As reality Television gets more and more over the edge, TV executives are always looking for the next big idea. In the future world of Bet on Soldier, reality TV has been taken to the extreme and is a life and death showdown between participants. As the main protagonist, Nolan Davenport, your wife has been murdered and you won’t rest until you find her killers. The only connection you have to the murder is The Boryenkas Brothers, the champions of the Bet on Soldier competition. Fraught to find out why your innocent wife’s life was taken, you enroll in the Bet on Soldier tournament and head for an inevitable clash with these brutal Bet on Soldier title holders. As you enter each of the 15 levels, enemies will relentlessly attack and try to take you down. You must make your way through the arena taking them out for your own survival.

For each enemy you defeat, you will receive money for the kills. There are no health or ammo pick ups through out the game to find on the ground and the money you pick up as a reward for the body count you rack up is used at computer terminals found through out levels to purchase the items you need instead of waiting till the end of the level to buy what you need. As you progress through the level, there will be a main enemy that you have to fight and that’s when the Bet on Soldier showdown begins. The arena gets closed off and it is a one on one battle between you and the boss. Each boss has their own weaknesses and strengths and you will need to find them out quickly to reap the benefits. To win the prize money, which is much more of a payout then regular enemies, you must defeat the opponent within 60 seconds. If you take longer than that, you will receive no money for your efforts and therefore need to ration what ammo and health you have until you can get money from other, lower enemies.

The 32 person multiplayer aspect of Bet on Soldier has a unique twist to it as well. While the main game play is squad based, two teams that face off against each other, the objective is to reach the pre-determined money limit that is set to win. The only way you can earn the money you need to win is to take over a section of the map which will make a ticket machine available and allow one squad member to challenge another opposing team member. The two combatants will then face off against each other one on one and the winner of the match will receive the cash for their team. It really is a distinctive twist on multiplayer gaming and looks like it could come out on top as a game that stands out from the rest when it is released in fall of 2005.