Soldier of Fortune originally debuted as a first person shooter designed to take advantage of powerful PC hardware. When the game released it was met with some praise and did reasonably well at retail. It's main draw was the extreme violence it portrayed coupled with half decent level design and gameplay. Therefore, when it was announced that SOF would appear on PS2, many had great expectations. When SOF appeared on Dreamcast last year, a number of issues such as slow loading times and choppy graphics dragged the game down. Unfortunately those same issues have arrived in the PS2 incarnation.

When it comes down to it, SOF on the PC was less than stellar considering the hardware it was supposed to run off of. The Playstation 2 version outshines the PC version in many areas. Some of the texturing and detail in certain areas is outstanding. The level of graphic violence is taken to new heights in SOF. Enemies react differently to gun shots according to 26 different hit locations known as Gore Zones, on each model's body. If you use a shotgun at close range and aim for the head, you can expect the head to come clear off if not totally obliterated complete with blood spray and flesh fragments. This is so cool but at the same time can become morbid. Majesco recognized this and included an option in the main menu to tone things down if they are too intense for the player. Too bad this is not more of the norm rather than the exception when it comes to the overall visual package of the game. Level design is pretty good as your journey takes you to many exotic locales around the world. The layout of each level is quite large which leads to the first problem of frequent and long loading times. Unlike most first person shooter games where levels load at the beginning and some little loads in the middle, SOF loads throughout the level at some odd junctures. For example, it is not uncommon for the game to load just as your adrenaline peaks. This makes the flow of the game uneven and at times frustrating if not even boring. The biggest issue with the graphics engine comes in the form of framerate lag. The game becomes so choppy during some of the more intense battle sequences that you think you were playing a 32-bit game. The framerate deterrence worsens when you get into the multiplayer death matches. Why this was not remedied before hitting the stores is not known. The soundtrack is pretty desirable and keeps the action going along. The voice work is above average thanks in part to the use of the big Michael Duncan Clark as your buddy Hawk. The sound effects on the other hand are average at best as they do not truly convey the particular weapon in use.

The gameplay is rather simplified thanks to an easy control layout on the Dual Shock 2 controller and the option to use a keyboard. As far as story goes, you take control of real-life mercenary John Mullins, hired to track down and eradicate a fanatical terrorist group who has stolen 4 nuclear warheads. Your adventures will take you across 5 continents that entail 26 levels of "action movie" gameplay. Each level has objectives that tend to change as you get further into each area. The objectives are realistic enough to make SOF stand apart from the usual "run around and blow everything up in site" kind of shooter. As mentioned above some of the locations are nicely done and this point is propelled even further when you throw in some intense action sequences. Again the game would be much better if the load times and choppy graphics did not detract from the overall experience. The multiplayer modes are varied and fun to play but the slowdown issue will likely deter many people really getting into those modes.

Soldier of Fortune is unfortunately in a market that already has some tough competition. Games like Red Faction and Half Life deliver a much better FPS experience. In addition, with Timesplitters 2 and Run Like Hell around the corner, Soldier of Fortune has difficulty standing apart. If you were a big fan of the PC version then check this one out, otherwise a good weekend rental will suffice.