Soldier of Fortune has long been at the forefront of extreme PC gaming. Its gore content and intense violence--you literally blow enemies apart--has gained it considerable notoriety. Despite this it remains one of the better executed (no pun intended) shooters on the PC, and recently spawned an even more brutal sequel. This PS2 version, Soldier of Fortune Gold, is basically a port of the original PC game; unfortunately, this is what most lets it down. The game is slightly dated-looking now, especially with such graphical treats as Max Payne and Deus Ex having made it onto the console, and sadly SoF doesn't really take advantage of the PS2's processing power. You play gung ho mercenary John Mullins, a "consultant" hired by the US government to traverse the globe doing the more shady covert jobs that wouldn't look good plastered all over CNN. Over 26 levels, spanning 10 covert missions, you have to hunt down a major terrorist organisation and their four stolen nukes and then stop the terrorists before they unleash hell. All pretty standard first-person shooter stuff, then, so what's new? Not a lot. The main selling point of the game is still the Ghoul engine, which allows you to shoot 26 different "gore zones", each of which elicit a different AI reaction when you hit them. Blow an enemy's leg off and he'll hop about before falling over, shoot him in the torso and he'll crumple to the ground in a heap. Sick and twisted it may be, but there's no denying that this is what has won SoF so many fans. As well as the single-player missions there's a multiplayer mode--basically a four-person split-screen game, which is entertaining enough--but unfortunately slow load times between levels, an iffy control system and the overriding "been there, done that" factor will keep Soldier of Fortune from becoming a PS2 classic. --Aloysius Fothersgill

Features:
- A bio-terrorist group has stolen the deadly Gemini Virus, and Mullins must stop them before they unleash it on humanity
- Travel across the continent as you pick up the deadliest weapons in the world and use them against your enemies
- Immersive storyline with real-world locations from Hong Kong to Switzerland
- True-to-life movement, damage modeling and terrain to make you feel the experience of a soldier in the field
- Random mission generator for exciting, unpredictable combat