Soldier of Fortune
Soldier of Fortune is a computer game series from the first person shooter genre , which was previously developed by the US development studio Raven Software . The series gained notoriety primarily through the excessive depiction of violence. Soldier of Fortune was released in 2000, the sequel Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix followed in 2002. In 2007, Soldier of Fortune: Payback was a successor that was no longer developed by Raven Software and has no content-related references to the two predecessors.
Soldier of Fortune
| Soldier of Fortune | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio |
 Raven software
|
||
| Publisher |
Activision
|
||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
Microsoft Windows: February 29, 2000 March 28, 2000 October 1, 2018 Sega Dreamcast: July 24, 2001 July 24, 2001 PlayStation 2: November 11, 2001 July 5, 2001   |
||
| platform | Windows , Linux , PlayStation 2 , Dreamcast | ||
| Game engine | id Tech 2 | ||
| genre | Ego shooter | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Gamepad , keyboard , mouse | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
Windows 95 or newer, Pentium 233 MHz, 64 MB RAM, 700 MB storage space, DirectX 7 | ||
| medium | CD-ROM , download | ||
| language | German | ||
| Age rating |
|
||
| information | Indexed in Germany. PEGI approval refers to the Gold Edition. | ||
Soldier of Fortune is a first-person shooter with a single and multiplayer mode . The game was released by Activision for Windows in March 2000 . In July 2000, Loki software was ported to Linux ; in 2001 an implementation for the game consoles Dreamcast and PlayStation 2 .
The game is set in a realistic scenario and tells the story of the (actually existing) mercenary John Mullins, who his engagement in the fight against criminal gangs and terrorists leads to various locations around the globe. Soldier of Fortune was one of the first first-person shooters in which the opposing computer models were divided into over 20 different body regions, which made it possible to simulate a wide variety of injuries and mutilations. The resulting representation of violence led to controversy.
censorship
The German version of Soldier of Fortune was heavily censored. Not only have all the effects of violence been removed from the game, but all names of real cities have also been renamed in order to emphasize the fictional character of the game. Nevertheless, in addition to the original version, the censored German version was also indexed .
Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix
| Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio |
Raven software
|
||
| Publisher |
Activision
|
||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
Microsoft Windows: May 20, 2002 May 31, 2002 June 6, 2002 October 1, 2018  |
||
| platform | Windows , macOS , Xbox | ||
| Game engine | id tech 3 | ||
| genre | Ego shooter | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Gamepad , keyboard , mouse | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
Windows 98 or newer, Pentium III 450 MHz, 128 MB RAM, 1.3 GB storage space, DirectX 8.1 | ||
| medium | CD-ROM , DVD-ROM , download | ||
| language | Text: German , audio: English | ||
| Age rating |
|
||
| information | Appeared heavily censored in Germany. See “Censorship (PC and Mac versions)”. | ||
Soldier of Fortune II is a first-person shooter released by Activision in May 2002. The game is based on an extended Quake III engine and can come up with a single player as well as multiplayer mode. The official final version and the current state of affairs is the v1.03 Gold Edition.
The storyline of the single-player missions takes the player to Texas, Colombia, as well as to the cities of Prague, New York and Hong Kong, where, in the role of the elite mercenary John Mullins, one gradually comes across a mysterious virus that terrorists are infected with Hands fell.
The multiplayer mode offers not only tactically sophisticated maps, but also a random map generator. Furthermore, Soldier of Fortune II from version v1.01 supports the AntiCheat system PunkBuster . By default there are six game types: Capture the Flag (CTF), Demolition (DEM), Elimination (ELIM), Deathmatch (DM), Team Deathmatch (TDM), and Infiltration (INF). Up to 64 players can take part in multiplayer via the Internet or LAN .
Due to the detailed, realistic depiction of violence, Soldier of Fortune II - like its predecessor - achieved a high level of awareness. The game has a detailed damage model with 36 hit zones on enemy units.
Modifications
Due to the high popularity of the title, also in the multiplayer area, there are a number of modifications.
As an example, one can here GER103 and Nerofix call which called Blood patches are and without which the German version of Soldier of Fortune II because of censorship not online compatible with the international version.
Players can easily make a multitude of changes to weapon, menu and player representations themselves, as the * .pk3 files found in the installation folder are basically just ZIP files that contain, for example, the textures as image files or scripts that can be easily edited .
Censorship (PC and Mac version)
In order to avoid a possible indexing , the game was significantly censored for the German market. Again all blood and splatter effects as well as screams of pain and death were removed. In addition, all - in the original version, human - characters in the game have been converted into androids . Their artificiality is visually underlined by their metallic skin with rivets and welds. To explain this changed scenario, an additional prehistory was invented, which tells that humans were exterminated by machines and replaced by robots that now imitate the lives of their former masters. In the original version, the player can customize the representation of violence and protect it with a password. The German version received no youth approval from the entertainment software self-regulation .
The German Xbox version is uncensored and was approved by the USK for ages 18+.
Soldier of Fortune II: Revolution
An unofficial but apparently licensed add-on for Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix with 10 new missions that was released exclusively in Russia in 2003.
Soldier of Fortune: Payback
| Soldier of Fortune: Payback | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio |
 Cauldron
|
||
| Publisher |
Activision
|
||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
November 14, 2007 December 7, 2007 February 27, 2008 |
||
| platform | Windows , Xbox 360 , PlayStation 3 | ||
| Game engine | Cloak NT | ||
| genre | Ego shooter | ||
| Game mode | Single player , multiplayer | ||
| control | Gamepad , keyboard , mouse | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
Windows XP or newer, Pentium 4 2.5 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 256 MB graphics card, 3.3 GB storage space; DirectX 9.0c | ||
| medium | DVD-ROM , Blu-ray Disc , download | ||
| language | English | ||
| Age rating |
|
||
| information | Unabridged version indexed and confiscated nationwide | ||
Soldier of Fortune: Payback was released on November 13, 2007 in the US and on November 30 of the same year in Europe. Developed the third part was this time not by Raven Software, but by the Slovak Studio Cauldron on the basis of our own Cloak-NT engine with licensed Havok - physics . Originally started as a low-budget title, it was later decided to turn it into a full-price title. In Payback , the player no longer slips into the role of John Mullins, but into that of the fictional mercenary Thomas Mason.
In Australia , the original version was banned and replaced by a largely censored version adapted to the approval criteria of the OFLC and thus received the MA 15+ rating, the highest possible age rating in the country, which is economically relevant for the publisher. A heavily censored version was supposed to appear for the German-speaking area in early 2008, but it was no longer published due to consistently negative press and player reviews.
The US version of the game is uncensored and contains a large amount of violent effects, which have been greatly exaggerated, so that one can no longer speak of a realistic representation. For example, almost all limbs can be shot off opponents with a simple pistol. There are civilians in the game too, but they have to be saved or protected.
Due to the unimaginative level design, the three-dimensional, blurred and low-detail graphics compared to the predecessor, and due to the console-heavy nature of the title, the third part mostly fell through with fans of the series. Soldier of Fortune: Payback also received bad reviews from trade magazines . The Metascore of payback is 45% (PC) and 50% (console).
However, the game has a "low-violence" setting. This limits the degree of violence in the game to a comparatively small amount of violence.
The original English version is indexed and has been confiscated nationwide since June 17, 2008 . A censored German version with a reduced depiction of violence was temporarily available on Steam , but it had no USK approval.
Trivia
- The character John Mullins is based on the real soldier and Vietnam veteran John F. Mullins (* 1942), who was awarded the Purple Heart , the Bronze Star Medal and the Silver Star during his career with the US Army . Mullins oversaw the development of the first two parts and published several novels with a military theme.
- All three parts have been available for download on the digital sales platform GOG.com since October 2018 . However, German customers can only purchase the unindexed Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix .
Web links
- Official website of Raven Software
- Official website of Activision
Individual evidence
- ↑ Game comparison Soldier of Fortune German USK18 version / UK version on Schnittberichte.com
- ^ Soldier of Fortune , entry in the online games database
- ↑ Game comparison Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix German USK18 version / UK version on Schnittberichte.com
- ↑ gamestar.de
- ↑ schnittberichte.com
- ↑ schnittberichte.com