Soldier Of Fortune: Payback

by ACTIVISION

Product Features

• Built to harness the power of next generation- Featuring an incredibly realistic modeling system allowing for accurate hit detection and detailed damage modeling. Enemies will not only react to the specific area they've been hit but also to the power of the weapon they've been hit with.
• One of the most lethal collections of weapons ever assembled - Over 30 of the baddest weapons including sub-machine guns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, projectile explosives, weapons attachments and futuristic prototype weapons.
• The world's most dangerous hotspots- Players will find themselves thrown into authentic mercenary situations in real world hotspots around the globe. Survive and ambush and rescue a diplomat, infiltrate a terrorist organization, go on a search and destroy mission and much more.
• Enemies around every corner- High intensity combat situations where players will need to take down over 15 unique enemies including terrorists, mobsters, insurgents, enemy soldiers and more.
• Online multiplayer- Play your favorite individual and team based online modes including death match, team death match, elimination, team elimination, capture the flag and demolition. Additional online options include maps tuned specifically for multiplayer action, and persistent stat tracking.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000TTGSIA
• Item Weight: 3 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: November 13, 2007
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,172 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

Platform: PC

Amazon.com

This game is the third installment of the Soldier of Fortune series. A routine escort mission goes wrong that causes players to deal with an enemy that knows no bounds. As mercenary, Thomas Mason, players will need to uncover and terminate an extremist plot aimed at throwing the world into chaos. Experience mercenary combat in the world's dangerous hotspots in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.

Features:

• Realistic modeling system allows for accurate hit detection causing enemies to react to the specific area they've been hit along with the power of the weapon they were hit with
• Over 30 weapons including sub-machine guns, assault riffles, sniper riffles, projectile explosives, weapons attachments and futuristic prototype weapons
• Survive ambushes, rescue diplomats, infiltrate terrorist organizations and go on search and destroy missions
• 15 unique enemies include terrorists, mobsters, insurgents and enemy soldiers
• Multiplayer options include death match, team death match, elimination, team elimination, capture the flag and demolition

Product Description

Soldier of Fortune PC

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A GORE-FEST THAT DOES NOT PAY TO BE BACK, November 16, 2007

By 

NeuroSplicer (Freeside, in geosynchronous orbit) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Soldier Of Fortune: Payback (Video Game)

The original SOF was a surprise sleeper-hit, developed by RAVEN, who also designed the SOF2: DOUBLE HELIX. They both were EXCELLENT FPS games!!

Unfortunately (as it turned out) the RAVEN group had nothing to do with this release. It was developed by CAULDRON who, I guess eager to please, overshot its mark.
Now, I enjoy a good blood-bath as the next guy - and the SOF series had always been gory and graphic. Who can forget the...crotch-shots reaction in the original SOF! (there was actually a..count of them after each stage, right after the head-shots!). Playing SOF-PAYBACK, however, never had I seen more limps get torn away, more blood-spaying torsos flanged back, more heads exploding like geysers . It surely deserves the M-Rating it got. The squeamish should not worry though, one can turn all this gore off - but why then play this game?

Graphically SOF-PAYBACK is nowhere close the latest major releases. Only the torn limps make good use of the engine's physics. Urban settings look like movie-studio lots; jungles feel like made out of plastic. In CRYSIS when trees get shot at enough they, well, fall. In SOF: PAYBACK they keep accumulating bullet-holes forever.

AI? What AI? It feels artificial and it sure is NOT intelligent. Your enemies do everything but line up in front of your sights. Currently there are many FPS games with good to excellent AI. This make SOF-PAYBACK shortcomings in this area show even more: total absence of defensive tactics, unnatural reactions and absolutely no use of their environment. Likely, there is a multiplayer to save the day.

The single player includes 15 levels and 40 weapons , all of which are customizable (with sights, ammo, silencers etc). The weapons look real but they are not - just close enough not to have to pay royalties. Hence their different names.
These 15 levels should take no more than 7-8 hours to polish off, so yes, on top of everything, this is a short game. Definetely not worth the $40.

Overall, this is a game that is not shy of depicting the immediate consequences of violence (that got it the 3rd star) but fails in almost everything else.

My Advice: wait for the rebates. Should be half-price by Christmas.

NON SEQUITUR:
This got released as it is - but THE WITCHER got censored for...language and some fleeing nudity?

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tactical? No. Revolutionary? No. Old-School-Run-Around-Blow-People-Away? Yes!!, January 11, 2008

By 

J. Romine "jromine11" (Bakersfield, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Soldier Of Fortune: Payback (Video Game)

I am a huge fan of Soldier of Fortune 2. I have never played a game so long and had so much fun. Soldier of Fortune 2 became even more amazing as time went on because the online community really made it their own. There are an infinite amount of mods, maps, skins, and settings that people created which allowed Soldier of Fortune 2 to evolve far beyond its initial offerings.

Fast forward 4 or 5 or wow I don't know how many years I've been playing SOF2, but fast forward to now and we have Soldier of Fortune Payback. The expectations couldn't be higher. There is a devote SOF2 following which have eschewed the Halo's, the Call of Duty's, the high-octane, story-filled, first-person-shooters that have taken gaming to an entire new level. Sure, I've played all of the new titles, in fact, I love Call of Duty 4!! Yet I still find myself going to the SOF2 online gaming community that I love. The graphics are outdated, the realism is, well, it isn't; it's an old game and I love it!! And I love it for the same reasons I love the new Soldier of Fortune.

So why do I like Payback? Call it nostalgia, call it simple, call it whatever you want, it takes fps' back to where they started; running around blowing people up!! No storyline of substance, no tactically adept AI; just overly powerful weapons that rip enemies to pieces. Blood squirting, limbs flying through the air, halved assassins crawling in agony on the ground (ok hopefully this review doesn't put me on the terror watch list), but you know what I'm saying?!!! It's the punching bag of fps'!!! You have a bad day at work, or traffic is driving you crazy, or you just need a little stress relief, SOF Payback is perfect. Sometimes I just want to come home and let a little steam off. Sure a game like Call of Duty 4 is challenging, the graphics are amazing, the interface is spectacular, but I don't always feel like being pwned by a smack-talking 13 year old every 5 seconds while I'm trying to hold my breath in order to snipe good (Zoolander). Sometimes I just want to point my gun at something and blow it up.

So why only 4 stars? Well, Payback does have a few annoying things. One thing that really bugs me is that you can't lean around corners!! Common, if they built Payback around the same engine as SOF2 they had to purposely take that ability out. The other thing that bugs me is the way the game is saved. You can't quick save at any point during the game. You have to reach checkpoints, which is cool, but at least give me the option of a quick save. In single player, I'd also love to be able to carry an infinite amount of weapons. If the game isn't going for super-realism, why can't I carry an arsenal instead of a measly 3 at a time? Finally, which isn't the fault of the game, the online play is just not there!! There are only like 5-6 servers running online play and half of them you can't even log on to. When you do get on though, it's pretty fun :)

My hope for Payback is that it becomes what SOF2 became, but the modding community has to be behind it. Payback lays the foundation for some amazing possibilities. As is, it's a fun game that I'll definitely keep playing. It's not a COD4 replacement, it's more of a niche game that remains fun in its simplicity.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars VERY Disapointed, November 24, 2007

By 

J. DINARDO (Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Soldier Of Fortune: Payback (Video Game)

I have to say that I am very disappointed with this game. I really enjoyed the first two Soldier of Fortune games but this game did not live up to the franchise.

My first complaint, this game is broken out of the box! Yes, some of the updates help (at least I have sound now) but it lacks the polish of even mediocre FPS.

Second, the aiming in the game is terrible. You can be 30feet away with a M249 machine gun empty 100 rounds with the sight on the enemy and not hit him once!! It is extremely frustrating!

Third, even the dismemberment which Soldier of Fortune is known for, is surprisingly lame. It is hard to describe, whether it is too much blood (making it look like a cartoon) or the poor physics implementation, it just doesn't work for me.

Fourth, the options menu is pathetic! The game is extremely limited on customizable video, sounds, playability options and the options that are available and poorly done (why do I have to scroll through 30 resolutions and refresh rates to pick the one I want... what is this 1998??)

Overall, I just cannot recommend this game to all but the must fervent SoF fans and even then wait until this game is about 10 bucks.. you will thank me..

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