SOLDIER OF FORTUNE: PAYBACK (X360)
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Publisher: Activision.
Developer: Cauldron HQ. Released: Q4 2007. Genre: FPS. Other versions: PS3; PC. Posted 6th May 2013. By Shane Battams © 2013 |
The Soldier of Fortune series claimed its stake in the first-person shoot ‘em up genre in 2000 with tight shooting mechanics and, mores significantly many would argue, its extreme violence which allowed you to blow the heads and limbs off anyone who stood in your way. With a five year gap after Double Helix, gamers got their blood-soaked hands on Soldier of Fortune: Payback, the first instalment to hit seventh-gen consoles. Dismemberment and excessive violence remains a fixture, but Payback feels more like an exercise in purgatory than entertainment.
A very loose narrative ties all the carnage together, with players taking the role of freelance mercenary Thomas Mason. A routine escort mission turns ugly as one of your associates kills the client you’re assigned to protect. Its clear financial incentive caused this incident, and things quickly escalate from there as a global terrorist threat emerges. Filled with corny dialogue, ugly cut-scenes and dodgy accents, Payback is cheesy fare which is neither serious nor has enough laughs to make it stand out, and it’s soured further by a lame cliffhanger ending. Granted, the series has never won awards for its story-telling, but that doesn’t excuse this awful plot either.
Fans of the series will at the very least be happy to know that Payback still has all the extreme violence the series is known for, earning an 18+ rating with ease. Oceans of blood are spilt, heads pop like tomatoes and other limbs are blown off with shocking frequency. It may satisfy those hungry for a more aggressive shooter, but at the same time this violence lacks any kind of impact because it’s so frequent. By the time you reach the end of the campaign, the violence is no longer shocking; it becomes borderline comical. The extreme gore was indeed controversial back in 2000, but seven years of violent video games later and Payback seems more like a farce than a serious affair.
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And once the novelty wears off, Payback’s true flaws come to bear. Shooting works fine, with potent weapons, loud gunfire and bloody carnage, but two serious flaws zap the enjoyment away. The level -design is simply awful; though areas appear spacious, they contain dozens of invisible walls. This causes confusion, as the path to an objective is far more linear than it seems, and it feels like an attempt to disguise the fact that Payback is about as run-of-the-mill as shooters come. Worse, though, are the hundreds of bland enemies you face. Oddly, most will attempt to run kamikaze at you instead of shooting, which can easily be countered with a swift shot. Yet sometimes enemies will spawn right behind you, which means combating foes becomes simultaneously boring and frustrating. Round that off with ludicrous bosses who can soak up multiple clips of ammo before dying and you have yourself a steaming mess.
Perhaps a blessing in disguise, Payback is at least short. You can breeze through the campaign within five hours, give or take a few depending on which difficulty you opt for. Most of the game is a cakewalk even on hard, bar a couple of bosses and the heinously challenging last mission. There’s no reason to play again either; not only because it’s terrible, but because it‘s devoid of incentives. A multiplayer component is present too as 12 players can fight in bog-standard deathmatch, capture the flag and assault modes. It’s all very bland, and the online community has been non-existent from day one. Shame almost all the achievements are multiplayer ones. It’s the kind of game which you’ll rush through and forget by the next day.
Perhaps a blessing in disguise, Payback is at least short. You can breeze through the campaign within five hours, give or take a few depending on which difficulty you opt for. Most of the game is a cakewalk even on hard, bar a couple of bosses and the heinously challenging last mission. There’s no reason to play again either; not only because it’s terrible, but because it‘s devoid of incentives. A multiplayer component is present too as 12 players can fight in bog-standard deathmatch, capture the flag and assault modes. It’s all very bland, and the online community has been non-existent from day one. Shame almost all the achievements are multiplayer ones. It’s the kind of game which you’ll rush through and forget by the next day.
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Once you get past the extremely violent decapitations, which are visually potent, Payback looks a little behind the curve. It has some pretty aspects, such as good lighting and smooth animation, but everything else looks drab. The environments suffer from dull colours and a lack of detail, which makes the unstable frame rate all the more shocking, and the default brightness is incredibly dark, forcing you to crank up the settings a notch. The audio doesn’t fare any better, as only strong gun effects stand out. The music is mostly non-existent, and rarely adds anything to the game, while dreadful voice acting – including some heinous accents – fail to contribute positively to an already run-of-the-mill story.
As you force your way through Soldier of Fortune: Payback, a weird feeling arises. You become blasé to all the violence and repetitive shooting you’ve been tortured with, and in a way, it numbs you to all of its flaws. It would be easy to describe how the enemy A.I. is shambolic, the level-design is bunk, the violence becomes gimmicky and all the other aspects – whether it’s visuals, sound, story or the multiplayer component – are inconsequential. But there is a much faster way to sum up this game. Even if you’re an avid gunslinger looking to fill the void with a violent shooter, do not buy this game under any circumstances. In this depressing case, Payback is so bad it’s just awful.
As you force your way through Soldier of Fortune: Payback, a weird feeling arises. You become blasé to all the violence and repetitive shooting you’ve been tortured with, and in a way, it numbs you to all of its flaws. It would be easy to describe how the enemy A.I. is shambolic, the level-design is bunk, the violence becomes gimmicky and all the other aspects – whether it’s visuals, sound, story or the multiplayer component – are inconsequential. But there is a much faster way to sum up this game. Even if you’re an avid gunslinger looking to fill the void with a violent shooter, do not buy this game under any circumstances. In this depressing case, Payback is so bad it’s just awful.
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VERDICT
Visual: 5/10
Audio: 4/10 Gameplay: 3/10 Longevity: 2/10 OVERALL: 3/10 |