Bet On Soldier: Blood Sport
Encyclopedia
Bet On Soldier: Blood Sport is a first-person shooter
developed by French
video game developer Kylotonn
, and published in the North American and UK market by Digital Jesters
. The story revolves around an unknown World War
, where elite soldiers meet each other in a battle to the death in one-on-one deathmatches
. These deathmatches are broadcast
all over the world as a televised
sport named "Bet On Soldier", and since has become the favorite form of entertainment with many viewers betting on soldiers.
The game is a spiritual sequel to the alternate history first-person shooter Iron Storm. Although it is not explicitly stated that the games take place in the same fictional universe, they share many of the same themes, plot elements, character and level designs, and weapons. Many members of Kylotonn
previously worked on the team that made Iron Storm.
) and will be using that equipment throughout the mission. The player cannot change their inventory during a mission, or pick up weapons or ammo that either allies or enemies have dropped. In order to acquire more ammo or replenish their supply of armor, the player must spend money at various "purchase terminals" located throughout the levels. Money is earned by killing enemies, with more spectacular kills (i.e. headshots or deaths caused by exploding barrels) earning more cash.
The player can also hire up to two A.I.-controlled mercenaries that follow them throughout the level and assist them in combat. These mercenaries can be issued basic orders, such as to wait at a certain location or to follow the player.
At certain points in each level, the player is pitted in a one-on-one deathmatch against an enemy B.O.S. champion. The amount of money the player earns from these fights depends on how quickly they can kill their opponent.
. Following the unknown injury that caused it, Nolan decides to retire from the war and settle down as a farmer. He marries a nurse named Julianne, however, his world is turned upside down when 3 men come to his farmhouse and burn it down, killing Julianne. Although he doesn't recognize their leader, the two other men turn out to be B.O.S. champions; the Boryenka brothers, who are the highest-ranking soldiers in the league. Daneworth re-enlists in the WRF, and enters the B.O.S. tournament in order to confront the Boryenka brothers and exact his revenge.
Midway through the game, Daneworth is captured by a group called the Resistance, led by Hang Shaiming. The Resistance claims that the entire war is controlled by a secret organization known as the Syndicate, a military-industrial complex
that controls the weapons manufacturing and distribution for both the WRF and the UAN, and thus continuously profits from the perpetual war. The Syndicate uses the media to maintain its control over the world, encouraging jingoism and war-mongering through the news, while satisfying the populace's need for spectacle with programs like Bet on Soldier.
Shaiming claims that Daneworth was a soldier for the Syndicate prior to his amnesia, and was tasked with hunting down Shaiming and the Resistance. However, Daneworth doesn't believe Shaiming, stating that the Syndicate is a hoax. Shaiming lets Daneworth go, but gives him a transmitter to call for the Resistance's help if he ever needs it.
Daneworth fights through several battlefields across the globe and kills several B.O.S. champions, finally making his way to the very top of the league and a final confrontation with Igor Boryenka. Daneworth defeats Boryenka, and interrogates him for information.
Boryenka confirms that the Syndicate exists, and that they ordered the attack on Daneworth's farmhouse, in the hopes of shaking Daneworth out of his amnesia. Before Boryenka can reveal more, Syndicate soldiers arrive on the scene and capture them both. Daneworth is brought before the leader of the Syndicate, Vincente Adriano, whose right-hand man, Max Balding, is revealed as the man who led the attack on Daneworth's farm and killed Daneworth's wife.
Daneworth lost his memories after an attack by the Resistance, and the Syndicate wants those memories restored because Daneworth is the only person who knows the location of the Resistance's secret base. Vincente also reveals that Daneworth's wife, Julianne, wasn't actually killed, and is still alive and in Syndicate custody. Daneworth is given a choice: either reveal the location of the Resistance headquarters and help the Syndicate destroy it, or Julia will be killed for real, and Daneworth will die on national television.
At this point, the player is given the choice of either siding with the Resistance, or the Syndicate.
If the player sides with the Resistance, Daneworth activates his secret transmitter, and he and Julianne are rescued by Hang Shaiming and the Resistance, and taken to the Resistance's secret HQ at a remote Tibetan monastery. However, the Syndicate somehow learns the location of the HQ and attacks. In the fight, Hang Shaiming is killed by Max Balding. Daneworth fights and kills Max Balding.
If the player sides with the Syndicate, Daneworth leads a Syndicate strike force against the Resistance HQ. Daneworth kills Hang Shaiming, but Max Balding arrives and states that he has been ordered to dispose of Daneworth, who has outlived his usefulness. Daneworth fights and kills Max Balding.
Regardless of the player's choice, the ending is the same. Julianne appears and reveals that she was a Syndicate operative all the time. Her mission was to get close to Daneworth and try to shake him out of his amnesia. When that failed, she and Max Balding faked her own death in the hopes that Daneworth's quest for revenge would lead him to the Resistance. With the Resistance destroyed, Daneworth has outlived his usefulness. Julianne shoots and presumably kills him.
The game ends with the following quotation:
if you kill them you win.
gave it a 7, praising the animation. 1UP.com
awarded the game a B+, while Eurogamer
gave the game a mediocre 5 out of 10, praising the environments and the non-linear combat, but criticized the gameplay being too repetitive. GameSpot
gave the game a 3.1, criticizing the game being very buggy and the sound effects annoying.
The series did enjoy some success in the European market, however, and two expansion packs have been released for the French, German and Polish markets. These expansion packs, Blood of Sahara and Black out Saigon, are prequels to the main Bet on Soldier story, and follow the activities of Max Balding and Hang Shaiming, two of the original game's secondary characters.
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
developed by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
video game developer Kylotonn
Kylotonn
Kylotonn Games is a French video game developer company, located in Paris, France. It was founded in 2002 by Roman Vincent and Yann Tambellini. The company is most notable for developing Bet on Soldier and its expansions.- Games :...
, and published in the North American and UK market by Digital Jesters
Digital Jesters
Digital Jesters was a British video game publisher, based in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire. The company was founded in 2003 by veterans from CDV UK , and their first UK-releases were TrackMania and Virtual Skipper 3, both by Nadeo.In the beginning, they concentrated on the UK market only, but...
. The story revolves around an unknown World War
World war
A world war is a war affecting the majority of the world's most powerful and populous nations. World wars span multiple countries on multiple continents, with battles fought in multiple theaters....
, where elite soldiers meet each other in a battle to the death in one-on-one deathmatches
Deathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
. These deathmatches are broadcast
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
all over the world as a televised
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
sport named "Bet On Soldier", and since has become the favorite form of entertainment with many viewers betting on soldiers.
The game is a spiritual sequel to the alternate history first-person shooter Iron Storm. Although it is not explicitly stated that the games take place in the same fictional universe, they share many of the same themes, plot elements, character and level designs, and weapons. Many members of Kylotonn
Kylotonn
Kylotonn Games is a French video game developer company, located in Paris, France. It was founded in 2002 by Roman Vincent and Yann Tambellini. The company is most notable for developing Bet on Soldier and its expansions.- Games :...
previously worked on the team that made Iron Storm.
Setting
Bet on Soldier is set on an alternate Earth in the year 1998, during a war that has lasted for 80 years and shows no signs of ever stopping. Every aspect of society revolves around warfare. Everyone earns their income through war; all men are paid soldiers, and women and the elderly work in the weapons manufacturing industry. The world is in a perpetual state of war between two competing power blocs, the Western WRF and the Asian UAN. The populace seeks solace from this grim world mainly through escapist television entertainment, with the most popular programming being "Bet On Soldier", in which elite soldiers face off against each other in one-on-one deathmatches, and where viewers can wager on the outcome of the fights.Gameplay
Bet On Soldier differs from traditional first-person shooters as the player must select equipment before entering combat (much like Counter-StrikeCounter-Strike
Counter-Strike is a tactical first-person shooter video game developed by Valve Corporation which originated from a Half-Life modification by Minh "Gooseman" Le and Jess "Cliffe" Cliffe...
) and will be using that equipment throughout the mission. The player cannot change their inventory during a mission, or pick up weapons or ammo that either allies or enemies have dropped. In order to acquire more ammo or replenish their supply of armor, the player must spend money at various "purchase terminals" located throughout the levels. Money is earned by killing enemies, with more spectacular kills (i.e. headshots or deaths caused by exploding barrels) earning more cash.
The player can also hire up to two A.I.-controlled mercenaries that follow them throughout the level and assist them in combat. These mercenaries can be issued basic orders, such as to wait at a certain location or to follow the player.
At certain points in each level, the player is pitted in a one-on-one deathmatch against an enemy B.O.S. champion. The amount of money the player earns from these fights depends on how quickly they can kill their opponent.
Story
The player assumes the role of Nolan Daneworth, a WRF soldier, who is suffering from amnesiaAmnesia
Amnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
. Following the unknown injury that caused it, Nolan decides to retire from the war and settle down as a farmer. He marries a nurse named Julianne, however, his world is turned upside down when 3 men come to his farmhouse and burn it down, killing Julianne. Although he doesn't recognize their leader, the two other men turn out to be B.O.S. champions; the Boryenka brothers, who are the highest-ranking soldiers in the league. Daneworth re-enlists in the WRF, and enters the B.O.S. tournament in order to confront the Boryenka brothers and exact his revenge.
Midway through the game, Daneworth is captured by a group called the Resistance, led by Hang Shaiming. The Resistance claims that the entire war is controlled by a secret organization known as the Syndicate, a military-industrial complex
Military-industrial complex
Military–industrial complex , or Military–industrial-congressional complex is a concept commonly used to refer to policy and monetary relationships between legislators, national armed forces, and the industrial sector that supports them...
that controls the weapons manufacturing and distribution for both the WRF and the UAN, and thus continuously profits from the perpetual war. The Syndicate uses the media to maintain its control over the world, encouraging jingoism and war-mongering through the news, while satisfying the populace's need for spectacle with programs like Bet on Soldier.
Shaiming claims that Daneworth was a soldier for the Syndicate prior to his amnesia, and was tasked with hunting down Shaiming and the Resistance. However, Daneworth doesn't believe Shaiming, stating that the Syndicate is a hoax. Shaiming lets Daneworth go, but gives him a transmitter to call for the Resistance's help if he ever needs it.
Daneworth fights through several battlefields across the globe and kills several B.O.S. champions, finally making his way to the very top of the league and a final confrontation with Igor Boryenka. Daneworth defeats Boryenka, and interrogates him for information.
Boryenka confirms that the Syndicate exists, and that they ordered the attack on Daneworth's farmhouse, in the hopes of shaking Daneworth out of his amnesia. Before Boryenka can reveal more, Syndicate soldiers arrive on the scene and capture them both. Daneworth is brought before the leader of the Syndicate, Vincente Adriano, whose right-hand man, Max Balding, is revealed as the man who led the attack on Daneworth's farm and killed Daneworth's wife.
Daneworth lost his memories after an attack by the Resistance, and the Syndicate wants those memories restored because Daneworth is the only person who knows the location of the Resistance's secret base. Vincente also reveals that Daneworth's wife, Julianne, wasn't actually killed, and is still alive and in Syndicate custody. Daneworth is given a choice: either reveal the location of the Resistance headquarters and help the Syndicate destroy it, or Julia will be killed for real, and Daneworth will die on national television.
At this point, the player is given the choice of either siding with the Resistance, or the Syndicate.
If the player sides with the Resistance, Daneworth activates his secret transmitter, and he and Julianne are rescued by Hang Shaiming and the Resistance, and taken to the Resistance's secret HQ at a remote Tibetan monastery. However, the Syndicate somehow learns the location of the HQ and attacks. In the fight, Hang Shaiming is killed by Max Balding. Daneworth fights and kills Max Balding.
If the player sides with the Syndicate, Daneworth leads a Syndicate strike force against the Resistance HQ. Daneworth kills Hang Shaiming, but Max Balding arrives and states that he has been ordered to dispose of Daneworth, who has outlived his usefulness. Daneworth fights and kills Max Balding.
Regardless of the player's choice, the ending is the same. Julianne appears and reveals that she was a Syndicate operative all the time. Her mission was to get close to Daneworth and try to shake him out of his amnesia. When that failed, she and Max Balding faked her own death in the hopes that Daneworth's quest for revenge would lead him to the Resistance. With the Resistance destroyed, Daneworth has outlived his usefulness. Julianne shoots and presumably kills him.
The game ends with the following quotation:
Multiplayer
in the multiplayer section of the game you kill other players in deathmatches.if you kill them you win.
Reception
The game has received mixed reviews. IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
gave it a 7, praising the animation. 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
awarded the game a B+, while Eurogamer
Eurogamer
Eurogamer is a Brighton-based website focused on video games news, reviews, previews and interviews. It is operated by Eurogamer Network Ltd., which was formed in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. Eurogamer has grown to become one of the most important European-based websites focused on...
gave the game a mediocre 5 out of 10, praising the environments and the non-linear combat, but criticized the gameplay being too repetitive. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
gave the game a 3.1, criticizing the game being very buggy and the sound effects annoying.
Expansions
Digital Jesters went into bankruptcy shortly after publishing Bet on Soldier. As a result, the series is no longer supported in the English-language market.The series did enjoy some success in the European market, however, and two expansion packs have been released for the French, German and Polish markets. These expansion packs, Blood of Sahara and Black out Saigon, are prequels to the main Bet on Soldier story, and follow the activities of Max Balding and Hang Shaiming, two of the original game's secondary characters.
External links
- Bet On Soldier: Blood Sport at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...