood, gore and amputated
limbs–it’s nothing to really get sickened by it since it hardly even looks
realistic even though the targeting and damage of specific body parts is.

The sound is a step up in
quality than the visuals and you’ll hear it the minute you fire your M16 or the
attached grenade launcher.  Bullets don’t whine like in other games, but they do
make this sharp thunderclap sound that is both realistic and far more menacing.
And while there is no running soundtrack–the few tunes are lightly played over
certain areas or cut scenes–it’s the great voice acting in the single player
mode that makes up for it.  Enemies toss repetitive phrases around in their
native language but when it comes out to dishing pain and death, they all sound
alike.  While it’s neat to hear that gurgling sound the first time, it overstays
its welcome a few missions later.  

Unfortunately, Soldier of
Fortune II: Double Helix misses the mark in too many areas and doesn’t come
close to the far more superior PC version of the game.  Although the gratuitous
violence comes off as more cartoon-like than brutal, gamers will be more turned
off by the weak visuals and unintelligent enemy AI.  The game does score big
points, though, for it’s assortment of game mode features, plentiful levels and
entertaining online multiplayer mode.  If you’re looking for a quality
first-person shooter, look elsewhere. But if you want to try something a bit
new, this one is entertaining enough to warrant a rental.

#Reviewer’s Scoring Details

Gameplay: 6.2
The controls are pretty basic for a
first-person shooter and that’s just the way we like it, thank you very much.
Much of what is found here has been seen before, of course, and firing your
AK-74 and using the bayonet fixed to it is as easy as just pressing the other
trigger on your controller. This time around, Mullins comes with a wider
assortment of weapons gamers can select for him at the beginning of each
operation. 

Soldier of Fortune has
always been about flying limbs and blood-splattering fun and you’ll find that
here–although it’s hardly what you might call realistic.  Gamers might actually
not be turned off by the violence depicted here but there’s always the option to
turn off the gore.  What gamers will be definitely put off by is the level of
intelligence of your opponents during the single player mode.

Graphics: 4.5
Sadly, the graphics don’t even come
close to the sharp visuals of the PC version–something the Xbox could have
easily replicated (as seen in games such as Hitman 2, for example).  Whatever
the environment–be it a desert or the streets of Prague–the surroundings look
dull and rather flat.  This is actually too bad since Mullins does get to see
some pretty exotic locales.

To make things worse, the
character models during the game are unnatural, especially when it comes to
limbs.  You’ll see enemies contort rather oddly after they’re dispatched and
often times their bodies seem to phase right through walls or closed doors.
Blood looks strange as well, seeming too shiny and too bright to when it
puddles.  All of this could have clearly been handled a lot better.

Sound: 5.0
The sound is slightly better,
although you won’t find a complete cinematic score that follows Mullins through
his missions.  You’ll find something of a soundtrack when he’s exploring The
Shop or during some cut scenes, but that is about it.  The sound effects and
voice acting, though, do make up for this.  Guns have a sharp retort that sounds
particularly great if you have a good sound system hooked up (it’s just too bad
that it doesn’t support in-game Dolby Digital) and explosions sound even better
when tossing grenades.  As for the voice acting, it’s done wonderfully–although
certain enemies will continually spout out some repetitive phrases.

Difficulty: Medium
The game is challenging in many
respects but basically this game is a frenzied charge-in-with-your-guns-blazing
deal.  The challenge comes in how well you can navigate through the environment
without taking too much damage, but what makes this game a bit more difficult is
that it’s quite easy to get lost in the environment.  The enemy can put up a
fight, as well, but you’ll be more astonished by their lack of intelligence
rather than their skill.  It’s not hard to take out a terrorist that decides to
ignore the sound of his screaming comrade after you just blew a hole in him.

Concept: 8.0
Who wouldn’t want to be a mercenary
for hire and visit far off exotic locales such as Hong Kong, Columbia or even
Switzerland?  This game features many missions through various terrains and
landscapes fighting off wave after wave of armed terrorists.  The fact that you
can also do just that online is a big plus, as is the Random Missions Generator
that just adds more bang for your buck.  There is enough here to keep gamers
very busy.

Multiplayer: 8.5
Don’t you love a game that offers a
variety of ways to enhance your multiplayer experience?  Soldier of Fortune II
does exactly that by allowing gamers to set up a System Link multiplayer
challenge using multiple Xbox consoles.  Imagine up to twelve of your friends
playing through six mission types like Demolition or Elimination as you pair up
in teams to take each other out.  Now imagine you can go online with the Xbox
Live service and go head-to-head with other players (with voice chat that can be
used as walkie talkies or through regular voice mode) in a campaign you yourself
created.  And to top it all off, the online mode runs as smoothly as Return to
Castle Wolfenstein: Tides of War.  New downloadable maps are also promised!

Overall: 6.8
Solid controls and plenty of
missions aren’t enough to ignore the glaring flaws this game possesses and,
sadly enough, it holds this game back from being the best console version of the
Soldier of Fortune series.  The game is still fun enough to play and the online
multiplayer feature alone is worth the price of a rental.