SECTION 8 REVIEW

Section 8 produced by TIMEGATE Studios, was previously released for XBOX360 and PC in Fall of 2009, but the PS3 version has recently materialized on the PlayStation Store as a Downloadable release.

Section 8 is a near futuristic First Person Shooter, in which you take the role of Alex Corde an Elite soldier part of the 8^th armoured infantry nicknamed ‘Section 8′. You are taken under the wing by fellow members of the squadron, for the overall goal of providing reconnaissance and to secure difficult objectives otherwise impossible if it wasn’t for their dropship training. As these elite soldiers are literally dropped straight in on the action. From 15,000 feet you are dropped onto the battlefield, with your armour acting as a shield against the atmosphere from burning you up.

From the outset you can tell that this game is predominantly an online multi-player focused shooter, as the first option on the menu screen is Multi-player. Followed by Instant action, which has you thrown into the action within seconds. However there is a single player campaign mode, and although it is only there to serve as a tutorial for the Multi-player a lot of time and resources has been spent here. Graphics are above average, especially the rendered cut scenes, along with the lore of the game. It is highly detailed and fleshed out and helps to really make the single player feel a worthy addition to this title.

The game doesn’t seem to suffer from game breaking glitches or bugs although it does suffer from the occasional bit of slow down, mostly when the action is at the most intense. The single player campaign is broken down into arena style battles but each one distinguished by set objectives, for example take control of an enemy base and defend until area is owned, or escort a convoy to the desired location providing support against infantry and enemy units alike. Along with the overall objective of each mission, you are also given smaller objectives called Dynamic Combat Missions, DMC for short, that really help to break up the gameplay and make no 2 missions feel the same.

Going back to the meat of the game. The multi-player. as previously stated there are two online options to choose between from the outset, Multi-player and instant action. The instant action option is a great way to just jump straight into a game if your time is short or if you’re with-drawing from the intense futuristic action. The Multi-player option includes all of the standard features like Quick search or create game, along with the option to customize each game to your specific needs and add computer controlled bots to balance the game how you see fit.

The action is team based. You are given the ability to customise your loadouts to how you so desire as well as request vehicle drops and deployables, such as mini guns or AA turrets. These are invaluable as they can swing a mission either way depending on placement and use. The game modes are mostly the standard fare with a few new ones thrown in for good measure, so there is more than enough to help you spend hours on this futuristic battlefield.

Overall a good experience but it just feels like I have seen it all before. There is nothing really here that makes it stand out from the crowd. A few nice touches like the way you spawn and the DMC’s help to make the missions feel unique. Single player is a little lacklustre but the multiplayer is fun and frantic if not a little sterile. I do recommend people playing this if you missed it the first time round or if you’re tired of all the other shooters on the market. You will definitely get some enjoyment from this game, just how much depends on you as a player.

See you on the battlefield soldier.