[u]This a brief initial impression[/u]:
Shaping up to be one of the more realistic FPS's I've tried. Antagonist 'bots' are intelligent & challenging, even on the easiest setting. Naturally, I cranked up the adjustable gore-effects to the max lim. Hit damage appears to be quite realistic, based on what I've seen both personally, & in some crime scene photos, & is dependant upon shot placement & projectile caliber (Haven't used the M4 in-game yet). Thus far, the shotgun is the most brutal (close-in), which lends itself to decapitation when employed "correctly". Dying screams, gurgles, gushing blood, etc. are abundant.

Raven made no bones about these features when they started production, insisting that its target audience was/is specifically [u]adults[/u], & [b][u]not[/u] [u]kids[/u][/b]. The product box mentions "...36 damage zones & 16 dismemberment zones!", & "...per-pixel hit detection...," among other things. Hit detection truly influences the effectiveness of tactical methods  - naturally, it's more effective to op as quietly as possible. A nice touch is the ability to "lean" around corners to get a bead w/o having to step out & fully expose your character/player to incoming return fire. I used this feature quit often. Also, in addition to crouching theres also going prone, which lowers you down low to the ground, moving at a snail's pace, but quietly.

In relation to this, noise adds an interesting wrinkle: a small 'sound meter' on the player's HUD depicts the effective noise level generated by the player's motion. This is related to environmental conditions, but can be reduced by positioning the player/character lower to the ground - trading speed for stealth. This is a noteworthy feature, as the 'bots' seem to have pretty good senses.

Weapons are rendered in great detail. There's even a selector switch/toggle on the M4 for S-1-3-FA (As far as I know, there isn't a M4 trigger group featuring 3-rd burst [i]&[/i] FA modes together, but it probably [i]should[/i] have been done). It'll be interesting to see how it models for damage in-game.

*****

This game may garner unwanted attention from certain crusading legislaters & other "activists", IYKWIM. [puke]
Nonetheless, it [i]is[/i] an impressive piece of software engineering. My only gripe is its lack of joystick support. Though a keybord-mouse interface works fine, I tend to prefer my Logitech "Wingman Extreme 3D" joystic for FPS's, & would have preferred to use it in this game. Ah, well. At least I've got some of the real stuff in my personal toybox. [:D]

When I bought the game at CompUSA, I received its prequel, "SOF I", additionally at no extra charge! Apparently, it's some sort of promo.

*****

Check out the [url=http://pcmovies.ign.com/pc/video/soldieroffortune2_053102_001.mov]John Mullins interview[/url], wherein he describes his involvement in the game's development, as well as his take on the arsenal. He opines that the M4 is a good weapon for close-in jungle warfare, & that it provides a particularly good mix of capabilities when slung w/a M203; he says it's his favorite weapon among the game's arsenal. He also says the OICW is an unnecessarily complex & expensive piece. Apparently its user manual (I assume the maintenance manual is separately bound) is an "inch thick"!

*****

My verdict: 2 [beer]'s up. Play it. Enjoy it. Blast - or get blasted.

[heavy]

Hot damn!

I'm going to the store [s]tomorrow[/s] today.

I was a big fan of the SOF I ... If my computer can handle it, I'll be out to get SOF II soon.  The original was fairly messy, and it made a big difference where you hit what happened... one of the few games I 've seen that in.
dp

I'm currently on Mission 11, Kamchatka, which is 2 away from the end, so I've seen quite a bit of the game so far.

It is, without a doubt, sick. To my mind it's probably done the best job of trading off entertainment for realism of any FPS game to date, in almost every way. Like Master_Blaster says, the AI is very good, and you damn well better learn to react to it. If you think you can camp out in a covered area for more than three or four seconds picking off bad guys, you will hear the sounds of a grenade pinging next to you, and then you will die. They use cover and concealment, and they will run if necessary. Hell, I've seen badguys who'd dropped their rifles from being hit pick them up and start shooting again! Finally, an FPS that can really get the blood pumping. You can't just blast away at people, you need to think, plan, and place your shots accordingly. However, it's not like CS where if you fuck up one tiny bit, you die....they give a nice amount of play in the difficulty.

Only thing that bothers me....why in the hell can't you shoot from prone??

The one thing that honestly freaked me out....there is a mission where you have to infiltrate a tanker, and I was checking through the different rooms belowdecks. I came across a room with a guard sleeping...naturally I readied my Mk23 with silencer and popped him in the head. FUCKING BRAINS came out. Blood splatter and BRAIN MATTER FELL OUT OF THE HEAD! Absolute nasty.....big props for raven.

And I have to tell you, I was very interested to see the OICW modeled. I think they did a good job, since it plays like all the comments people make about it. Bulky, unwieldy, and a bit of a pain. You can't fire the grenade launcher until you've lazed a target first to get range. But, it's a nice tradeoff, with 20x mag and nightvision built-in.

The M4 I think was modeled pretty well. Headshot kills...it usually takes 2-3 body shots to kill. Good accuracy and distance, but I think the M203 wasn't modeled properly. Times are I'd lob one into a small room with a guy in it...lean in and he's still alive. Sometimes it almost takes a direct hit to kill with it.

All in all....BUY THIS GAME NOW!

Master_Blaster,

   If you were to add a game pad to play SOF2, I think you would find your ass being handed to you regularly.  It's been tested over and over on games such as Counterstrike and Quake III.  Keyboard/Mouse respond so much faster and are so much more efficient.  Even going as far as adding an optical mouse can increase efficiency!  So stay away from game pads unless you are playing a sports game.  

We play online all the time usually at:
homelan1003(dm..no pickups so prearm with your fav weapon) or homelan1009(dm lowgrav)...I play under the alias ITFDave or abigbastard. My friends use ITF tags as well. Hope to CYA there.

I'm referring specifically to flight sim-style joysticks, not gamepads. A joystick's trigger & hat switches seem to work well for me. The mouse is always best for aiming & quick L/R directional changes. But, yes, the keyboard-mouse is a great interface combo for FPS, CQB-style firearm sims. In the case of "JK2: Outcast", I think I'd still prefer the joystick, mainly for the lightsaber melees.

actually what you really want is a razor boomslang 1000 or 2000. they are extremly accurate mice. they are of the ball varriety.