Standard DM and CTF
Deathmatch
Regular deathmatch in Soldier of Fortune can best be characterized as fast and frantic. Players run around the map with a good deal of speed, and the power of the weapons means a very brisk pace when it comes to the frag count. Locational damage and body armor is taken into account somewhat - head shots seem to do more damage than shots to the body, and armor can really take the sting out of a 9mm pistol round or a distant shotgun blast. As you'd expect, the rocket launcher is a one shot, one kill type of weapon, but its bulkiness and low amount of ammo combined with the player speed keep the RL from being an overly dominant weapon.
![Soldier of Fortune Multiplayer [ Nuke a ninja @ 640 x 480 ] > View Full-Size in another window.](images/5-s.jpg) Nuke a ninja
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![Soldier of Fortune Multiplayer [ Don't worry, the discon icon <BR>comes up with the map change @ 640 x 480 ] > View Full-Size in another window.](images/6-s.jpg) Don't worry, the discon icon comes up with the map change
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Item Use
Savvier players will master the use of the items such as grenades, plastic explosives, and flashbangs. Rather than charge around a corner at a waiting opponent and risk losing the Mexican standoff, it's much easier to bounce a grenade around there and blow your enemy to kingdom come. You can also drop C4 in order to discourage aggressive enemies who like to chase you.
![Soldier of Fortune Multiplayer [ Body armor is visible as yellow vests in multi @ 640 x 480 ] > View Full-Size in another window.](images/7-s.jpg) Body armor is visible as yellow vests in multi
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![Soldier of Fortune Multiplayer [ Slug thrower can be nasty @ 640 x 480 ] > View Full-Size in another window.](images/8-s.jpg) Slug thrower can be nasty
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Weapon balance
Overall weapon balance seems excellent. Every weapon is specialized for a certain situation. The sniper rifle can penetrate body armor fairly well. The shotgun is deadly on unarmored opponents, as is the super fast 9mm submachine gun. The slug thrower that we found under powered in the single player game is excellent in multiplayer. Two or three well placed slugs will kill anything, and the secondary fire (white phosphorus grenade) is deadly. The only thing that really bothered us was the standard knife. We see far too many players getting way too many kills by running around and slashing people with the knife. Sometimes it seems as if it's a better idea to whip out the ol' blade than to use the pea shooter (9mm pistol).
CTF
The CTF maps in Soldier of Fortune were somewhat of a disappointment. The flags were often buried too deep into the enemy base for this game. A competent defense could stymie most any attack. It's not like this is Quake 3 with the quad and regen or UT with shield belts here. People die quickly in Soldier of Fortune, so if anything, the flag ought to be a smidge easier to capture. If buried flags weren't the problem then convoluted level design was. Overall we can't think of any reason why people would prefer to play SoF CTF over either Quake 3 CTF or UT CTF. You're much better off in the other multiplayer modes.
![Soldier of Fortune Multiplayer [ A flag @ 640 x 480 ] > View Full-Size in another window.](images/9-s.jpg) A flag
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![Soldier of Fortune Multiplayer [ The Germany CTF map @ 640 x 480 ] > View Full-Size in another window.](images/10-s.jpg) The Germany CTF map
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