# Soldier of Fortune: Payback

Soldier of Fortune: Payback is a first-person shooter video game and the third installment of the Soldier of Fortune franchise, following Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix. It is the first game of the series released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game was released on November 13, 2007. The game involves a revenge plot against a worldwide terrorist organization.
Unlike the previous two Soldier of Fortune games, which were developed by Raven Software using the id Tech 2 and id Tech 3 engines developed by id Software, Payback was developed by Cauldron HQ.
The game was met with tepid, mostly negative reviews, with many saying the game looked pretty but the gameplay was uninspired. Like the other two games in the series, Payback had great character modelling and gore effects. Owing to the level of violence, the Office of Film and Literature Classification of Australia refused to classify the game. After the game was effectively banned in Australia, a modified version was released on April 23, 2008, that removed radical violence and dismemberment.

## Plot

After freelance mercenary Thomas Mason (Kyle Hebert) is betrayed by his comrade during a mission, he swears revenge against a worldwide terrorist organization that brands all of its operatives with the same tattoo on their necks.

## Development

The game was never meant to be based on the Soldier of Fortune license. It started out as a budget game and was being worked on under the title Mercenaries Wanted. A few months before the game was released, Activision felt the game had potential for a full priced release and decided the game should use the series' branding. Everything else was done last minute, mainly the game's cutscenes attempting to tie this title with the previous releases story wise. John Mullins, the player character from the previous games, was supposed to be included as a type of mentor or partner working alongside Mason throughout the story, only for Mullins to reveal that years of fighting and the aftermath of the second game's ending has made him a greedy, bloodthirsty animal before he betrays and attempts to kill Mason. Mullins was not included for unknown reasons. Instead, a different, similar looking character by the name of Colonel Miller was used in his place, though the plot point of betrayal towards Mason remains.

## Reception

Aggregate score :
| Aggregator | Score |
| Metacritic | (PC) 45/100 (PS3) 50/100 (X360) 50/100 |
Review scores :
| Publication | Score |
| Eurogamer | 3/10 |
| GameSpot | 4.5/10 |
| GameSpy | |
| GamesRadar+ | |
| GameZone | 6/10 |
| IGN | 5.9/10 |
The game was met with negative reviews. Most critics praised the character modelling and gore effects. Jason Ocampo of GameSpot scored it a 4.5/10. He claimed that "This shooter is a great exercise in pattern memorization and trial-and-error gameplay." He also said it "looks pretty". Jay Frechette of 1up.com scored the game a 5.5/10, saying, "Soldier of Fortune doesn't cross the line of being a bad game, but it hardly ever breaks the surface of mediocrity either."

### Bans

On October 16, 2007, the game was refused classification by Australia's federal classification board, the Office of Film & Literature Classification (OFLC). This effectively banned the game throughout Australia as video games which have been refused OFLC classification cannot be sold, advertised or imported. Activision modified the game to meet OFLC standards and it was re-classified with an MA15+ rating. This version does not include radical violence; dismemberment has been completely removed. Activision released the modified game in Australia on April 23, 2008.
Soldier of Fortune: Payback was banned in Germany due to its high amount of violence.