Soldier of Fortune Payback fights its way back onto retail shelves

Mike Bantick
Thursday, 22 November 2007 11:04

Your IT - Entertainment

Tweaks made to the ultra-violent soon to be released Soldier of Fortune Payback have been enough for the OFLC to give the game an MA 15+ (Strong violence, coarse language and sexual references) rating.  This means the third in the series of realistic shooters is back in the game.

Having the checkered past of previous flirts with censorship did not get Soldier of Fortune Payback off to a good start.

In Australia where no rating exists for content deemed above the MA 15+ rating, means that video games that fall into this non classified realm are effectively banned from commercial sale.

Both the original and follow up (Double Helix) pushed the rating system to the extreme.  With content such as exploding skulls and dismemberment being par for the course in a SoF game.

With the advancement of technology, comes further flexibility on the gore scale which Payback looks to be exploiting.

Hence the initial banning of the game by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) in Australia.

Emergeing from the coding dungeons, distributor Activision has presented a revised version of Payback to the OFLC.  The result is a MA 15+ rating and a big, collective Activision sigh.

More information about Soldier of Fortune Payback follows.

Soldier of Fortune Payback thrusts players into adrenaline-pumping mercenary combat action after a routine escort mission goes horribly wrong. The game evolves the signature gameplay of its predecessors with refined controls, tension-packed warzones, and an enemy damage system that may be shocking even to experienced FPS players. Players are armed with an impressive arsenal of more than 30 weapons, including sub-machine guns, assault rifles, and projectile explosives, as they hunt down an insidious enemy that respects neither laws, nations, nor armies. The game also offers individual and team based online modes including: Death Match, Team Death Match, Elimination, Team Elimination, Capture the Flag and Demolition.

FEATURES:  
 
 • Next-Gen  –  Built  to  harness  the  power  of  next  generation  consoles,  Soldier  of  Fortune  Payback  features  the  most  outrageous  modeling  system  of  any  of  the  previous  Soldier  of  Fortune  installments  allowing  for  shocking  damage.   Enemies  not  only  react  to  the  specific  area  in  which  they’ve  been  hit  but  also  to  the  power  of  the  weapon  they’ve  been  hit  with.   Players  will  need  to  make  sure they’ve  finished  their  opponents  off  as  they  will  continue  to  fight  until  a  lethal  blow  has  been  delivered.     
 
 • Weapons  –  Players  will  have  at  their  fingertips  one  of  the  most  lethal  arsenals  of  weapons  ever  assembled  with  over  30  weapons  including sub?machine  guns,  assault  rifles,  sniper  rifles,  projectile  explosives,  weapon  attachments  and  cutting?edge  tactical  weapons.    
 • Multiplayer  –  Your  favorite  individual  and  team  based  online  modes  to  play  including:  Death  Match,  Team  Death  Match,  Elimination,  Team  Elimination,  Capture  the  Flag  and  Demolition.     Players  may  choose  from  many  options  and  server  settings  to  play  the  game  the  way  they  want  to  and  can  choose  between  playing  online  or  over  a  local  network.  

  • Missions  –  Players  will  find  themselves  thrown  into  authentic  mercenary  situations  in  real  world  hotspots  around  the  globe  and  will  find  themselves  in  high  intensity  combat  situations  with  enemies  virtually  around  every  corner  including  terrorists,  mobsters,  insurgents  and  enemy soldiers.   Players  will  need  to  survive  an  ambush  and  rescue  a  diplomat,  infiltrate  a  terrorist  operation,  go  on  a  search  and  destroy  mission  and  much  more.    
 
 • Story  –  Compelling  new  storyline  that  adds  to  the  Soldier  of  Fortune  legacy.   Thomas  Mason  works  as  a  freelancer  for  a  mercenary  group  called  “The  Shop.”   When  a  routine  escort  mission  goes  horribly  wrong,  he  finds  himself  deeply  entrenched  in  an  underworld  struggle  he  can  only  begin  to  understand.   Thomas  Mason  and  his  handler  Cassandra  Decker  must  uncover  an  extremist  plot  aimed  at  throwing  the  world  into  global  chaos  an  creating  a  world  full  of  militaristic  conflicts  where  mercenaries  will  be  in  high  demand.

Keep a watchful eye out for Soldier of Fortune Payback early 2008 for Xbox 360, (AU$79.95), PC (AU49.95) and PS3 (AU$89.95)