Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix

Official Xbox Magazine

A case of Jekyll and Hyde. Single player isn't bad, but the multiplayer is head and shoulders cooler than than the PC version, thanks largely to the clever use of the Xbox Communicator. [June 2003, p.76]

Game Informer

Any game with 55 single-player missions is worth checking out. Add to that equation Double Helix's excellent graphical system and blistering gameplay and you've got a hit on your hands. [July 2003, p.116]

GamePro

Sometimes enemies take time to notice you, but once they do, the A.I. is fairly impressive.

Gamezilla!

This is a very traditional realistic FPS, lacking in any serious innovation, relying on the same gameplay that's worked before. However, ultimately, I found it a bit boring.

Game Chronicles

Rather disappointing. A lot of the strategic edge has been stripped away from the gameplay and there is no new content or bonus features to entice PC gamers to reinvest in a new copy.

Gamestyle

It does lose points for omitting variety within its multiplayer setup.

GameZone

Sadly, the graphics don’t even come close to the sharp visuals of the PC version--something the Xbox could have easily replicated.

Play Magazine

Ultimately feels like it is a year old, and its technical limitations hurt the finer parts of the game. [July 2003, p.72]

GameShark

It's got great potential, even high expectations, and in every department there is some glaring detail that cannot be overlooked. Had there been just a little more time spent with it, tweaking the small things here and there, it could have been a surefire hit.

Armchair Empire

Comes up shooting blanks with a very mediocre adaptation that has few redeemable features outside its strong multiplayer Xbox Live presence.

G4 TV

Are we operating under regulation Xbox parameters here? Visually speaking, everything's bland, blocky, and the visibility is poor. The game is not pretty. Enemy movements are sluggish as if they're suffering from joint pain as they fire at you.

GMR Magazine

The bad news is this: The game's graphics look dated. Most characters are blocky and reek of a poor PC port job. And Xbox Live support...needs an overhaul. [Aug 2003, p.74]

TotalGames.net

An example to developers the world over that just because there is gratuitous violence, the game is not necessarily a winner. A great PC title can still flop on the Xbox, even with the addition of Live gameplay.

GameNow

Although SOF2 is ultimately just disposable entertainment - the kind of game you'll forget about minutes after beating it. [Aug 2003, p.33]

Into Liquid Sky

With lengthy load times, rare slowdown, the occasional clipping problem and an imperfect graphics engine, the basic "corridor shooter" feel of the single player mode can be bogged down and even become tedious to some.

IGN

When you have "Halo" and "Ghost Recon" in your library, there's little reason to spend $50 bucks on a very average shooter with sub-standard Xbox graphics.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

Fortune II doesn't have the same visual polish or addictive team-based onlne play of ["Return to Castle Wolfenstein"]. [Aug 2003, p.112]

TeamXbox

In simple terms, this game was brought to the Xbox unpolished, incomplete, and unready. There’s plenty to go through in SoF2, but it’s too bland and it isn’t worth spending numerous hours trying to complete.

GameSpy

Even the overdone gore isn't realistic enough for the morally unhinged. It's a lackluster experience and part-time embarrassment to the hardware potential of this game system.

GamingWorld X

The poor graphics and ho-hum gameplay really killed any chance this game had to compete with the fantastic games arriving this summer. Even Xbox Live compatibility couldn't rescue it from the realm of inadequacy.

GameSpot

Double Helix doesn't do anything that hasn't already been done better in Activision's own Return to Castle Wolfenstein.

Cheat Code Central

SOF II is not much more than a glorified, or should I say, gore-ified shooting gallery. It's not unlike "House of the Dead" only less exciting.

Gamer's Pulse

Combine a quickly aging game with a sloppy porting process and you have a lackluster game that can only claim high amounts of gore as a selling feature, although even that comes off flat.

Gaming Age

Just when I thought I might be able to get back into the FPS mix, I feel like I’m drowning in these poor games instead. Your best bet is to just stay away and wait for some originality to poke it’s head out.

Eurogamer

Relentless FPS overlords might find their pulses raised briefly by the thought of endless, generic shooting and violence, but the rest of you would be well advised to direct your time and money elsewhere.

Xbox Nation Magazine

This is as stock and uninteresting as it gets, nothing more than the staple prescripted key/switch hunt you've already seen 100 times. [Aug 2003, p.77]