I’ll also be taking a look at the following mods the Weapons Mod v5 which adds a new weapons and re-balances existing ones, PerfectFX which enhances various effects like muzzle flashes, explosions, and fire, Bloody Chunks (v2) which adds more ridiculous gore effects, and Real Gore which works in tandem with Bloody Chunks for more realistic gore effects. To fix the field of view, I used HxD, a hex editor, to edit the game’s executable. You can adjust the FOV using a command in-game but the hex edit is a more permanent solution. For this review, I had to do a few things to get this game running in widescreen. I had to edit the game’s configuration files to apply a widescreen resolution and then I downloaded and installed the Widescreen HUD mod. Apparently, The Gold Edition was also available for retail but I think it’s rare since I couldn’t find a copy.
Now I actually own the retail version of this game and had to download the Gold patch which patches the game to the latest version, otherwise known as The Gold Edition which includes new content like weapons, a multiplayer mode, and more maps. From what I researched, they wanted this entry to be more realistic, taking inspiration from Operation Flashpoint and Rainbow Six rather than Quake. Developed by Raven Software and published by Activision, Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix was released for PC in May, 2002 and that’s the version I played for this review. After a bunch of layoffs in 2010, the company decided to focus their attention on assisting with the Call of Duty series and from what I understand, they’re responsible for the Call of Duty 4 remaster.
Let’s not forget that Raven Software is responsible for a lot of good to excellent games including Heretic, Hexen, Quake 4, and one of their most underrated titles, Wolfenstein, released in 2009. The Soldier of Fortune series is the product of developer Raven Software, both of which seem to be forgotten in today’s shooty-shooty-bang-bang social gaming world. It contained over-the-top violence, over-the-top gore effects, and was basically the video game equivalent of a B action movie. It stood out because of its violence and I think it was somewhat controversial. The first Soldier of Fortune was nothing miraculous but the gameplay was solid.