Soldier of Fortune (VG)

Soldier of Fortune PC Boxart Release Date: 2000 Developer: Raven Software Publisher: Activision Series: Soldier of Fortune Platforms: Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Linux, Sega Dreamcast Genre: First-person shooter

Soldier of Fortune is a 2000 first-person shooter game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision originally for Microsoft Windows. It was later ported to Linux, the Sega Dreamcast and PlayStation 2. The game follows mercenary John Mullins, an operative for "The Shop", who is tasked with taking down a terrorist threat. Soldier of Fortune was highly regarded for its "GHOUL" engine damage modelling, allowing for an in-depth level of body dismemberment when killing enemies, which is rarely matched even nowadays.

The following weapons appear in the video game Soldier of Fortune:

Overview

Soldier of Fortune uses a somewhat odd "weapon slot" system; there is a limited number of slots, and each weapon takes up a certain number of them. Weapons such as handguns only occupy one slot, while heavier weapons use up to three. Grenades are stored in a separate inventory that is shared with other utility items like medkits. All types of items can be carried at once, and how many of them can be carried is dictated on a per-item basis. There is also a knife that is always equipped and not counted within the inventory system.

At the start of each mission, the player chooses a loadout to deploy with, which is limited to five weapon slots and three item slots.

Most weapons have a "weapon special" function that is bound to the mousewheel by default. These usually consist of actions such as Mullins changing the position of the weapon (which Mullins sometimes does on his own, and doesn't actually affect their performance in any way) or performing some sort of animation with his gun.

Handguns

Glock 17C

The Glock 17C serves as one of two starting weapons in the singleplayer campaign (before players can equip their own loadout) and is also the starting weapon in multiplayer. In-game it is referred to as the "Black Panther 9mm" and its description attributes its origin to England (unlike the real Glock which was designed in Austria). Despite being loaded with what appears to be an extended 33-round magazine, it actually only holds 18 shots. The Glock appears to be John Mullins' weapon of choice, as he carries it in all of the game's cutscenes. The pistol has two "stances" that can be switched between using the "weapon special" function; these are a standard one-handed position, and a more centered two-handed grip.

Early footage and screenshots shows that originally the Glock held more rounds (at least 28 as seen in one screenshot) and fired in fully automatic before this was changed in the final game; some cutscenes still show Mullins firing his weapon in full-auto. Some promotional renders also appear to show Mullins with a suppressed Glock that was seemingly removed from the final game.

Glock 17C - 9x19mm

Render of the "9mm Black Panther" from the game's manual. Note that it lacks the extended magazine that is present in-game. Also note the slanted slide serrations and odd step in the slide which are not present on a real Glock.

John holding the Glock in his first position, which is with one hand.

Reloading in the first position.

John holding his Glock in the second position.

Reloading in the second position. The chamber is merely a texture that always depicts it as shut, even when the slide is fully back.

John Mullins holds his pistol in a cutscene.

A Glock on the ground; the in-world models of weapons are very primitive, with low texture detail.

Desert Eagle Mark VII

The Desert Eagle Mark VII appears in the game as the "Silver Talon .44"; despite this .44 chambering, it holds 9 rounds like .357 Magnum version. It is the strongest handgun in the game, if not one of the more powerful hitscan weapons, easily killing most human enemies with a single well placed shot. It is also very accurate, making it perfect for scoring headshots. In some early levels, the few enemies who hold handguns will have their weapon determined by the handgun the player uses - for example, if the player chooses the Talon, enemies will carry the Talon and not the 9mm. The "special" function is switching between the left and right hand, as John Mullins is apparently ambidextrous with this weapon.

Desert Eagle MK VII with nickel finish - .44 Magnum

Holding the 'Talon .44'. Its firing animations incorrectly depict it as firing in double-action only.

John reloads the 'Talon .44' with a highly unorthodox method, where he grabs the slide with his left hand and replaces the magazine with his right.

Racking the slide.

John starts showing off by shooting the Desert Eagle with his left hand.

The reload is decidedly more regular when used left-handed. Note the lack of a safety on the gun's right side.

Racking the slide.

The world model of the Desert Eagle.

Unknown Pistol

An unknown pistol (resembing a subcompact Glock like the Glock 26) appears next to an issue of Soldier of Fortune magazine in the game's ending screen.

Glock 26 (for comparison) - 9x19mm Parabellum

The Pistol on the game's end screen.

Submahine Guns

FAMAE Mini-SAF

The FAMAE Mini-SAF appears as the "Raptor SMG" and is rather oddly chambered in 5.56mm (but still ejects pistol-caliber casings). It is a decent all-around weapon, sporting moderate damage and accuracy with a high rate of fire, and is one of the more common weapons in the game, being carried by a large number of enemies. Like the handguns, John occasionally shifts the weapon's position, affecting the fire and reload animations.

In the game files, the Mini-SAF is referred to as an "assault rifle"; this is likely the reason for its 5.56mm chambering.

FAMAE Mini-SAF - 9x19mm

John holding the Mini-SAF. Its rear sight lacks a peephole notch and the receiver is missing its selector.

Reloading the SAF; John holds onto the foregrip and replaces the magazine with his main hand. The right side is a mirror of the left, with the only difference being a charging handle added on.

John brings back the bolt partially off-screen.

The more centered alternative position for the Mini-SAF.

John checks out the rounds in the magazine's window during an idle animation. The size of the rounds are closer to 5.7x28mm than 5.56.

Surprisingly for a 2000 video game, the magazine actually does visually deplete.

The world model of the FAMAE.

MAC-11

A MAC-11 with a suppressor is called the "Suppressed SMG". It incorrrectly fires from a closed bolt and also has a slower RPM than the real M-11's 1200. In-game, this weapon is commonly found in the hands of smarter AI generally. The MAC-11 is also Hawk's weapon of choice, carrying it in all of the game's cutscenes. The MAC fires a 2-round burst when tap-fired, despite the sound effect being a 3-round burst. It uses the same "9mm" ammunition as the Glock.

RPB Industries M11A1 - .380 ACP

John draws the MAC-11 by tossing it in the air with his left hand and catching it with his right.

John holds the suppressed MAC-11. The in-game model featuers a strangely thick lower receiver and no front sight (but its protector is still present).

Reloading the MAC-11. The suppressor seems to shift slightly when doing this. Also note that John's hand seems to move right through the suppressor as if it's not even there.

A guard holds the MAC-11 while saluting.

Shotguns

Franchi SPAS-12

A SPAS-12 with a green jungle camouflage is the only shotgun in the game, and is named the "B-42 (Berserker) 12-gauge shotgun". Unlike many of its videogame depictions, it fires in semi-auto mode, although John still pumps the weapon when equipping or reloading. It holds 8 shells, despite being modelled with a short barrel and magazine tube that should only hold 6. It is one of the two weapons given at the start of the introductory mission, and remains very common throughout most missions. The game's description of the weapon mentions the SPAS-12's folding stock and its hook, although neither are present on the in-game gun. The weapon's special function involves John tossing the weapon up and catching it.

Franchi SPAS-12 with short barrel - 12 gauge

Manual render of the "B-42 12-gauge shotgun". It appears to have a longer heatshield and trigger guard. Note also the safety present on the receiver instead of the trigger guard.

John holding the SPAS-12.

Reloading the SPAS-12, John repeats Gordon Freeman's mistake of inserting shells through the shotgun's heatshield. For some reason in this animation, the entire gun seems to extend and stretch. John also always inserts one more shell than is necessary to reload.

As with several video game depictions of semi-auto SPAS-12s, John ends the reload process by erroneously working the pump.

World model of the SPAS-12.

Rifles

Beretta Sniper

The Beretta Sniper appears as the "Eagle Eye Sniper Rifle". The in-game model is too generic and low-detail to accurately make out as a Beretta Sniper, though the game's strategy guide has a detailed render depicting it as such. Whether this is simply a technical limitation, the game model being a low-detail placeholder that never got changed, or was remodelled to look more generic to avoid licensing issues is unknown. It somehow fires semi-automatically; more bizarrely, Mullins does rack the bolt action but only during the rifle's equip animation and at the end of a reload. It holds 6 rounds which is only possible if both the chamber was loaded and the magazine was full, though this isn't possible with the in-game method of reloading the Beretta, as Mullins will always insert rounds into the magazine through the ejection port (as if the rifle has a fixed magazine) but before illogically racking the previously shut bolt. Presumably to avoid introducing a new ammo type into the game, the Beretta Sniper here is incorrectly chambered for 5.56x45mm; despite this, it does far more damage-per-shot than both the FAMAE and FN Minimi which all use the same the same ammo in-game, with a single sniper shot on Challenging mode taking out the entirety of Mullins' armor or health bars. The weapon has a hi-tech scope that has an adjustable zoom level, which is controlled by using the weapon special function when scoped in.

Beretta 501 Sniper - 7.62x51mm

The "Eagle Eye" in the strategy guide. Its 1-kilogram heavier mass can probably be attributed to the new scope it has.

Holding the "Eagle Eye".

Reloading the "Eagle Eye" is done by inserting rounds individually like a traditional fixed-magazine rifle despite the Beretta Sniper feeding from detachable magazines. Additionally, Mullins only inserts 2 cartridges (which somehow loads all 6) regardless of remaining rounds, even though the SPAS-12 correctly has Mullins insert an appropriate number of shells until the weapon is fully loaded.

The scope of the "Eagle Eye", which also includes a HUD for the ammo count. The bar at the left shows the amount of zoom.

The extremely generic world model that has little resemblance to the strategy guide's render.

Machine Guns

FN Minimi

The FN Minimi appears as the "M-75 Guardian heavy machinegun" and is the only "5.56" weapon to actually be chambered in 5.56mm in reality. The weapon is not only highly-damaging, but also incredibly accurate, though it has a somewhat slow rate of fire compared to the Mini-SAF and still only holds 40 rounds. It also posses a fictional grenade launcher built into the handguard that can be used to fire white phosphorous grenades (which is counted as 10 5.56mm bullets when fired).

FN Minimi - 5.56x45mm NATO

Holding the FN Minimi. Mullins appears to only hold the weapon with one hand. Note also the bizarre front sight arrangement; the actual weapon's front sight has been turned into a simple stick-up post, while an additional front sight ring has been added just behind the flash hider.

The side of the FN Minimi as Mullins bounces it as an idle animation, which also shows that the belt correctly depletes. The integrated grenade launcher can also be seen at the left, depicted as a rather odd disc.

The world model of the FN Minimi, somewhat curiously lacking the grenade launcher present in first-person.

Browning M2HB

What appear to be low detail Browning M2HB machine guns appear on quad mount turrets (which are all static aside from the final boss having some that attack Mullins) and also appear to be mounted on the game's tanks.

Browning M2HBs mounted in an M45 Quad Mounted System - .50 BMG

Browning M2HB in vehicle mount - .50 BMG

Launchers

"M202A2 FLASH"

The in-game "M202A2 FLASH" is a fictional rocket launcher clearly inspired by the M202 FLASH, and seemingly appears as some sort of fictional successor. The front of the weapon has a similar 4-barrel setup to the M202 but a more traditional "tube" design for the rest of the launcher. Instead of rockets being loaded into the rear of the weapon, this M202 is fed near the front by a detachable 4-round cylinder that drops out for reloading. Why exactly a quad-barrel launcher requires a cylinder that rotates after firing rockets is unclear. As is common in other game depictions of the M202 FLASH, it is depicted as firing explosive rockets. Primary fire attacks launch one rocket at a time, while the secondary fire rapidly launches all 4 rockets consecutively; this is a feature that the real-world M202 is often incorrectly stated to have.

Oddly, the launcher's name isn't consistent: the in-game description just refers to it as the "M202A2", the strategy guide calls it the "M202A2 "FLASH" Rocket Launcher", while the actual in-game text when picking up or dropping the launcher calls it the "M-1943 rocket launcher", and the ammo is called "NN-22" rockets when picked up and "66mm explosive rocket" in the inventory menu.

M202 FLASH - 66mm

Holding the M202A2. It sports a (unusable) futuristic scope that is built into the M202's frame.

Reloading the M202A2; the entire cylinder drops through sheer force of will. Visible here are the launcher's bores, which are too small and misaligned with the M202's actual muzzle.

The low-detail world model of the M202A2, whose cylinder has transformed into a physics-breaking cube.

"Slugthrower"

The "Slugthrower", or its full in-game designation of "Heavy Hitter H-24 Slugthrower", is a fictional cylinder-fed gun apparently chambered for Gyrojet rocket rounds which themselves are named as "Gyrojet Minirockets". Visually, this weapon is a grey/black longarm with a skeletal stock and bears features from the Pancor Jackhammer such as the grip/trigger assembly, 90-degree bracket behind said grip, and (albeit shrunken) carry handle. It is however, not bullpup and the cylinder is not grooved. This gun's mechanics are odd as its cylinder is replaceable about as easily as a box magazine, and its barrel reciprocates backwards when fired. In handling animations, Mullins has a frequent habit of slap-spinning the cylinder and appears to only hold the weapon with one hand.

Functionally, there are two "fire modes" for the Slugthrower; primary attack fires (in full-auto) low-explosive projectiles for anti personnel purposes, while secondary fire launches a slower-moving arcing projectile (which suspiciously behaves like a ballistic grenade) with a higher explosion radius and the ability to stun targets caught in the blast. Using the secondary attack will inexplicably consume two rounds of the Gyrojet ammo, and emits a muzzle flash at the front end of the handguard (!) as if the weapon was fitted with an underbarrel grenade launcher. The Slugthrower's primary fire mode is very deadly against armored targets and becomes as much of a threat against the player as enemies in the final level are equipped with them.

Pancor Jackhammer toolroom prototype with MP5SD handguard - 12 gauge

Render of the "Slugthrower". For some odd reason, the barrel tapers right before its compensator.

Mullins stares at the remains of a victim to his Gyrohammer. Contradictingly, the weapon in first-person has a tan finish to its body unlike the render above,

World model of the "Slugthrower".

"M343D Flamegun"

A seemingly fictional model of flamethrower is available as the "M343D Flamegun". Primary fire works as expected for a flamethrower, while secondary fire consumes 8 units of ammo and launches fireballs that arc into the air then explode upon landing.

Via cheats, Mullins holds his Flamegun behind an unaware enemy flamethrower user.

Explosives

C4

C4 charges are referred to as "Plastique" in-game and are used as a "heavy grenade", having a longer timer than normal grenades and not being thrown as far but with a larger blast radius.

Manual render of the C4.

M67 Hand Grenade

The M67 hand grenade appears as the "HE-36 Fragmentation Grenade". The model is also used for the grenades launched by the FN Minimi.

M67 'Baseball' Fragmentation Grenade

A crate of M67 grenades. They lack pins and the lever isn't removed when the grenades are thrown.

Mk 2 Hand Grenade

During a cutscene, Mullins tosses what appears to be a Mk 2 hand grenade at Sabre fleeing into the sewers.

Mk 2 "Pineapple" World War II-made High-Explosive.

Armory

The armory present in the New York front for the Shop has two textures of unusable weapons applied to the various shelves and sometimes mirrored. This includes what appears to be a Heckler & Koch P7, a Heckler & Koch CAWS, an AK-47-type rifle, a FAMAS, an early MP5, a Remington 870 with a pistol grip, a Heckler & Koch HK69A1, a suppressed MAC-10, an oversized Walther MPL and Uzi, a Carl Gustaf M2, and 2 generic swing-out revolvers.

The weaponry in the armory.