Soldier of Fortune: Payback
Review
Blood and gore galore, but is there gameplay?
by Chris Scott
reviewed on X360
Sexual Themes
Graphically the game isnt exactly a stunner and, much like the gameplay, the visuals are pretty standard fare. In some levels you may experience flickering and occasionally you will see textures loading right in front of your eyes.
The sound does not help matters either: all the dialogue is done with laughably bad voice acting. Lastly, the special effects are a mixed bag. Explosions sound muffled while gun reports sound crisp and loud. The music itself could have come straight out of a 80s TV actions movie but at least it does get the job done.
Despite its host of problems there is some fun to be had with the game. The levels are generally large and the extended arsenal gives you plenty of choice for dismembering the many terrorists. Before each mission you get to outfit Mason with your choice of armament, picking a primary, secondary, side arm and explosive. All the weapons are detailed nicely and each play differently, packing a different punch and recoil. The reload animations in particular are very sweet. The problem with the arsenal is that despite your choices -once you run out of ammunition for them- you will have to use an enemy firearm. Of them 95% carry AK-47s which means you will be using it a lot.
Strong Language
Like most other first person shooters released these days Soldier of Fortune: Payback ships with a multiplayer component: online play, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, Elimination, Team Elimination and Demolition. In game everything is quite serviceable. Although a better, more permanent, marker for team members would be nice so that you dont blow off your teammates head because they popped out in front of you. The biggest problem is the lack of players online.
It took me almost two hours of waiting before I was able to get into a game and actually play. With games like Halo 3, The Orange Box and Call of Duty 4 already on the shelves and filled with players, you may be hard pressed to find people to play with. XBOX 360 Achievement mongers will be sad as close to 70% of the achievements for the game are tied to online play. It makes it quite difficult to unlock online achievements if there are not a lot people playing the game online.
If you have played games like Halo 3, The Orange Box and Call of Duty 4 and are looking for a new game to sink your teeth into, Soldier of Fortune: Payback might give you a few hours of enjoyment. However I cannot recommend the game for anything more than a rental.
5.0
fun score
No Pros and Cons at this time
