Söldner Multiplayer Beta Demo Tested! Overall Score: 8/10

Söldner Multiplayer Beta Demo Tested! Overall Score: 8/10
Posted :: May 14, 2004 by Haggs

Build Version Tested: US Beta Demo Patch 18016
Produced by JoWood Productions
Full Game Release Date: June 22, 2004

Introduction:
With so many military based first person shooter games on the market today, we decided that it was time to start testing them to find out which ones are worth playing and which one are all hype. Of all the military first person shooters, our favorites have been Battlefield 1942 (for its groundbreaking large-scale feel with nearly every drivable vehicle imaginable), and America’s Army (for its immense realism). We used these games as somewhat of a base for comparison, while keeping our minds open to new ideas, developments, and concepts. The Söldner multiplayer beta demo definitely utilized features from both games, and tied them together nicely. The overall resulting product was fun to play and offered a lot of promise. We pulled some of our favorite screenshots to how the game is setup and how it looks when played.

Computer Specs (Haggs):

Processor: AMD XP2700+ cooled with Thermaltake Volcano 11+
Memory: 512M DDR PC2700
Motherboard: MSI KT4V with onboard 10/100LAN + AC ’97 Audio KT4VL
Sound Card: Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS
Power Supply: Antec 400 Watts “SL400”
Primary Monitor: Dell UltraSharp 1800FP 18” LCD
Secondary Monitor: Mag Innovision 986FS 19” CRT
Speakers: Logitech 400Watt 4.1
Video Card: 128MB ATI Radeon 9800 by Sapphire Tech
Hard Drive 1: Maxtor 60 GB w/2MB Cache (Windows Only)
Hard Drive 2: Seagate 160 GB w/8MB Cache
DVD-ROM: 16x
CD-RW: 52x24x52x
Operating System: Windows XP Professional w/SP1

Screenshots:

With an Audigy 2 and Logitech EAX certified speakers at our disposal, we thought the EAX2 sound setting would be appropriate (oh and it most definitely was a good choice).

We thought that it would be fun to see just how pretty we could get these graphics to look. We maxed out the level of detail (LOD) and performance settings. The resolution remained at 1024x768x16-bit color to make sure the game would be comfortably playable, and it performed nicely on Haggs' computer.

Finding a server is pretty simple and straightforward. The game allows players to easily search for a server and connect without any external client.

This menu reminded us of Counter-Strike. Maybe it makes you think of that too?

Team selection is nothing special. The player has two choices to pick from, red and blue. Most servers force an even balance of players on each team.

Here's a quick shot of what 'average' gameplay looks like.

This is another one for good measure.

We thought it was creative that they allowed players to use both third person and first person. There are advantages to each depending on situation, location, and map.

Söldner offers an array of vehicles for players to cruise around in. The humvee is a classic in military based shooters these days.

We weren't expecting to find a drivable tractor, but we found one! There's nothing like running over poles, fences, and bridges in your new farmer-mobile!

Unfortunately, we ran into a teammate and the tractor blew up. We weren't sure why the developers felt that tractors should blow up when you hit teammates, but apparently they do.

Even in the multiplayer beta demo there are many different maps to play. Players can also connect to modded servers if they don't like the standard gameplay.

Conclusion:
Söldner definitely looks like a promising title to watch for on June 22, 2004. The multiplayer demo showed off many enticing features, such as pilotable vehicles, semi-realistic shooting (when your character runs for a while he begins to breathe heavily, which affects his aim), and gameplay variety. The teams are small enough for the player to feel that he or she can make a significant difference, yet large enough to allow for the importance of solid teamwork.

Rating on a scale of 1 (absolutely awful) to 10 (jaw-dropping)

Gameplay: 8/10
- JoWood Productions did a good job in the gameplay department. Your character can run, jump, crouch, lay, snipe, emote, signal, etc. While the game has many realistic aspects, they left a slight arcade style feel in the game to keep it fun. The vehicle physics are slightly off balance (or too on balance). We could drive over all sorts of obstacles and my tractor always seemed to end up in the upright position.

Graphics 6/10
- There are definate graphical issues to work out, but what JoWood has in place shows promise. We were able to look through hills if we adjusted our camera just right, and the vegetation looked mediocre even with maxed texture detail levels.

Sound 10/10
- The sound was phenomenal! There were literally 10+ choices for audio settings. The EAX 2 that we tried on our Audigy 2 and EAX certified speakers was beautiful. (The default 2D sound settings aren't half bad either.)

Replay Value 8/10
- Söldner offers a wide variety of maps and servers. Online play gives Söldner a high rating in this category. We ranked it with a 4 because while it is a fun game and ties in many solid aspects of today's great shooters, it lacks innovation.

Overall 8/10
- Söldner is a great game if you like military based shooters, but don't expect anything new.