Gameplay: 8/10
Soldier of Fortune does well in this department. When you are playing the game there is hardly and slow down at all, this only happens in the action intense sections of the game where you have to take out many hostiles as once. But you don't really realise this, you're too busy concentrating on the action. The problem with this game being ported onto the dreamcast is the controls. It's ok if you have bought the keyboard and mouse set up which makes playing the game a lot easier. But if you just have a normal dc pad then controlling all the actions becomes difficult. For example throwing a grenade when you have the flash pack equipped you have to do button combinations to get to the grenade then to throw it, by this time you have already had your body armour shot to pieces. But this doesn't bother me because I bought a keyboard and mouse. If you haven't the keyboard set up you should ask yourself if you really mind, it doesn't make the game too hard if you just have a dc pad, but the gameplay is a lot more fun if you have the right peripherals. The game overall is not too difficult, you will easily complete it first time round on normal then you might want to crank up the difficulty for a better challenge. There are no real puzzles, all you have to do is find a switch, flick it then find the door it opens. It gets harder when you find yourself taking on tanks and armoured rocket launcher troops, but it is fun all the way through. One other flaw is the incredibly slow load times, because the dc doesn't have the processing power of a pc you find your self waiting a minute at least for the level to load up, you can find ways to pass the time like getting a drink whilst it's loading up the stage.

Graphics: 8/10
The graphics on SoF are smooth and look like meduim quality pc graphics which are fine to look at. The level textures are crisp and the characters have some details on them which adds to the realism. The other thing you'll notice about the graphics and game engine is the realistic way in which troops explode into small pieces when you fire a rocket at them, this has to be one of the most gory games I've played so far. Grand Theft Auto didn't deserve to be an ''18'' game, SoF certainly does. If you don't particulary like realistic.....very realistic FPS games then you should stay away from this one. The explosion and gun effects are also realistic and add to the atmosphere of the game.

Replayability: 7/10
You will probably want to play through the game again on a higher difficulty level unless you made it hard for yourself on the outset of the game. The later levels are good fun to try again because they are challenging, and the final boss fight is entertaining. The whole game has replay value because of the large levels, this is only let down by the slow loading times that I mentioned earlier which might put you off.

Overall: 8/10
A great game, good conversion from the pc has retained the good graphics, sound and realistic deaths. It's just a shame it didn't remember to bring along faster load times....oh well, the ps2 version might improve on this version a bit.

Rent or Buy?
Buy, that is if you can find it. It is a great game the first few times you play through but gets a bit tiring if you are constantly playing it. This game is even better with a keyboard and mouse, so if you have those two peripherials then get this game, if you haven't got them, then make sure you buy them now with a copy of the game. You will be rewarded with hours of great blasting.