Customer Reviews

Soldier of Fortune II Double Helix

5 star:		(42)
4 star:		(26)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I bought this game while shopping for a more modern tactical shooter. I'm and ex Counter-Strike junkie and I've played Return to Castle Wolfenstein and Medal of Honor:Allied Assault and quite frankly I'm a bit sick of the current trends in online gaming as well as the community in general. I was looking for something with a lot more single-player replay value.

I'm sure by now everyone knows a little bit about SoF2 so I'll omit the overview and get straight to the point. This is basically just another Q3A mod with more blood and gore. Like RTCW and MOHAA, the graphics are good and technology seems sound, but for such a latecommer I believe it's reasonable to have expected a bit more.

The single-player campaign is your typical linear shooter. Run around, do these things in order, pick up more weapons, etc.... The story itself is terrible - think Max Payne meets the A-Team. There were some great ideas mixed in, and I really appreciated the more modern military feel, but by now we're all getting a bit tired of the same format. The random mission generator looks appealing, and was a major factor in the decision to buy this game, but it becomes redundant far too easily. If you intend on purchasing this game only for the single-player features, I would strongly recommend some serious comparison shopping before putting the money down.

As previously stated, I'm not much of an online gaming fan, but I felt it was necessary to give the MP games a chance before writing this review. To my surprise, MP is pretty darn fun! It supports the usual team-oriented games (CTF, TDM, etc...), and doesn't add anything revolutionary to the mix, but the combination of the modern weapons and outdoor themes really made this a blast. Compared to what's currently out there, SoF2 does the best job in mixing action with simulated warfare. Unfortunately, the Q3A "feel" or the game is still there. The damage system is a bit too forgiving, and I don't know how anyone could jump around with 80lbs of gear on their backs, but I guess this is the way people like it. If you're a big fan of Half-Life and Quake mods, you'll feel right at home with this. Counter-Strike fans will probably consider it on the goofy side of the spectrum, but I think they should still give it a chance.

Of course, my biggest gripe with most of the online shooters is this: Even the best laid plans and teamwork can be spoiled in a heartbeat by some rambo running around with a grenade launcher.

Anyways, SoF2 is a shining example of modern game technology that's just starting to become dated. It can easily be worth the price tag, but I fear that in less than 2 months it will take it's place on the shelf next to the other Q3A-driven games and collect dust. Not the tactical shooter I was looking for, but I'm glad I had a chance to play it.

Great single player game, so far. I bought it yesterday and have been playing it ever since. The graphics are nice - Raven's GHOUL game engine works well. The game can be configured like the old SOF game except that grenade lobbing is more realistic - no more cartoon-style "throw 6 grenades in a second" action - but the new weapons, like the OICW rifle, more than compensate for this.

And...the exploding body parts are back and better than ever!! Nothing beats those bloody head shots, especially since this game has such great death animations (The squemish can adjust the gore levels). Plus, the enemy AI is better than the first SOF game, the game is quite challenging (I already miss the "bigelbow" cheat codes). Also Included is the "Random Mission Generator" which allows you easily create custom single player missions.

Enjoy!!

In their quest to crank up the realism, activism forgot to make this game even half as fun as the first SOF. You die constantly by unseen forces (a grenade from above *POOF* you're gone) which I'm sure is pretty realistic for one man taking on armies, but the net result is you spend A LOT of time looking at the loading screen (and if anyone tells you they don't spend a LOT of time with that screen, they're lying). I don't mind dying if I blow it or the AI beats me, that's the mark of a well-designed game with appropriate difficulty. But constant, random death isn't "difficult", it's boring. Also the aiming is terrible--totally lacking the violent satisfaction of the first SOF. You can shoot at the same guy forever and not know whether you got him untill he blows your head off (even on the novice setting). Pumping whole clips into a baddy only to have him pop up and ice you with the same model of weapon you just emptied at him is nothing but frustrating. Most of SOF2 feels like the tedious part of Allied Assault where you're being sniped by unseen enemies. Some people got off on the "realism" of that level, but most people who have a life and play video games for FUN (what a concept) hated slogging through that die-a-thon. For those of us whose grin muscles still ache from playing Jedi Knight 2, it's one helluva comedown.

No software currently available can offer the experience of Soldier of Fortune: Double Helix. This game is without competition.

I will not give away any spoilers, because discovering the locales for the first time is part of the incredible gaming experience. But I must praise one aspect in particular: the rainforest and jungles. Weeds, grass, and exotic plants sway in the breeze all around you; trees tower above you creating a dynamic canopy that creaks and slowly moves with the wind; atmospheric sounds surround you hinting at the beasts that are watching you from a distance. It is simply amazing. But the jungles are only one environment out of several. Urban combat enthusiast will not leave disappointed.

But contrary to other faster paced first person shooters, Double Helix is not a run and gun; especially on the upper difficulty levels. You have to take you time and think out your approach. The enemies are intelligent and use flanking manuevers, flash and frag grenades, and different weapons depending on the circumstances. For example, one enemy might throw a smoke grenade in a strategic location to prevent you from seeing their positions clearly. When the smoke finally clears, you may discover that an enemy ran to a more strategic location, all the while not a single shot was fired by the enemy, for that would have reaveled their position prematurely. This type of intelligent enemy strategy makes the game incredibly intense and makes each time you play through a mission a completely unique experience.

And this A.I. extends to friendlies also. Many times you will find yourself in a platoon of marines, taking orders from the sergeant. You must listen carefully and try to position yourself as instructed to insure an assault is successful. If you ignore your commander, you may get yourself and others killed.

And it is so refreshing to finally discover a game that treats the end player as an adult! The consequences of aiming your weapon at a human opponent and pulling the trigger are graphically depicted onscreen. This realistic gore and disfigurement is often visually disturbing, but adds an enormous degree of intesity. There are 32 "gore zones" on the enemy models resulting in unique death animations that rarely repeat. If you do not want to experience realistic modern combat then you should avoid this software. This game was engineered from the start with a mature adult user in mind.

And all I have descibed so far is the single player experience! Multigaming sessions are completely different, with different controls, different graphics, and different maps. It is like getting two games in one!

You will need a powerful machine to experience Soldier of Fortune: Double Helix in its full glory, but an incredible plethera of scaling options will allow the end user to fine tune the game for maximum enjoyment. If you enjoy the subject matter and scenerios this game offers, buy it now without delay.

This was a really great and entertaining shooter. It's well worth the money as it gave me many, many hours of challenging gameplay. As I'm sure everybody knows, it's based on the Q3 engine which is becoming a little dated. The graphics and cut scenes are not the greatest anymore -- but they're still quite good. Best of all, the AI is much improved over the original SOF (QII engine). The bots often give you a really decent contest -- especially at the higher levels. Some players complain that the bots shoot too well, see through cover and always throw grenades with perfect accuracy. This is what makes the game. After all, you're the one with unlimited "lives" who can always try again. Other gamers don't like the number of weapons the game allows you to carry. If this is the case, drop all the ones you think are unrealistic. Also, you're allowed to pick the weapons you carry before each mission. Play with just a knife if you think that will make a better game. SOFII has less of an "arcade" feel to it as compared to the original. Except in a few places, the targets don't act as much like pop-ups. This is a very linear game. There are objectives which you meet and then you move on to another level. There are no "secret places" to find or complex puzzles to solve. A couple of half-hearted "stealth missions" are thrown in (bummer), but they don't last long. There are a few bugs (at least on my system). Other than the usual clipping errors (floating bodies and weapons), there are certain places where the bots are able to poke their weapons and shoot through solid metal doors, etc. In another place, I watched in disbelief as my armor and health decreased when a bot shot at me on the other side of a concrete post. Some powerful bullets here. The worst bug was a badly designed level near the end. You seem able to go into a hallway where the designers don't want you. Instead of the usual barrier or locked door, you simply get shot "dead" out of "the blue" everytime you try to enter this hallway. Very annoying. I liked the fact that, as with most Q3 based games, almost everything is adjustable. The default gory graphics are a bit over the top but they can be toned down in stages (along with decals, amount of brass shown, etc.). The plot and dialog are a bit cheesy, but who the hell cares? The same is true in most of these games (how about RTCW?). And finally, there is the multiplayer component which is absolutely great and is icing on the cake. SOFII belongs in any FPS gamer's collection.

Pros
-Realistic damage to enemy bodies
-nice selection of weapons and items
-variety of missions (stealth, commando, etc.)
-weapon animations

Cons

-Some what of a classic storyline (bad guy's got a super weapon and you gotta stop em)
-darn near impossible to be stealthy on any mission (enemies can see you though walls if they are alerted, use infared goggles to see them back)
-only 2 quiet weapons (socom pistol w/ suppressor, and knife)
-visibility distance is poor (foggy on all open maps)
. but the only problem is being stealthy... the enemy is able to see you through walls if if your pressence is known.

I'm now a little over half-way through the game and I have to say that while SOF II is certainly good escapist entertainment, it fails to live up to the great potential this game could have had if the designers had perhaps spent a bit more time with it.

After playing Medal of Honor: Allied Assault and Jedi Knight: Outcast recently and seen the great power of the Quake III Arena engine, I can't help but be somewhat disappointed by its use in SOF II. Yes, the GHOUL II damage modelling is great to watch but gore alone can't make up for what "could have been".

The Colombia jungle level was graphically stunning - much like the Yavin level in Outcast...but the game lacked the little nuances that made both Outcast and Allied Assault such stand-outs - like the raindrops evaporating on your lightsaber in Outcast for example or the little surprises in Allied Assault that made both games so very engrossing. I just don't get that feeling of immersion from SOF II.

If the designers had made this game a little more "cerebral" I think it would have vastly improved the product. Perhaps my opinion will change as I progress through the game but somehow I doubt that this will be the case.

Overall I'd give SOF II 2.5 out of 5 stars - I'm just glad I paid [less] (via trade-ins of used games at [a local retailer]) instead of the full... price. I'd say wait a couple of months until this is marked down - you'd appreciate it more at a lower price.

Feel free to berate what I have to say, even flame me, I'd like something to debate.
Yes, the graphics are pretty. I'll say they did a rather good job making things look 'pretty' but that is all. I've only made it so far in the game, but that far has already annoyed me to the point I don't think I want to continue.
I'll give it kudos for a good game of multiplayer as well.
Now, what don't I like it? Poorly inspired level design. The world is so linear, that you can't help but go in the right direction. This, in my opinion makes for a bland game. I want to feel like this is a world, not a tunnel. And the maps are rather uninspired. It is everything I've seen before, not necessarily done better
I still have yet to see the awe inspiring AI in action. Guys hide behind trees.. ok, seen that. It saves me from taking cover. All I have to do is wait for them to poke their head out. The AI also over uses grenades. Not just the bad guys. And they don't seem to know how to use them. I've seen a flash of an explosion 100 feet out only to find out that they are trying to throw grenades at me when I can just pick them out in my scope. And god forbid your friendlies get the idea to toss one. Sitting in the middle of a firefight when all of the sudden a mis thrown grenade from a computer controlled friendly lands at my feet is not a fun thing to have.
The pacing is terrible. There are levels where you have to stay with a group of 'friendlies' through the whole map. while this isn't a bad thing, it is a bad thing when the friendlies are set at their own, designer created, pace and if you go to far away from the group you will be considered to be 'endangering the mission' and subsequently killed. I found this annoying so I tried killing off the group to save me many tries of happening to get tofar ahead of them, because they move ridiculously slow even when I have killed every hostile for a square mile. The end result of killing them is dying. It can't be stopped. instant dead.
I've also noticed some graphics issues. I have a 2 Ghz machine with a 128 Gforce 4, I do not want to see graphics problems. these include choppy frame rates in open areas, shadows that will fall on top of objects and go through walls/floors and lips that don't move when the character is speaking. Lip movement is an old technique; you'd think they could do it.
Gore: just pointless. Unless you are one of those people that get off to blood and guts, this game doesn't offer what hasn't been offered before. Their claim that it is for the sake of realism is just plain stupid. It is just to make people with a ... for blood buy the game. The only time I thought their modeling was interesting was when a guy looked to be trying to pull the knife out of his back that I put there. Then he died. That part was cool. No sooner did he hit the ground, though, than a massive pool of blood formed. This pool of blood continued to expand when I moved the body. The blood also looks the same no matter the area. If it was affected by things like, say, rain, I'd give thumbs up to it, but it is just for show.
All in all I've had a terrible experience. I don't recommend it to anyone, try something like `America's Army' or any of the Rainbow Six games, if you want a `realistic' combat experience. This game is just for show.

SoF II is an excelent multiplayer game. Capture the Flag mode is like Counter Strike, but after being killed, one doesn't have to sit and watch others play. This is great for those who just want to shoot, shoot, shoot, and blow some more stuff up. This would be worthy of five stars if the single player mode wasn't so poor. That is just boring. This game is best played as a multiplayer game.

To cut to the chase; this is one very good video game! Specifically a "first-person shooter".

I got this game for Christmas & since that time, I've been playing it like a twitching junkie!

Upto 2 hours per sitting, and I'm not even good at it!

"Now, the bad news:"

IT'S FUN FOR FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!

After playing it for a while it occurred to me: This game was not meant to be "G" rated kid-safe edutainment. This game is supposed to be pulse-pounding, night-marish & in-your-face!

In the new version, all the bad guys are so far away that when you shoot them, all you see is a little blood and then they fall down - all at a far-off distance. No dismemberment, no decapitations, nothing too offensive to the senses.

Imagine doing a remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre as an all-star musical variety, produced by RadioDisney. (OK maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration)

The original SOF was a wonderful stress-reliever. Not just killing the bad guys.... The game's appeal was the ridiculously violent slaughter & senseless blood-shed, upclose & personal. Arms, brains, legs (or pieces thereof), bones, blood, intestines... The Works!

Anyone who would call the first Soldier Of Fortune "over-the-top" would be completely justified - but I STILL LOVE IT! (call me a sicko).

"Now, the GOOD NEWS:"

The game itself is extremely good, challenging (though not impossible) and very habit-forming. It offers a variety of different missions. Escape from a POW camp, an assassination mission, an infiltration, a demolition mission, etc. Five different skill-levels and several terrain & weather conditions to choose from.

Like its predecessor, this game has exceptional 3D graphics (notice the raindrops & fog), never a dull-moment.

Double Helix's 3D world in which you move around provides a totally believable 'virtual envirronment'. It's very easy to get lost in the moment - sometimes for hours on end.

Another good quality Double Helix retained from the original Soldier Of Fortune 1 is the ease of use of controls. No huge textbook to study. You just jump right in & start playing. Both games allow you to customize the keyboard controls to nearly anything you want. Very easy!

Bottom Line: Thumbs Up! If I were to give this one a school grade - I'd give it an B+ / Buy it! You'll like it.