Like the new Star Wars trilogy, the once-great Soldier Of Fortune’s long-awaited return is less triumphant and more of an undeniable disgrace, even the most jaded of fans will have a hard time conjuring up a defence for this. Soldier Of Fortune began as a decent PC game elevated to notoriety due to its revelling in the gruesome dismemberment of terrorists via an assorted arsenal of modern weaponry. This was done using the GHOUL system, a number of points on enemy bodies that allowed them to be dismantled or react accordingly to gunshots. Luckily, this same overthe- top violent mayhem that made the original and its equally successful sequel so popular returns in Payback, but the intense firefights that held the series up are nowhere to be found.

This is due to countless archaic design choices that will no doubt aggravate anyone foolish enough to try and have a good time. First and foremost, the enemy AI is absolutely atrocious. At times you might feel as if a horde of deranged cattle had weapons shoved in their hands and were pushed in your general direction. It seems like there are only two possible outcomes when encountering an enemy; either they will stand out in the open and occasionally shoot at you, or they will run directly at you from a distance as if someone dared them to see how far they could get without being blown away. This would make the game laughably easy if enemies weren’t constantly spawning directly behind you and from areas you just cleared out. To compound the cheapness, there are countless areas where you simply will not be able to see the enemy through the darkness or foliage until they’ve had ample opportunity to safely end your life. Don’t expect any audio cues as the sounds are bland and indiscernible. If you’re getting shot at from point blank, you’ll believe you’re being sniped from a quarter mile away.

The graphics are reasonable when compared to the lacklustre nature of the rest of the game, but they don’t stand out in any way whatsoever either. The immense violence that the series is known for gets old quickly, and is far less satisfying than one might think. Any sort of headshot will simply make the head disappear, as opposed to the always-rewarding melon-exploding experience in the likes of Gears Of War. The blood effects are reminiscent of Mortal Kombat II… for the Game Boy Advance. The only time you’ll even get a glimmer at what this game could have been is when you place an explosive amidst a group of enemies. The resulting creation of amputees and orchestra of airborne limbs is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

As if to pay homage to the inferior games of yesteryear, Payback’s loading screens are numerous and unmerciful in their length, with each player death bringing about another one. Even the levels themselves are broken up into laughably tiny stages separated by more loading screens. When games like Half- Life 2 and BioShock can offer massive sprawling worlds without forcing a loading screen down your throat every ten minutes, it’s simply inexcusable and lazy to allow it in Payback.

The multiplayer mode is equally as uninspired as the single-player offering, with only the generic deathmatch, team deathmatch, and capture the flag modes available. To further upset the situation is the inclusion of a pathetic five maps, none of which you will get to play on as there is quite literally a handful of gamers playing Payback online. Even on a Friday night, you will likely find yourself sitting in a ranked lobby waiting hours upon hours for additional players, all of whom would much rather be playing Call Of Duty 4 or Halo 3.

It is this that renders Soldier Of Fortune completely worthless, as even GamerScore whores will find it near impossible to complete the online ranked Achievements which make up most of the 1,000 points. Also, due to the poorly designed single-player and cheap deaths, the campaign Achievements for beating each level on the hardest setting and getting through the entire game without dying are simply far too much trouble than they’re actually worth.

Payback would be bothersome at best even if it were released a decade ago during the era from which it obviously draws so much of its design inspiration, but up against the current selection of triple-A titles available to both console and PC gamers, this game sticks out like a sore, infected thumb. Despite clearly being a bargain-bin title, Soldier Of Fortune: Payback also carries a similar price tag as masterpieces such as Mass Effect, Gears Of War or Call Of Duty 4. This is the sort of game that would be touted for its half-assed Wii Remote functionality and defended to the death on the Wii, but 360 owners should know better.

William Haley