First-Person Shooters have come a long way since “Doom” and have evolved into a fascinating genre that continues to add new elements to the game environments and the action itself.  Some, like “Half-Life,” are more innovative than others, but in the case of “Soldier of Fortune: Gold Edition” innovative is not a word that deserves to be attached to it.  Having been developed for the PC, “Soldier of Fortune” has found its way to the PS2 platform, but its transition is not a smooth one.

The controls are easy to figure out, especially for those gamers that have played “Red Faction” (which comes to mind the minute you enter the Training Mode) with the exception that weapons and items are easier to cycle through in this game.  And crouching, jumping, and shooting are just as easy and this gives the gamer room to concentrate on the carnage.

The carnage does fly in this game, only the problem is that it’s all done unrealistically.  You won’t believe how easy it is to blow an enemy’s limb off or blow a head clean off even with something as simple as a .44 pistol.  And seconds after you kill somebody, the body melts away to nothing.  All of this is suppose to look cool, but all it really does is break the suspension of belief.  That’s the attraction of a FPS, immersing yourself in the game since the action takes place through your eyes.

The graphics are also a letdown, and a major one considering how good the PC and even the Dreamcast version looked.  Backgrounds have very little detail or texture and the characters during the cut-scenes have a very PS1 look to them.  In fact, this game visually looks like it belongs to the PS1 since it doesn’t take advantage of the PS2’s graphic capabilities.  There are also moments when characters have a polygonal shape to them, especially in the arms and legs.  Still, the gloomy soundtrack does help set the mood and when things get chaotic in certain levels, so does the music. As far as the sound effects go, they’re decent enough.

Still, the problems don’t end there.  You don’t have to go through the ten missions and twenty-six levels to find out that the enemy AI is a complete mess.  When you attack an enemy, they don’t even run for cover, they rush right in front of your weapon or get stuck on a corner when they do run for help.  And the supposed “realistic body damage” is hardly noticeable since much of the damage is more directed toward limbs.  There’s also very little interaction with other characters, especially hostages that repeat the same phrases when you rescue them or they fail to run away once you free them.  But my biggest gripe is with the long load times or the constant interruption of gameplay when you finish a level.

The multiplayer games have a lot more to offer than the actual game; it has seven different playing modes that four other players can compete in using a multitap.  There’s Standard (multiplayer mayhem), Assassin (take down a specific player marked in red or yellow); Arsenal (taking down an opponent using a specific weapon), Capture the Flag (speaks for itself), Realistic (where realistic injury is inflicted) and Conquer (Make your way to the assigned logo). But when you add bots to the mix (you can add up to seven of them), the awful enemy AI makes things difficult since they go into a twisting and twirling killing frenzy and you’ll find yourself dead before you know what killed you.

As far as the story is concerned, the plot is very weak and gamers will hardly care about it anyway.  You play John Mullins, a mercenary that takes jobs the government can’t handle, and you’re joined by your war buddy Aaron “Hawk” Parsons and Sam Gladstone (who guides you during training) to recover four nuclear warheads hijacked by terrorists. 

Soldier of Fortune is just another FPS trying to jump on the bandwagon of other successful titles and sorely misses the mark.  With very little to offer in terms of design or new features, it fails to capture the right FPS feel which other games have effectively achieved.  In other words, look someplace else.

 Gameplay: 6.0
Those familiar with “Red Faction” will find the controls recognizable territory and Mullin’s arsenal is thankfully plentiful, however, unrealistic battles, no interaction with surroundings or other characters and poor AI in both the actual game and the deathmatch games bring things down considerably.  Long load times between levels don’t help things either.

There are levels in the game that play better than others, and a few are actually quite fun, but those moments are few or are ruined by the unrealistic feel of the game.

Graphics: 6.0
Perhaps one of the most disappointing aspects of the game is the weak visuals that make this title seem more like a PS1 title.  Characters and backgrounds lack details and has a polygonal, unnatural look.  At one point, a main character has a block-shaped head.  The backgrounds are also uninspiring and that’s unfortunate especially since the game boasts about the various exotic locations.

Sound: 6.7
An ominous soundtrack helps set the mood just right and there are certain points in the game when the music becomes just as frantic as the game play itself.  And the sound effects of the gun battles are relatively realistic but not unique.

The voice acting and the dialogue in the cut-scenes, on the other hand, are another story.  There are also the repetitive phrases certain characters would spout over and over again which grow old quickly.

Difficulty: 7.0
There are six difficulty settings, one of which is the Custom setting that is a much welcome feature since it gives gamers a number of neat options.  Depending on the setting you choose, saves become more available to you or don’t exist at all.  It also changes the amount of ammo or items you might fight or how quickly the enemy appears.

Concept: 5.9
Soldier of Fortune’s major failing is that there is nothing innovative or original about it.  There is no interesting plot that immerses the gamer into the story--not that there is an original story to begin with--or a feature (such as the Geo-Mod technology in “Red Faction”) that sets this FPS apart from the others.

Multiplayer: 6.5
Gamers can play against four friends (the screen is split four ways) and compete in seven different multiplayer modes all complete with their own unique features.  Up to seven bots can be thrown into the mix, but because of the poor AI, you’ll find yourself having a hard time killing them.  If you add six or seven bots, you don’t even stand a chance. You can also choose from 41 different locations such as Egypt or Siberia.

Overall: 6.0
Gamers looking for a First-Person Shooter they could really sink their teeth into will not find anything worthwhile in Soldier of Fortune and fans of the PC version will find this version lacking in all the qualities that made it a favorite in the first place.  If it is original and action-packed game play you crave, I suggest you buy “Half-Life” or “Red Faction”--at least these games offer more bang for the buck.