Review: Section 8

Section 8 proves that no matter how awesome a space marines armor is, it doesn’t mean squat if it’s not fun to use.

They say, “War is hell”. I imagine war in space would even more hellish, but in Section 8 war is lonely, so very very lonely. Starting up the game I was presented with a beautiful cinematic showcasing the games main protagonist ‘Corde’ preparing to burn-in on an enemy planet. Space, sky and earth came rushing at me at breakneck speeds, before the space marine crash landed on an enemy planet, clad in blue armor ready for combat. In concept alone, the idea of being shot out of a space ship thousands of miles outside the atmosphere to crash land on earth is a thrilling idea. It just isn’t one that feels as thrilling as one would imagine.

Section 8’s single player is a 2 hour tutorial for its online component. The story, characters and enemies are all throwaways. In fact I feel that TimeGate only included them to help flesh out the title, because Section 8 is a game made for online play. Section 8 plays out like the bastard child of Battlefield, Unreal Tournament, Tribes and Team Fortress 2. I knew in advance that TimeGate’s Section 8 was going to be online heavy and was looking to take on the above mentioned shooter big boys. Diving into multiplayer saw me choosing a pre-loaded class and weapon load out, then choosing a spot on a map for my armored soldier to cannonball himself to. With much trepidation, I initially chose the ‘assault’ class and crash landed my way into what was a pretty empty battle zone. Where did everyone go? I wandered aimlessly for a solid 5 minutes before I encountered another armor clad soldier looking to gun me down. I quickly ran for shelter triggering Section 8’s ‘speed run’ effect that takes place a good 5 seconds to kick in which saw me blistering like a bat out of hell across a sand colored environment, kicking up dust behind me violently. My new enemy wasn’t going to let me get away that easily, as he high-tailed it after me in hot pursuit, I managed to put a brake on my speed frenzied state enough to let him pass me by while I thrust myself in the air with my jetpack behind him delivering a surprise death from above. Moments like this are Section 8’s high points. They’re thrilling and make you feel like the badass an armor powered soldier should be. They just tend to be far and inbetween due mainly to huge environments and not enough combatants on the field.

Guns feel solid and weighty which is exactly what you need in a shooter for any sort of lasting appeal. Each class plays out a little bit different, with the much loved medic class a plus when playing team based combat modes. Even with decent graphics, plenty of different online modes, one seeing 32 players (if you can find 32 players) online, Section 8 has a lot to offer - it just all seems a bit too much “been there done that.” I’m sure that Section 8 will find itself a small hardcore fanbase that will spend their nights jetpacking over alien worlds but with huge FPS’s like Halo, Killzone and Call of Duty taking up the mindshare for online shooter fans this - Section 8 has a hell of a fight to stay relevant. Section 8 feels decidedly old school and I love it for it. Seeing as online play is its bread and butter, the current lack of a huge pool of gamers playing online, and the impending release of this Fall’s juggernauts, Section 8’s survival depends on an already dwindling player base.