Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix
Encyclopedia
Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix is a video game created by Raven Software
, a sequel to Soldier of Fortune. It was developed using the Quake III: Team Arena engine. Once again, Raven hired John Mullins to act as a consultant on the game. Based on comments and criticisms of the original game, Raven Software developed Soldier of Fortune II to be a more "realistic" game, with tactical shooter
s like Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
as inspirations rather than Quake. A sequel titled Soldier of Fortune: Payback
, made by Cauldron HQ
was released for Microsoft Windows
, PlayStation 3
and Xbox 360
in 2007.
is germ warfare, as the mercenary
Mullins and his new partner Madeline Taylor travel to Colombia
to investigate a viral outbreak in a small town, only to link it to a shadowy organization called Prometheus. The virus, called Romulus
, is followed by a computer virus called Remus
which is programmed to delete files on any computer in the world, in this case, files relating to Prometheus
and Romulus, so an anti-virus cannot be formulated. Prometheus then plans to blackmail
the G8
countries at a summit in Switzerland
for billions of dollars. It is revealed throughout the course of the game that a mole inside The Shop may be feeding information to the terrorists.
Other characters in the game includes Assistant Director Wilson (Mark Hamill
), Deviant1 (Rosalind Chao
), Manuel Vergara (Gustavo Vargas) and Alex 'Skip' Larson (Dee Bradley Baker
).
The series' focal point, graphic depiction of human bodily dismemberment, makes another appearance in Soldier of Fortune II. GHOUL 2.0, as the new engine was called, features 36 gore zones, allowing for increasingly detailed depictions of gore and carnage.
In contrast with the first game, Soldier of Fortune II has a more diverse number of real-life weapons. Several of the weapons can have special attachments such as a laser sight. In the single player campaign, it is also possible to have mixed akimbo
weapons.
Unlike the original game, there are no futuristic weapons or sci-fi elements. The most advanced weapon encountered is the OICW, which is based on a former weapon prototype of the United States military.
, deathmatch
and Demolition. In Demolition, elimination, and infiltration modes, gameplay takes place in rounds, and players cannot respawn when killed until the end of the round.
(also produced by Raven Software), another title released within weeks that was also based on the Quake III: Team Arena engine. As a result of its apparent premature release, parts of the game seem unbalanced or unpolished, presumably due to a lack of extensive playtesting.
The stealth mode was criticized as overly simplistic since alerting sentries triggers alarms which can not be turned off for the duration of the mission. This nullified further attempts at proceeding through clandestine means, making sneaking and silenced weapons useless, and forcing the player to resort to a straightforward attack in order to complete the level. However, assaulting was very difficult in certain situations as engaging in firefights could be deadly. The only practical way to overcome this was to reload the level or start from scratch.
Upon release the game was filled with many crippling bugs such as problems with performance and a tendency to lock up easily, which was fixed in the Gold edition. The Gold edition also boasted new content such as more maps and new weapons to use. This additional content was also included in the Xbox port.
The Xbox version was heavily criticized since it did not improve on any of the PC version's flaws despite an additional year of development time, so it did not keep pace with the advancements in competing first person shooter games. It also had graphics far below what was expected for the Xbox, with bland textures and a low polygon count that led some reviewers to describe it as a "PC to Dreamcast to Xbox port".http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/soldier-of-fortune-ii-double-helix/5979p2.html
Raven Software
Raven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them...
, a sequel to Soldier of Fortune. It was developed using the Quake III: Team Arena engine. Once again, Raven hired John Mullins to act as a consultant on the game. Based on comments and criticisms of the original game, Raven Software developed Soldier of Fortune II to be a more "realistic" game, with tactical shooter
Tactical shooter
A tactical shooter is a subgenre of shooter game that includes both first-person shooters and third-person shooters. These games typically simulate realistic combat, thus making tactics and caution more important than quick reflexes in other action games...
s like Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis and Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six is a tactical shooter computer game and the first in the Rainbow Six series. It was developed and published by Red Storm Entertainment for the PC in 1998. It was later ported to Mac OS, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, Dreamcast and Game Boy Color. An expansion pack, Tom Clancy's...
as inspirations rather than Quake. A sequel titled Soldier of Fortune: Payback
Soldier of Fortune: Payback
Soldier of Fortune: Payback is the third installment of the Soldier of Fortune game series. Unlike the previous two Soldier of Fortune games, which were developed by Raven Software utilizing the Quake 2 and Quake 3 engines, Payback was developed by Cauldron HQ, developed with Cauldron's in-house...
, made by Cauldron HQ
Cauldron HQ
Cauldron is a game developer located in Bratislava, in Slovakia. The studio was founded in 1996 with their first project, Quadrax being released in the same year. According to the official website, Cauldron currently has 64 employees divided into 2 separate teams...
was released for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, PlayStation 3
PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
and Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
in 2007.
Story
The theme of the sequelSequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
is germ warfare, as the mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
Mullins and his new partner Madeline Taylor travel to Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
to investigate a viral outbreak in a small town, only to link it to a shadowy organization called Prometheus. The virus, called Romulus
Romulus
- People:* Romulus and Remus, the mythical founders of Rome* Romulus Augustulus, the last Western Roman Emperor* Valerius Romulus , deified son of the Roman emperor Maxentius* Romulus , son of the Western Roman emperor Anthemius...
, is followed by a computer virus called Remus
Remus
Remus is the twin brother of the mythical founder of Rome.Remus may also refer to:* Remus , a fictional planet in Star Trek* Remus , a moon of the asteroid 87 Sylvia...
which is programmed to delete files on any computer in the world, in this case, files relating to Prometheus
Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...
and Romulus, so an anti-virus cannot be formulated. Prometheus then plans to blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
the G8
G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
countries at a summit in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
for billions of dollars. It is revealed throughout the course of the game that a mole inside The Shop may be feeding information to the terrorists.
Major characters
- John Mullins: Born and raised in Southwest OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, Mullins served three tours in VietnamVietnamVietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, earning three Purple HeartPurple HeartThe Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...
s. He was also a member of the controversial Phoenix ProgramPhoenix ProgramThe Phoenix Program |phoenix]]) was a controversial counterinsurgency program designed, coordinated, and executed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency , United States special operations forces, and the Republic of Vietnam's security apparatus during the Vietnam War that operated...
group created to assassinate high ranking Vietcong officers. Mullins retired from the military to become a "consultant", or mercenary, 12 years ago. He now takes jobs from the United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
anti-terrorist group called The Shop. With a medium build, Mullins boasts strength and speed that few men possess. John Mullins is voiced by Todd SusmanTodd SusmanTodd Susman is an American actor. His better-known roles include Officer Shifflett on Newhart and the unseen P.A. system announcer on the television series M*A*S*H, a role he shared with Sal Viscuso...
.
- Madeline Taylor: With the death of John's lifelong friend and partner, Hawk, The Shop looked long and hard for a suitable match to John's can-do attitude. Although a fully trained field agent, Taylor's specialty is human medical research, making her an invaluable ally in the fight against chemical and biological weapons. Madeleine Taylor is voiced by Iris BahrIris BahrIris Bahr is an American-born Israeli actress, comedian, director, writer and producer. She has appeared on television programs such as Friends , Curb Your Enthusiasm as Rachel Heinemann , and The King of Queens...
.
- Sam Gladstone: A 62-year old bearded book store owner and part-time employee of The Shop. A Captain in Vietnam, Gladstone excelled at recon, later spending several years with the CIACentral Intelligence AgencyThe Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
. He owns the small enterprise known as Goldberg's Used Books. Behind the old bookshelves however lies a hidden lab filled with the latest technology and weapons. Sam Gladstone is voiced by Earl BoenEarl BoenEarl Boen is an American actor and voice actor. He is perhaps best known as criminal psychologist Dr. Peter Silberman in the Terminator series...
.
- Dr. Piotr Ivanovich: One of the Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
's top Biopreparat scientists, Dr. Ivanovich has worked on chemical weapons for a very long time. Unlike his cohorts however, he wants out. Ivanovitch has extensive knowledge in his head which certain terrorist groups would kill for, and he has passed most of this knowledge on to his young protege, Dr. Dmitry Sestrogor. Dr. Piotr Ivanovich is voiced by Alan OppenheimerAlan OppenheimerAlan Oppenheimer is an American character actor and voice actor. He has performed numerous roles on live-action television since the 1960s, and has had an active career doing voice work in cartoons since the 1970s.-Early life:...
.
- Dr. Dmitry Sestrogor: A mysterious figure, Dmitry Sestrogor has been behind the production of many deadly bio-weapons which have been used throughout the world. This man, however, is no criminal mastermind. Held hostage by the ruthless Prometheus group, Dr. Sestrogor has been forced to develop deadly weapons in exchange for his life. Dr. Dmitry Sestrogor is voiced by Michael Bell.
- Anthony Michaels: The Shop's director, Michaels operates under the strictest of secrecy. For years he has pushed The Shop forward, hoping to bring terrorism under control. Michaels is an extremely powerful figure in his own right, being the head of an organization that owes no allegiance to any government and having a vast network of informants and agents across the world. Anthony Michaels is voiced by Cam ClarkeCam ClarkeCameron Arthur "Cam" Clarke is a prolific American voice actor and singer, well known for his work in animation and video games. Clarke is well known for providing the voices of Leonardo in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Shotaro Kaneda in the 1989 original English-dub of Akira. He often voices...
.
Other characters in the game includes Assistant Director Wilson (Mark Hamill
Mark Hamill
Mark Richard Hamill is an American actor, voice artist, producer, director, and writer, best known for his role as Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy of Star Wars. More recently, he has received acclaim for his voice work, in such roles as the Joker in Batman: The Animated Series, Firelord...
), Deviant1 (Rosalind Chao
Rosalind Chao
Rosalind Chao is a Chinese American actress. Chao's most prolific roles have been as a star of CBS' AfterMASH portraying South Korean refugee Soon-Lee Klinger for both seasons, and the recurring character Keiko O'Brien with 27 appearances on the syndicated science fiction series Star Trek: The...
), Manuel Vergara (Gustavo Vargas) and Alex 'Skip' Larson (Dee Bradley Baker
Dee Bradley Baker
Dee Bradley Baker is an American voice actor. He is noted as his long-running-role as Klaus Heissler in American Dad! and other various characters including Squilliam Fancyson in the hit TV series SpongeBob SquarePants, Nightcrawler in X-Men: Legends and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance...
).
Gameplay
In contrast with the first game, Soldier of Fortune II has a more diverse number of real-life weapons. Several of the weapons can have special attachments such as a laser sight. In the single player campaign, it is also possible to have mixed akimbo
Akimbo (gaming)
Dual wielding is to hold a weapon in each hand. In gaming a dual wield may also be called akimbo style, though it has little resemblance to the human position of that name...
weapons.
Unlike the original game, there are no futuristic weapons or sci-fi elements. The most advanced weapon encountered is the OICW, which is based on a former weapon prototype of the United States military.
Multiplayer
In multiplayer mode, there are five gametypes: team deathmatch, infiltration, capture the flagCapture the flag
Capture the Flag is a traditional outdoor sport generally played by children, where two teams each have a flag and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base," and bring it safely back to their own base...
, deathmatch
Deathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
and Demolition. In Demolition, elimination, and infiltration modes, gameplay takes place in rounds, and players cannot respawn when killed until the end of the round.
Reception
The PC version of Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix received mostly positive reviews, however, there was some speculation that it had been rushed in order to avoid cannibalizing sales of Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi OutcastStar Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, often abbreviated JK2 or JO, is a first- and third-person action game developed by Raven Software and published by LucasArts and Activision. The PC version was released in March and the Mac OS X, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube versions were released in November...
(also produced by Raven Software), another title released within weeks that was also based on the Quake III: Team Arena engine. As a result of its apparent premature release, parts of the game seem unbalanced or unpolished, presumably due to a lack of extensive playtesting.
The stealth mode was criticized as overly simplistic since alerting sentries triggers alarms which can not be turned off for the duration of the mission. This nullified further attempts at proceeding through clandestine means, making sneaking and silenced weapons useless, and forcing the player to resort to a straightforward attack in order to complete the level. However, assaulting was very difficult in certain situations as engaging in firefights could be deadly. The only practical way to overcome this was to reload the level or start from scratch.
Upon release the game was filled with many crippling bugs such as problems with performance and a tendency to lock up easily, which was fixed in the Gold edition. The Gold edition also boasted new content such as more maps and new weapons to use. This additional content was also included in the Xbox port.
The Xbox version was heavily criticized since it did not improve on any of the PC version's flaws despite an additional year of development time, so it did not keep pace with the advancements in competing first person shooter games. It also had graphics far below what was expected for the Xbox, with bland textures and a low polygon count that led some reviewers to describe it as a "PC to Dreamcast to Xbox port".http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/soldier-of-fortune-ii-double-helix/5979p2.html