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Bet on Soldier Review

Derek dela Fuente

26/09/2005

DJ intensifies the sport with an intriguing take on the first-person-shooter...

There has been a lot of coverage of this game throughout its development focussing around the fact that it differs from your standard FPS action offering by making betting a prime focus for the game and so now the time has finally come for us to make up our own mind.

As usual with a game of action and intrigue a number of loading sequences with dramatic trailers try to give you a sense of being part of the plotline which is set around 1997. The backdrop story and aspects of the setting are pummelled into you but all you really want to do is get playing. Some games you just want to sit back and enjoy the dialogue and let it all wash over you with its inventive cinematics but what you are offered here is standard stuff, adequately done, with some bad language.

Set around now, which means in an alternative world where war is raging, the usual trouble and strife scenario with corporations getting larger and where peace seems an impossibility. A nice by-line is that money used to be the root of all evil, now itâs the root for all survival... perhaps not an alternate world!!! War we are told is big business and entertaining with a TV show called Bet on Soldier, where two opposition factions are pitting against each other in a violent war theatre which generates even more money, especially for the TV audience who, youâve guessed it, can place bets!

The Mantra that runs through the game is âmoney means life, life is moneyâ.
Become the supreme champion and money will never be an issue!

Bet on Soldier offers both multiplayer options and campaign mode/play solo; three options of difficulty Recruit (easy mode), Mercenary (normal) and Champion (realistic) are offered, along with a functionary set of pre-action menus

Details of the mission are presented during a briefing with differing objectives, plus a map and layout of mission. Not a great deal of information is given but enough for you to understand the extensive nature and multi faceted tasks you have to achieve.

One of the main menus, before you plunge into the action, is that of B.O.S which introduces various âchampionsâ who you will face within the ensuing mission. You are allowed to bet, and winning the in game one minute conformation will up your dosh at the end of the mission. Choosing which challenger to face is a bit of a random thing, but generally goes the route of more money, harder challenge. OK they all look mean, some have a more aggressive stance, some are weighed down with bigger guns, with a higher price tag for successâ¦ bottom line remains, win and be victorious no matter what. Itâs good to see such emphasis placed on characters in a fps, something the genre isnât exactly noted for when it usually comes to lining them as cannon fodder and little else.

Gaining the optimum amount of money early on will enable you to buy bigger and more effective weapons, a good precursor to success but only with time and a lot of experience of playing the game can you see what kind of differing parameters your selections made - by replaying and comparing you can find this answer. We are maybe being picky but with betting being such a focus in the mindset of the game this is an issue that should be challenged.

Once kitted and booted, you are introduced to some basic tasks by your superior officer, just to make sure you are au fait with the mechanics of certain aspects of the game like for instance when your armour is damaged you can go to a repair station and pay to get rejuvenated. Understanding the map, your positioning, that of how to control the soldiers you have as support, etc. is fairly simple.

The action is pretty gruesome, highly charged and explosive - as you would expect - and the slowly slowly philosophy isnât a bad one early on. Once outside the main encampment, weaving round underground tunnels, facing head on some real tussles you soon realise that this isnât going to be an easy task. Although you can see your current position and that of where you wish to go via the onscreen radar; the yellow arrow will show you the direction you should move towards with other key colours and symbols also to take into account â“ thereâs plenty to keep you on your toes right in front of you, let alone further down the track!

No time initially to get a good shot on the enemy, just using as much ammo as you can spew out in the shortest amount of time is not what you ought to be doing but itâs something you do impulsively. Itâs only after time that you consider the methodical way. Moving physically towards the set location is never in a straight line and plenty of weaving and ducking ensues as you are attacked and set upon by endless pockets of insurgent soldiers.

Your support soldiers, the two hand picked buddies, have their own fire power and ensuring they keep close and give you much needed fire power is easily instructed by the F keys. They weave around you, like obedient dogs but when in some explosive skirmishes, you donât really notice them or feel they are a significant factor, certainly early on. Sadly the movement commands are the only orders given and no real strategies or ploys can therefore be undertaken - but at least you face the enemyâs wrath with some moral support!

Precision shooting, together with some evasive action, is the order of the day. Just standing in one spot pumping out bullets in one long trail will not get you far. Being able to crouch, jump, and move at speed adds to the impressive fluidity of the game but once cornered itâs your ammo and weapons that are the important factor! Shooting to the head is always the perfect shot but the enemy will have some excellent shields and amour, as you do, so using a grenade to cause confusion isnât a bad ploy -to get some bodies out into a more visual position to shoot at!

Although the objectives and tasks undertaken may sound somewhat diverse the bottom line appears to always be to get from âa to bâ, winning through and gaining more money to up the ante. Getting a right toasting will set you back to the last saved place and this early on, we suspect even later on, will be a constant factor but this is not because the gameâs AI is thinking ahead of you, itâs just that you have to be smart, using you weapons effectively, reloading needs to done at speed. Finding cover, sussing out what lays ahead, is always a good option but time is never something you have too much of, as we have mentioned.

An extra incentive is the 60 seconds challenge in the missions, with special TV presentation, where if you defeat the champion opponent within the time limit, you'll win your bet but even if you find this too exhaustive just completing the mission and trying on the next will have you just a little more honed for the next one on one!

Bet on Soldier has a number of distinguishing factors. The physics engine is both robust and very detailed. The force of some of the explosives were visually impressive on the eye but if you are close to it you are actually pushed backwards and when you look around you see the kind of destructive damaged that it has caused, including a good amount of blood and guts.

Although Bet on Soldier's ethos offers a thrilling competitive stance, its bolt-on fact that everything costs and has a price is a good formula but a few more incentives, goodies given away throughout, would have presented a nicer balance especially early on. There are some gamers who might not be on the metal early on and rewards are a great pacifier. You know you need to win, you know the cash is important and for some unknown reason you seem to take more care, want to be more selective in how you use your ammo so Bet on Soldier does offer its own mark within the FPS stats - original ideas complemented with bog standard ones.

Bet on Soldier also has a nice challenging, aggressive feel, and whether the gameâs AI is more focused on attack or whether the design of the locations, which were both detailed and forever changing, it was hard to tell but the collection of a number of factors changes the mindset and you actually feel real empathy with the lead character.