Soldier of Fortune

Overview

Soldier of Fortune is an first-person shooter developed by Raven Software. The game was first released on March 2000 for the PC then later the Dreamcast and Playstation 2. The player assumes the role of John Mullins; a Mercenary who works for a US-based terrorist organisation known only as "The Shop". John is sent on a mission to recover stolen nuclear warheads from a Neo-Nazi group who has stolen them from a storage facility in Russia and are now proceeding to sell them so that the Shop can use them to further their own mysterious agenda.

Technology

Soldier of Fortune uses a modified version of id Tech 2 from id Software. The varying array of weapons on offer, from the humble pistol right up to the in your face rocket launcher, made great use of the GHOUL damage model engine developed by Raven Software, allowing the player to leave an enemy's bowels in a pile next to their body, or blowing their arm clean off etc. The use of the GHOUL engine meant that a skilled player could shoot an enemy's gun clean out of their hands leading to them surrendering or cowering on the floor. Soldier of Fortune was the first game to utilize the GHOUL engine, which was later used in Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix and Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. If the user felt that the violence was too excessive, it was possible to turn it off. Some countries even demanded the GHOUL engine removed from the game before they would allow it to be sold. The stripped down version of the game was called: Soldier of Fortune: Tactical Low-Violence Version.

Levels

• Subway, NYC
• Train, Uganda
• Sewers, Kosovo
• Streets, Kosovo
• Hangar, Kosovo
• Outside Military Base, Siberia
• Inside Military Base, Siberia
• Inside Chemical Weapons Facility, Siberia
• Outside Base, Iraq
• Inside Base, Iraq
• Airbase, Iraqi
• Warehouses, NYC
• Sewers, NYC
• Hostage Building, NYC
• Trainyard, Sudan
• Slaughterhouse, Sudan
• Missile Factory, Sudan
• Lower Levels, SUNI Corp., Japan
• Upper Levels, SUNI Corp., Japan
• Rooftop, SUNI Corp., Japan
• Outside Amu's Fortress
• Inside Amu's Fortress
• Oil Refinery, Iraq
• Germany I
• Germany II
• Germany III
• Germany IV

Characters

John Mullins The protagonist of the game, Mullins served in Vietnam and earned three Purple Hearts. He was a member of the controversial PHOENIX group created to assassinate high-ranking Vietcong generals. Mullins retired from the military to become a mercenary, and he now takes jobs from the Shop.

Aaron "Hawk" Parsons Aaron is a demolitions expert and Mullin's reliable partner. They've been on many mercenary missions, delegated by the Shop, together.

Sam Gladstone Sam is an old, bearded Vietnam veteran who now serves as John and Aaron's mission debriefer.

Weapons

Combat Knife "Pig Sticker" This knife has two firing modes, a slash mode, and a throw mode. Six can be carried, but only five can be thrown.

9mm Handgun "Black Panther" The pistol is a classic 9 mm pistol, which is a glock replica. It's very noisy and it's moderately accurate. The special ability allows it to be raisedclose to center of the screen and make it handled by both hands.

.44 Magnum "Silver Talon" A .44 caliber pistol. This one packs a punch. It can obliterate the opponents heads, but it doesn't feature any secondary fire. The special fire modes allow to use it with a right or left hand when leaning around corners.

Combat Shotgun "B-42 Berserker" This is a semi automatic shotgun. It's more powerful than the silver talon but it must be used at close range, and like most shotguns it has to be fed manually. It can also stop the feed to fire if there is at least one shell loaded.

"Eagle Eye" Sniper Rifle This sniper is completely silenced, making it a good weapon to avoid being detected. The scope can be zoomed by maintaining the alt fire or using the special keys to zoom and unzoom.

"Raptor" Submachine Gun This submachine gun, despite its compactness, isn't a submachine gun per se. It uses 5.56 mm cartridges which makes it an assault rifle. This gun is powerful and highly versatile. Its large magazine contains 40 bullets.

Silenced SMG "T31 Bulldog" This is a replica of silenced Mac 10 that fires 9 mm ammo. It fires very fast and is inaccurate.

Heavy Machine Gun "M-75 Guardian" It fires 5.56 mm bullets or white phosphorous grenades. The secondary fire uses 10 5.56 mm ammo to obtain a timed grenade that will bounce or detonate if it hits an organic target.

Rocket Launcher "M202a2 Flash" This weapon is very similar to its real counter part, except it uses drum magazine since it's supposed to be an updated version of the A1. This multishot rocket launcher have two fire modes. It can fire rockets one by one, or all at once but this fire mode is inaccurate.

M343D Flamegun This flamethrower doesn't reload. If you grab some fuel, the ammo will be added directly in the "clip" storage. It fires a short range flame or an incendiary mortar that needs more fuel.

H-24 Slugthrower "Heavy Hitter" This weapon is an explosive slugthrower. This impressive weapon features a drum magazine and can launch stun greandes. The primary fire is fully automatic and throws explosive slugs at moderate rate of fire, and alt fire mode launches and impact stun grenade witch uses 2 slugs. This will disorient your opponents.

Microwave Pulse Gun This weapon is close to an automatic railgun but it doesn't kill instantlyIt can line up enemies and burn them with a continuous beam. The secondary fire mode launches a powerful blasting beam that makes your enemies inflate and explode.

Ammunition

The maximum amount doesn't count the ammo in the weapon's magazine/clip/drum

• Knives
  This ammunition is used by the knife weapon to be thrown

• 9mm Bullets
  This cartridge is a small caliber ammunition it's used on the black panther and the T31 bulldog; we can carry a maximum of 200 bullets

• .44 Bullets
  This cartridge is a medium caliber handgun ammunition, it's used by the Silver Talon and we can carry a maximum of 90 bullets

• 12 Gauge 00 Buckshot
  These shells are used by B42 Berserker they are extremely powerful at short range, we can carry a maximum of 50 shells

• 5.56mm Ammunition
  ammunition is used by the Raptor SMG, the M75 guardian and the Eagle Eye, we can carry a maximum of 300 bullets

• N-22 Rockets
  These powerful and compact 66mm rockets are used by the M202a2 flash, we can carry a maximum of 20 rockets

• Fuel
  This is the ammo used by the M343D we can carry a maximum of 60 (the ammo is already loaded in the magazine)

• Explosive Slugs
  This powerful explosive cartridge is the ammunition of the heavy hitter, we can carry a maximum of 100 slugs

• Batteries
  Those small batteries ares the ammunition of the Microwave pulse gun, we can carry a maximum of 150 energy units

Grenades and Accessories

To use one of the following weapons and items, we have to press the inventory button

• C4 Explosives
  This explosive can stick into surfaces and once thrown, a timer is automatically activated. After a few seconds it explode.
• M24 Frag Grenades
  This hand grenades can be thrown while wielding a weapon, the grenades explode after a few seconds.
• Flashbangs
  Those strange conic grenades can blind people during a few seconds, these grenades detonate upon impact.
• Night Vision Goggles
  These night vision goggles are used to see in dark areas.
• First Aid Kit
  This medkit can replenish 25% of the John Mullins' health.
• Bulletproof Vest
  This item is used automatically, it gives John Mullins extra protection against damage.

Special Editions

Soldier of Fortune: Gold Edition

Soldier of Fortune: Gold was released on the PlayStation 2 and PC in 2002, and was the only version available on the PlayStation 2. The Gold Edition was published by Majesco Entertainment and developer Pipe Dream Interactive stood for the porting process.

The Gold edition is basically the original Soldier of Fortune, but with some minor changes:

• Single-player AI overhaul.
• 2 new Deathmatch modes: Control and Conquer the Bunker.
• 18 new multiplayer maps. 11 for Conquer the Bunker and 7 for Control. Deathmatch, Assassin and Arsenal can also be played on all of the new maps.
• 6 new player skins for multiplayer.
• Added multiplayer bots for Deathmatch and Arsenal.
• Pure Server support for multiplayer.
• Various bug fixes.

Soldier of Fortune: Platinum Edition

The platinum edition was released in 2007 for the PC.

The only additions to the Gold Edition extras were:

• 5 additional multiplayer maps.
• A preview of the sequel.
• A strategy guide in PDF format.