Press the space bar and a neat window literally slides out and provides you detailed information about the currently selected soldier. In addition you can review your mission orders, save the current mission and exit the game from here. I keep the SOI closed because it takes up a great deal of the screen and blocks a lot of the map. The gameplay graphics are pretty good. The map graphics are detailed and colorful.
Snow looks like snow, desert like desert and temperate like temperate.
Buildings look like buildings and blown up stuff looks like it was blown up. The terrain objects available are amazing. Explosions are kind of pixelated and hokey looking but all in all they look pretty good too. The soldiers are rendered in 3D and look like you would expect an infantryman to look right down to the weapon he carries. The still art is another matter entirely.