Is Soldiers of Fortune (The Chaos Engine) Worth Playing Today? - SNESdrunk

Thanks to KM for the request via Patreon.
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[@Bloodletter8]

My favorite part was how they teased the biomech T-rex in the beginning and you NEVER SEE IT AGAIN

[@haggis4952]

It was in a version

[@SparksNZeros]

This game is a huge happy memory for me as I played it with my dad, we were always gutted the concept never got developed into comics or cartoons as we felt it had such a unique vibe that would fit right in with batman TAS and Shadowrun both popular ips of the time

[@martinmayhemsretrorundown]

I played this on the Amiga back in the day. Here in the UK one of the characters was a pastor but he became a scientist in the US. A good old game. Cheers for the video and keep on gaming👍

[@strangelyaroused]

This looks legitimately fun. Can’t believe the endless amount of games you can still feature on here.

[@IndependentWhistleblower]

This was one of my very favorite games as a kid and I had many that are now considered among the best hidden gems like rocket knight adventures. There’s simply nothing that white FEELS like soldiers of fortune. Never played the snes version

[@starlightwitch12]

The US version of The Chaos Engine (as Soldiers of Fortune) had the Preacher's collar removed and was renamed as Scientist, also there was a Mega Drive port of The Chaos Engine 2 that was never released. This game was also released on the Amiga CD32 as well. Richard Joseph did the music on all versions of the game.

[@boblowes]

It's not so much a steam engine that Baron Fortesque builds. Basically, the backstory to the game is that a time-traveller from the future arrives in Victorian Britain. His Time Machine is retro-engineered to learn it's secrets by the Royal Society - allowing it's leader, Baron Fortesque (who's basically Charles Babbage) to build a steampunk analog computer - the Chaos Engine - which becomes a self-aware A.I, and able to manipulate matter, time and space, creating an alternate timeline. Mercenaries attempt to put time back on the correct path be destroying the Chaos Engine and Fortesque, who has ben merged with the Chaos Engine itself. It's a really solid game. Well worth a play. Early versions had three-player gameplay, but that was stripped back to two-player, as three player was probably fairly taxing for the hardware of the time. The sequel was a bit confused, I thought. Instead of two-player co-operative gameplay, it became two-player split screen competitive gameplay, and it just wasn't as much fun.

[@nayyarrashid4661]

I didn't understand one but of the story back then but I kept playing the game and getting better. Finally I got so used to the gameplay that I actually beat it but I still remember being baffled and intrigued by the ending

[@Creshex8]

Where did you find the backstory? A year ago I tried to find it but came up empty.

[@Creshex8]

@@nayyarrashid4661 for such a story that seemed like an afterthought after the game went underway, it always left me in awe. Initially some dead dinosaur appeared out of nowhere. Then it was discovered after studying it that the creature was completely unknown in origin.

[@Dzumeister]

I LOVE the look of this game. Not only does it have a sweet steampunk aesthetic, but the art and colors are so great

[@nickdriscoll6131]

“And I wanna thank you for watching and have a great rest of your day!” Just felt wrong not having that at the end

[@antoineperichon]

Bitmap bros' games are really cool with unique "punk" look ! Great stuff!

[@MartinRodriguez-qk4hc]

There is currently a patch that fixes oversaturated colors in the Sega Genesis version of The Chaos Engine to make them look more like the Amiga version. The patch also fixes the speed of music when the game is running at 60 FPS, from an emulator. The PAL version of the Sega console retains the original title of The Chaos Engine. It is in this same version where the patch must be applied, which can be downloaded from the following page: www.romhacking.net/hacks/2754/ Having the ROM file, the patch can be applied from this page: www.marcrobledo.com/RomPatcher.js/ The Sega Genesis version has some unique features, such as the ability to choose between three levels of difficulty and a wider field of view (around 20%), which substantially improves gameplay, by being able to see enemies appear from a greater distance. I sincerely believe that with the application of this patch, this version now becomes the best option when it comes to enjoying this classic. Actualmente hay un parche que corrige los colores sobresaturados en la versión de Sega Genesis de The Chaos Engine para que se parezcan más a la versión de Amiga. El parche también corrige la velocidad de la música cuando el juego se ejecuta a 60 FPS, desde un emulador. La versión PAL de la consola de Sega conserva el título original de The Chaos Engine. Es en esta misma versión donde se debe aplicar el parche, que se puede descargar desde la siguiente página: www.romhacking.net/hacks/2754/ Teniendo el archivo ROM, el parche se puede aplicar desde esta página: www.marcrobledo.com/RomPatcher.js/ La versión de Sega Genesis tiene algunas características únicas, como la posibilidad de elegir entre tres niveles de dificultad y un campo de visión más amplio (alrededor del 20%), lo que mejora sustancialmente la jugabilidad, al poder ver aparecer a los enemigos desde una mayor distancia. Sinceramente creo que con la aplicación de este parche, esta versión se convierte ahora en la mejor opción a la hora de disfrutar de este clásico.

[@thejackal007]

The music is composed of several smaller pieces that are triggered by invisible lines that your player crosses, taking it from a more relaxing sound to a more stressful one and back again in some instances. Innovative sound design all around and an addictive game to play through.

[@inmymemory507]

Reminds me of “True Lies” a bit

[@ak2112]

inmymemory507 exactly what I thought

[@jesuswasasausage9262]

The chaos engine came out a year before true lies, so if it’s anything then true lies looks like this.

[@daithiocinnsealach3173]

Haha. True Lies. The game of choice for SNES drunk fans.

[@SwiftSmashGamingZone]

Honestly, it wasn't a ton of fun going solo, but I feel like it could be one of the most enjoyable multiplayer/co-op SNES games if you have another person to play with!!! 🏆 Great video, as always. Keep up the great work SNES drunk!

[@Venetostar]

The music immediately reminded me of GODS.thats the good stuff.

[@thenostalgiafactor5023]

Total length of video: 313 secs. Total length of "SNES Drunk": 2.5 secs. .8% of the video was spent listening to "SNES Drunk". Brought back to this video due to Now in the 90's.

[@ridiculous_gaming]

This was and still is an astounding title. Incredibly animated and fantastic fun with two friends, plus team work and sharing equals longer survival.

[@ix8750]

Much love SNESdrunk. Thanks for putting all this work and effort into your videos over the years. I appreciate what you do.

[@SNESdrunk]

Thanks for watching Kyle

[@StabStabStabStabby]

This review is a huge nostalgia trip for me. I used to play this game with my friend all the time. I forgot about it.

[@EdsRetroGeekOut]

Nice review I see the game sometimes but haven't picked it up yet looks cool enough to grab tough :-D

[@loszhor]

Looks fun, thanks for the recommendation!

[@ericemme747]

This is one of my Top 10 Genesis games, love it

[@cyborgninja9052]

Great video as allways snesdrunk. Keep up the good work.

[@SNESdrunk]

Thanks for watching Rob

[@Ponaru]

The Genesis version also runs a bit smoother than the SNES port.

[@noop9k]

pr0xy I actually find the Sega port to be the most playable version due to having more responsive controls. Still very hard.

[@EmperorKagato]

When I played this game it was one of the best birthday sleepovers I've ever had. We did not sleep at all and since it was summer with nice weather we also had a BBQ. I can recall exactly what it smelled at the time and it was delicious.

[@whosaidthat84]

Great video once again! Drunk, have you looked at Herzog Zwei on genesis?

[@GeorgiaRidgerunner]

Snes drunk thank you my fiance and I are gamers to an extent (not very good gamers but gamers nonetheless ) our thing is two player simultaneous games we find that we get more enjoyment from video games when we can share the frustration of failure and the excitement of getting to a new area together...we do play single player games and turn based two player games but we dont find them as enjoyable ....that being said could you do a video of say your favorite 2 player simultaneous games you may know of some that we don't... Note we don't particularly enjoy beat em ups ..right now we're playing the snes dkc series Michelle didn't know that dkc 2 and 3 existed I knew of them but had never played dkc 2 or 3 and wasn't aware that they were so difficult... Be cool and thanks for another great video...

[@daithiocinnsealach3173]

I was waiting for you to compare it to True Lies.

[@Susanmugen]

I got this game for a birthday or christmas one year. I asked for it based of box art I assume because I have fond feelings about the box art of this game even though I remember nothing about it now that I'm in my 40's.

[@barry-allenthe-flash8396]

Man, this game. I distinctly remember seeing this in Nintendo Power and sort of liking the art, but never picking it up. I didn't really get into top down shooters until the XBLA brought on that rush of twin stick ones in the first 2 years of the 360's life (Assault Heroes was my jam). I really gotta play this now on Steam (btw, if you want something _like_ this for a future Steam Drunk, look up "Sturmfront" - it's basically a top down 90's FPS, mostly Doom - or "Tower 57" . They're both fantastic throwbacks to this kinda game)

[@Ostnizdasht206]

I played this on the Genesis quite a bit back in the day with my friend and my brother.

[@chriswalsh3149]

I remember this one from the Amiga. Was an good game back in the day

[@Smilley85]

"I have guided you here, so that you might set me free. The Chaos is ending. You will be remembered." I remember this as one of the first games I played (on the PC, before the remaster) that featured a voice clip.

[@damageinc.5458]

"Node Activated"... I like that song when the story is going on... Brings me back. 👍

[@IMDLEGEND]

Great review. I have the Sega Genesis version and agree 100%

[@sjake8308]

I enjoyed this on the Amiga and I was very satisfied with the SNES port. Of the other Bitmap Brothers' games, the Mega Drive version of Speedball 2 is also pretty good (but based on the ST version, sadly), the port of Gods is okay (though the controls are clumsy) while the Xenon II port is simply best avoided.

[@justanotherandrew7421]

Thanks for the video. Awesome.

[@SNESdrunk]

Thanks for taking the time to watch

[@justanotherandrew7421]

SNES drunk I know that this is said a lot about a bunch of channels but u deserve way more subs. Keep it up bro.

[@Tranzisto]

There's a kind of "true single player" mode in this game, you just have to start as two players and using the second controller kill off player 2, then just don't buy him any lives. The game works much better this way, IMO, I always hated the fact that it forces a partner on you even in supposed "1 player" mode.

[@kh7955]

One of the first games I bought again after I bought a snes again 15 years ago. Got rid of my old one and all my games back in the late 90s and this was one of the games I knew i had to buy. Great game

[@RyumaXtheXKing]

There is also Tower 57, for a recent clone on the PC.

[@BestKeptSecreization]

One of my favorites & still play til this day. 🏋

[@fourlokouva]

I wanna thank you for watching and have a great rest of your day!

[@RapideWombaticus]

I want this game. The Bitmap Bros did some great work back in the day

[@justosoler8408]

Need to play this one

[@professionalvillains134]

I wish I had this as a kid. I would have loved it.

[@efaustus9]

I had this game on my 486 PC back in the mid 90s , strangely enough the PC version kept the chaos engine title in the US.

[@Quimper111]

The Bitmap Brothers was always a seal of approval during the Amiga era. The intelligence stat had a purpose when playing with a human co-player. It had an effect on the distribution of money between the players when dividing the loot after the level was done. Changing "preacher" to "scientist" was yet another example of the weaksauce censorship of anything with a Christian cross on it in some countries. :/

[@DissociatedWomenIncorporated]

The UK _is_ a PAL region. None of that NTSC rubbish for _us,_ thank you very much!

[@Larry]

Fortesk? No no no, it's Fort-es-que :P They also changed the Reverend into the Scientist in the US version. The sequel was also ported to the Mega Drive, but never released.

[@kevinconley5076]

Larry Bundy Jr Id been meaning to play this on Megadrive and compare it to Loaded on Psx and Saturn. I can't even really remember much about it other than playing similarly.

[@AviFagan]

But hello you!

[@whosaidthat84]

Guru!! Welcome!

[@HonestGameReviewsOfficial]

The Bundy Has Spoken!

[@nayyarrashid4661]

That's the reason why Chaos Engine 2 was in the list of games on emulator that I was using but never able to start it. The emulator had genesis games on it

[@irpacynot]

Gorgeous graphics for SNES.

[@ColeslawVariant]

I had this when I was a kid, tough game.

[@buildfear]

This is definitely one of my favourite SNES games of all time.

[@standingbearwhisky]

Yay I love snes drunk. Probably cuz im drunk. Keep it up brotendo

[@kromok3532]

Fuck E3 your the real MVP.. my brother and I rented this game from Albertsons back in the day..

[@TheGunmanChannel]

I hacked my SNES mini on the weekend whoop whoop 😀

[@nlomman1]

not to quote any disney songs (got that you tube sensors) welcome to 'a whole new world'.

[@efilnikufesin2069]

The Gunman "You've taken your 1st step into a larger world" Ben Kenobi

[@matttherrien9608]

These videos are great for vetting games to add.

[@topazzz1546]

Fantastic game, but yes, difficult. A.I. partner is also top notch. Music is very catchy. Must play imo.

[@stucazzo2000]

Visually, I'd say that this game is very close to True Lies on the SNES. A surprisingly decent game on the SNES that was made or published by LGN.

[@Rusaarules]

My brother and I played this a lot from rentals because it was co-op.

[@ibubbathebeastibubbathebea7009]

There was this game for Nintendo that I had a long time ago when I was young it's a fighting game and once you die you fight this boss I don't know what it's called I just remember it when you die in the first fight you come back to life to fight this big dude

[@MrPotteeMouf]

Hey Drunk, Im patiently waiting for you to crowbar a Geno Petralli reference into ipne of your videos

[@SNESdrunk]

I remember when he was their only All Star, year after year, before Nolan Ryan showed up

[@nlomman1]

Baron Fortesque is the best name i have heard in a long time.

[@Pridetoons]

Can you review jungle no ouja taa-chan for the SNES?

[@jesselarsen2279]

Just discovered your channel man u got the best fuckin snes review channel goin and there are hundreds. Keep up the good work and stay drunk cause most people are boreing sober . do u do patreon ?

[@Jayce_Alexander]

I always thought this worked much better on the Amiga than the SNES. Mainly because I have higher standards for SNES games. xD Thanks for the vid!

[@mrbuckets1106]

Amiga FTW

[@jesuswasasausage9262]

The SNES was aimed at kids that enjoyed eating crayons, and touching the hot plate whilst it was still on. The amiga was much more than just a gaming machine, and a bit too technical for the console kiddies.

[@tylersmith8045]

I remember reading about this game in Nintendo Power as a kid and wanting it so badly. I never got it.😢

[@Shinmsl]

I think the graphics are really good on this one

[@MickAshMetalMan]

As a poor Russian kid had this on my Sega and really love it. Never beat it but it's very enjoyable!

[@artiatari1565]

You are reviewing so many amiga ports lately. How about making an amiga episode? Do-some-amiga-reviews!

[@whosaidthat84]

Arti Atari are you from the UK?

[@artiatari1565]

whosaidthat84 Germany, why?

[@artiatari1565]

Nevan Ford True. Especially in the UK and Germany. I didn't know it was popular in Australia as well. Nice!

[@reinforcedpenisstem]

Sick game. Sick music. Sick aesthetic.

[@kingwebster1]

This reminds me of True lies

[@kh7955]

Bc true lies was basically a copycat of this game

[@SirAceMcFly]

I played it today!!

[@willrobinson7599]

Cracking game on the amiga.snes very good too

[@princejellyfish4936]

This was one of those games I picked up at blockbuster because the box looked cool, anyone else?

[@chaos120m]

Its original name on the Amiga was the chaos engine

[@Justforvisit]

In the SNES-Version Priest got changed into scientist as far as I remember, since Nintendo didn't allow any kind of religious mentions, be it oh so slight, in the early 90's. Funny though, since even obvious stuff like ActRaiser got its Nintencensoring about that matter, despite being pretty obvious thematically in the game itself.

[@TheGoku1984]

I had this game on my super nes. Me and my cousin could never beat it, too hard for us. Fun as hell tho. Never knew there was a sequel.

[@anthonyleedickinson3491]

Hi I bought A super wild card with soldiers of fortune. I have not had time to try it out yet but it as a code on the disk unsure if it's needed to load the game or if it's a cheat code. Does anyone know.

[@HybridAngelZero]

I always thought this was a cheap Ikari Warriors knockoff due to the box and generic name (in North America) but this actually looks really cool

[@0neLessCar]

the pick ups are not self explained but i had a great time playing this game

[@gamesurvivor3129]

Hey I got an idea what dinosaur games are worth playing today I mean I know maybe no but hey it popped into my head

[@retrosoul8770]

I actually have the Genesis rom already downloaded, but haven't gotten to it yet, the backlog is extremely insane, just too many friggin games man, even if you ONLY play 16-32bit retro stuff like myself for the most part (currently playing Shovel Knight but alas lol), it's still too much. Games looks fun though.

[@Ill06Taco]

This looks exactly like True Lies

[@deathsnitemaresinfullust2269]

Haa! It looks like some kind of Super Smash TV:Adventure just made and named during a more creative point in time. 😄👍

[@perfectblue8443]

this is an excellent game

[@MrIronJustice]

You didn't tell us to have a good day!

[@chazzlucas6395]

It sounds like the Cern Supercollider

[@cristianelveintiuno5252]

Nice! ;)

[@JohnnyBooksDK]

How many found the secret route to the Baron's huge, hidden, treasure chamber?

[@civoreb]

If you typed the password with the last 6 characters in reverse order, you started with a bunch of money to upgrade yourself lol

[@orinanime]

FYI - I'm actually fairly certain that the baddie's name is pronounced "Fort- eh - Skew". Like Sir Dan Fortescue, from "Medieval".

[@JomasterTheSecond]

The Chaos Engine is such a rad name. Soldiers of Fortune? Not so much.

[@whosaidthat84]

Jomaster The Second big example of the US marketing team being too goody-two-shoes.

[@gabrielloko30000]

The name Soldier of Fortune is more refered on the FPS title...Soldier of Fortune. The Chaos Engine is the name that most people refers this one. It's the case of the Book Do Androids dream with Eletric Sheeps? You don't use this name! You use Blade Runner instead

[@drewlovelyhell4892]

Where can I buy/download this game?

[@PNWAffliction]

If you liked this game, don't forget Tower 57, same guys. Great game.

[@mookiestinks1262]

Do you win a free pair of jean shorts if you win? Shout out to Always sunny.

[@josephstubbs5254]

This game must be what inspired Loaded on ps1

[@whitecastle323]

SNES drunk are you going to check out E3 this year?

[@Larry]

Fortesque, Fort-Es-Kew

[@johnrosie9769]

This game reminds me of the true lies snes game it looks like the same style

[@7thangelad586]

This is like a polished Ikari Warriors. Fun cooperative game.

[@7thangelad586]

My fondest memory of Ikari Warriors is playing it with my brother on an IBM PC with the RGB monitor. I did enjoy the NES version too but didn’t own it.

[@SemperSalam]

I don’t think I ever made it past the first couple of levels.

[@chancepaladin]

Common guys, thumbs up for Tower 57! Aw you didn't say anything about the voice acting!!!!!!