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Dreamcast | Action | Soldier of Fortune | Review

There is no Boxart for - Soldier of Fortune
  • GRAPHICS: 3.5
  • SOUND: 4.0
  • CONTROL: 4.0
  • FUN FACTOR 4.0
  • AVG USER SCORE 2.8
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 3.9

Review: Soldier of Fortune

Review by JAKETHESNAKE | 07/03/2001 | 12:15:57 PM PST

The gruesome PC shooter comes to the Dreamcast.

Soldier of Fortune brings its notorious visions of exploding heads and flying limbs from the PC to the Dreamcast, making it the most gruesome game on both platforms. It?s good fun for gunslingers who have strong stomachs and who can separate fantasy from reality, but with its average graphics and watery story, Soldier is notable only for its amazingly?um?interactive violence and its place as one of the few semi-realistic shooters for the Dreamcast.

You play John Mullins, a soldier of fortune hunting a group bent on nuclear terror through 10 levels ranging from the NYC subway to Siberia to Iraq to Kosovo. Your weapons are based on real ones?a Mac-10, shotgun, .44-caliber pistol, rocket launcher, and more?and the damage they do is equally realistic. Shoot a bad guy in the leg, and he?ll hop around. Shoot him in the head with a shotgun, and, well?you?ve seen water balloons explode. It?s disgusting but impressive in a technical sort of way. This isn?t one for the kids?or even for adults who dislike gratuitous carnage.

Besides the gore, Soldier is a good but not great shooter. The levels are unimpressive, mostly linear corridors with grainy textures. Slowdown mars otherwise intense firefights, as do long load times, and you sometimes get shot by enemies hidden in graphic fog. As for audio, enemies speaking in their native tongue add some flair, while the weapons sound good and real. As with most first-person shooters, Soldier is best played with a Dreamcast mouse and keyboard. The controller offers only three configurations and doesn?t aim well. If you?re longing for some over-the-top shooting with real weapons, Soldier of Fortune hits its mark with extreme prejudice, but less crazed gamers should steer clear.