The going is good...
Obviously in full effect is the Ageia physics engine, and though I haven’t seen enough of it to say for certain, I would tentatively say that the physics in Bet On Soldier will be on a par with Half Life 2’s at least. We’ve got the full ragdoll effect for a start and it’s true ragdoll stuff, not just an animation. On top of that there’s the effects on the environment… shots will knock barrels and boxes over… a blast will knock you over. Kylotonn are promising loads more interactive objects in the finished game and movable stuff was a little sparse in some areas… but it’s quite disconcerting to hide behind a crate to then have a mech come along and blast it over your head with a couple of rockets, leaving you crouched on the ground in the open, wondering why your cover is now sailing gracefully through the air twenty feet overhead and you’re getting bullets up yer bum.
Graphically, Bet On Soldier is looking very good and those of you who upgraded your machines for Half Life 2 will be well served. It could be that the code hasn’t been optimised yet, but my AMD Sempron 2800 system and ATI RADEON 9800XT struggled to run the game at reasonable framerates until I started knocking all the graphical niceties down. The texture detail is superb with bump mapping in full effect along with volumetric misting, fogging and haze, real time shadows and enormously far draw distances. All of that served to have me struggling to get a decent framerate until I knocked some of the bells and whistles on the head but I still had a good looking game, even then.
So, all in all, I’m now looking forward to this one a great deal. Kylotonn still have a way to go before the game is complete but they’re well aware of what they need to do as the accompanying info sheet says. We’ve got more scenery objects to come such as exploding ammo crates and ladders to get us up on buildings. The whole front end is going to be polished up as well as the elite duel intro sequence which you get when you meet your chosen elite opponent. The sounds are getting an overhaul (I did think that some of the weapon sounds were a bit weedy, especially as the ambient sounds of gunfire and explosions are so good). There’s going to be more visual and particle effects as well as more communications dialogue between allies and hopefully the subtitles and static screen text too as the translation is a bit dodgy in places. And the AI is due for tweaking too… so perhaps they won’t all gather in a safe spot and have a crafty smoke after all…
Now, if Kylotonn deliver as they’re promising they will, and if they can make the rest of Bet On Soldier at least as enjoyable as the three levels I’ve played, I reckon Digital Jesters could well have a game to stand proudly alongside Far Cry and Half Life 2… here’s hoping!
Bet On Soldier is slated for a 9th September release.
