Soldier of Fortune: Payback [Xbox 360]

"When Soldier of Fortune came out - roughly eight years ago - it caused quite a stir because of the amount of blood, gore en sheer excessive brutality the game had to offer. In this first person action shooter you starred as an elite mercenary with state of the art weaponry at your disposal. Your mission? To fight evil terrorists all over the world. Any unfortunate enemy you encountered most likely ended up having various limbs blown off, thus undergoing a gruesome death.

Suffice to say the game was a hit, so a sequel was on the way. Soldier of Fortune: Double Helix came out two years later and choose a slightly different path. The gameplay took a more tactical way, the over-the-top violence was tomed down a little to a more "realistic" level and enemy A.I. had been improved in such manner that you had to think a little, before going in Rambo-style. So having liked both those games, I recently visited my local gamestore and purchased the latest instalment in the series, Soldier of Fortune Payback for the Xbox 360. Man, was I going to be disappointed...

Soldier of Fortune Payback puts you in the combat boots of a mercenary who has to find out who double-crossed him and why, and thus killing everyone who's stupid enough to cross his path. That's it really, sounds simple, eh?

Speaking of simple, the enemies you're going to face in Payback are merely just cannon fodder. Every now and then you see someone use cover, but most of the time they just come running straight at you - repeating the same phrases over and over again - giving you all the time to aim for those limbs and fire. It even occurred a few times that enemies where hiding behind wooden fences or other small objects, thinking they where save but actually making it ridiculously easy to hit them. Paybacks' A.I. is among the worst and cheesiest I've ever seen.

As bad as the gameplay may be, the visuals this game has to offer are actually of a much higher standard. When you first take a look at the graphics in Payback you can't deny that it does look good. But play a little more and you will soon notice the bland, boring and uninspiring level design this game has to offer. Every mission is linear beyond belief and there are very few alternative routes you can take during a mission. And once you've finally finished the game, there isn't anything to bring you back for more, besides maybe unlocking Achievements or trying the usual multiplayer modes like Deathmatch and Capture the Flag.

All in all, without the exaggerated violence, blood and gore, Soldier of Fortune Payback is just a mediocre first person shooter that will bore you sooner than you think. Still interested? Keep in mind that there are far better shooters available for your beloved Xbox 360."