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Every country has its own special operatives team, a group of elite commandos called into duty to do battle against terrorist activity around the globe. Norway has its FSK, Israel has the Sayeret Mat'kal, Oman has the Cobras, the English have their SAS, and the good old US of A has SEAL Team Six. These well-trained soldiers specialize in a wide variety of counterterrorism tactics including hijackings, hostage rescue, demolitions, and even assassination. Their grandiose feats of espionage are often depicted in Hollywood action movies like Clear and Present Danger and more recently in squad-based tactical games like Rogue Spear and Spec Ops.

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Along that same vein comes Raven Software's Soldier of Fortune, a first-person shooter that the Wisconsin-based developer has had in the works for nearly two years. The game's central character, John Mullins, is a special operative who occasionally lends his terrorist-busting skills to the US government in situations similar to those found in your typical Rogue Spear or Spec Ops scenario. Unlike those games, however, Soldier of Fortune isn't focused around squad interaction. In fact, in every one of the game's 26 missions, John Mullins will have to execute his objectives alone, without the benefit of any squad members, making Soldier of Fortune a classic first-person shooter that borrows heavily from the popular squad-based tactical genre.

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But no matter where you pigeonhole it, a game like Soldier of Fortune is a new endeavor for Raven Software. After all, for the better part of a decade the company's lineup has largely consisted of fantasy-inspired first- and third-person action games. But you can't fault Raven for sticking to what it does best for all those years, especially considering the success it has found in its Hexen and Heretic series. By the same token, however, you can't fault those members of the game industry who had to suppress chuckles of amusement when Raven announced it was developing a modern-day first-person shooter.

With Soldier of Fortune, Raven is out to show that it's not a one-trick pony - that it can not only break away from its own tried-and-true formulas, but can also successfully deliver new elements into the stagnant classic first-person-shooter genre as well. Let's take a closer look.

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