Did you ever want to be a mercenary? Have you ever had the desire (especially nowadays) to tame some unchecked aggression by viciously slaughtering a band of terrorists whose nefarious scheme is about to throw the entire free world into chaos? If you answered yes, then now is your chance. Since joining the armed forces and scoring within the range of “morally flexible” on the psyche tests is not an option for everyone, the fine folks over at have given us Solider of Fortune II: Double Helix. This title not only enables players to step into the shoes of a real-world soldier turned mercenary for hire, John Mullins, (who has been able to accomplish the afore-mentioned objectives in the real world) and dish out some of the most brutal forms of punishment to any bunch of ne’er-do-wells in need of a serious beating, but also provides players with a bit of insight as to what such a life may actually be like, dismembered limbs and all.

Obvious from the start, this game is the sequel to Soldier of Fortune, the gritty first person released a few years back. Whereas the original title was a bit over-the-top and “arcadey” (futuristic type weapons, and the ability to dismember limbs with a pea-shooter from thirty feet away), SOFII adheres to a more realistic, real-world approach. This includes the various weaponry (all reality based) and the way human bodies react to being plugged. The developer has gone out of their way to make the trademark gore realistic, including “per-pixel” hit accuracy and real-world physics, through the use of their “GHOUL II” engine that thirty-six “damage zones” and sixteen “dismemberment zones” for each and every body… eww. This means that no matter where you aim, the round will enter at exactly that spot, and the enemy will react to being hit in that spot. The dismemberment techniques, eviscerations, and “gibleting” are a bit more realistic (although not completely); the proper distance plus an appropriate weapon (shotgun, or something of a large caliber) is required to make it happen. This is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the fine touches implemented this time around, as SOFII manages to shine brightly in all the necessary areas.

Graphically, the game is stunning. It’s visuals are on par with the beautiful Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, but brought into a present-day setting. The environments are richly detailed and teeming with life, the grass sways in the wind, and the rain drops are of the same ilk seen in the beautiful Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. All of the character models are comprised of an obscene number of polygons, complete with texture mapping that will make you salivate. The eyes of the characters are rendered separately, giving them a disturbingly human look, and everyone in the game is animated wonderfully. People run, walk, attack, and writhe in agony in such a realistic fashion that until you get used to it, it will make you cringe. There are a few bugs within the game, and clipping is present at times (characters fall over and die half in/half out of a wall, box, etc.). All of this graphical beauty comes at a price, however, as players will need a fairly substantial machine and video card to run it. The system used for this review was a 1.2 Ghz PIII with a GeForce4 Ti4600, and it ran beautifully at 1024x768 with a lot (but not all) of the effects on. A good rule of thumb would be to start at the default graphic settings and slowly tweak upward to match your system specs.