The future offers some promising developments for the planet Earth; crime has been all but eliminated, safety is a number one priority for its citizens. However, no one could have predicted that the downside of a world without crime would be extreme boredom. To remedy this, a television network has decided to let criminals control small armies of thralls, or gladiators, in tactical battle arenas for entertainment purposes and cash prizes. You can see where this one is going.

Strategy First is about to deliver this innovative real-time tactical strategy game set in the future. Nexagon: Deathmatch will feature both single player and multiplayer modes where players have control over the thralls and must attempt to destroy their opponent's nexus to win. Featuring fully 3D destructible environments and a variety of different arenas, the game will offer hours of entertainment. Players are able to purchase and sell thralls to build their army of mass-destruction, just to add to the complexity of the title.

Boasting a full campaign mode as well as single and multiplayer skirmishes, this game will offer hours of gameplay and near endless replay value. The game plays out in a frantic, fast-paced way as to keep players on the edge. And, to be able to handle all of this, the developers have incorporated a strategic pausing system; players can pause the game at any time they wish, but there is a time limit to this that slowly increases over regular gameplay to the maximum. So, if the limit is sixty seconds, and a player pauses for thirty, he or she still has another thirty seconds of pause time to use later. While the gameplay is going on, this pause time slowly increments back to its maximum. This system allows players to assign important orders to your gladiators, and take a much-needed breather.

In the game, points are assigned to players for each kill and also for securing certain locations for a period of time. There are also cash bonuses scattered throughout certain levels to be picked up by a player, all while navigating in near completely destructible environments. Monetary prizes are awarded to the winning player that can be used to buy new thralls or to make changes to your nexus by adding new walls, items, traps, or many other bonuses. Each thrall also has its own characteristics and it will be up to the player to decide how to balance his army. Speed, strength and damage taken from previous matches will all factor in to how well a thrall will perform in a battle; balance will be the key to success.

The menus and interface in Nexagon: Deathmatch are extremely well presented thus far in its development. They are very intuitive, easy to use, and visually appealing, it's hard to ask for much more. The same goes for the game's graphics, as players have complete control over the camera by zooming in or rotating the arena. The sound in the game so far is very exciting and fits well to the fast pace of the game.

Nexagon: Deathmatch promises many thralls available for purchase in the game, each with different characteristics, fifteen different arenas to choose from and a fortress editor to customize your nexus and improve its defenses. The game is very easy to learn yet also offers much to the advanced player in the form of complex strategies needed to defeat many of the opponents. Get ready for a challenging experience.

Overall, this game looks like it will be incredible on many levels, at least at this stage in its development. The graphics are amazing and the gameplay offers a solid challenge, with near endless strategies for both success and defeat. Unfortunately, in its current beta state the load times are very long, hopefully this will be addressed before the final product is released. Players will learn the basics quickly, and shortly after be exposed to greater challenges as new tactics are discovered, and you continually attempt to improve your army and nexus. With its fast action in both single and multiplayer modes, Nexagon: Deathmatch is shaping up to be a solid release this Summer, something that may just catch gamers off guard.