Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix Preview
We get an exclusive look at the Xbox version of Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix.
Soldier of Fortune II has finally made the jump from the PC to the Xbox, and from the looks of it, the Xbox version successfully reproduces almost everything that made the single-player and multiplayer aspects of the PC first-person shooter so fun to play. In the game, you assume the role of John Mullins, a member of a top-secret agency who's sent to various locations around the world to combat terrorists. Interestingly, John Mullins' real-life counterpart (who shares the same name, was a Green Beret, and could probably kill a man five times before he hit the ground) helped in the development of the game by providing his input on various aspects of the gameplay.
The single-player campaign begins with a flashback in Prague, where you'll start to familiarize yourself with some of the basic gameplay mechanics. In fact, you'll have to learn quickly, because there are three or four guards posted just outside the small alleyway where Mullins makes his entrance. Since the first guard is about 15 feet away from his buddies, you'll have an opportunity to use some stealth. Like in other games that feature stealth mechanics, sound is an important factor in successfully getting the jump on an enemy. So, if you're running up to the guard, there's a higher chance that he'll turn around and start shooting. Conversely, if you slowly stalk the guard, you can get close enough to use one of your knives, which can be quietly plunged into the back of the guard's skull without the other guards even knowing there's a problem. Using the butt of your equipped weapon is also effective, but the guard you knock out will eventually recover and start firing. Another important thing to realize is that guns are really loud, and the second you fire one of your weapons, you're going to alert most, if not all, of the guards in the immediate area.
But when that does happen, you'll find that the Xbox controller does a pretty good job of handling the PC controls. The game uses the basic Halo first-person shooter controls as the default, so you can move around with the left analog stick and view the environment using the right analog stick. The weapon and item inventory can be accessed using the D pad. You can also perform a variety of other actions as well. For example, when you're up against a wall, you can use the D pad to peek out around a corner and fire at enemies while maintaining cover behind the wall. Crouching is another valuable skill that comes into play during heated firefights, allowing you to take cover behind boxes, couches, or other small objects. It's also useful because you'll find that most enemies like to stay in a crouching position when they're firing, so you don't have to adjust your aim if John is already in that position.
Not all the missions in Soldier of Fortune II are of the typical first-person shooter variety. At various points in the game, you'll have to jump into a vehicle (like a truck or a helicopter) and man a massive gun. When this happens, Soldier of Fortune II almost turns into an old-school arcade shooter, with enemies popping out from behind doors and other objects in the environment. One of the early missions of this type places you in a car chase where you're on the back of a truck, and what makes this situation particularly fun is that you can either shoot the troops on the enemy trucks or target the engine of the trucks themselves, causing them to explode.
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- Activision
- Gratuitous Games
- Modern First-Person...
- Release: Jun 18, 2003
- ESRB: Mature
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