Developer/Publisher: TimeGate Studio
Price: $29.99
Genre: First-Person Shooter
Acquired: Review Copy Provided
Verdict: A wholly generic Sci-fi campaign with a decent multiplayer aspect.
Pros: Re-spawns are controlled orbital drops, temporary lock-on mode for shooting, decent graphics.
Cons: Extremely generic, slow default character movement, map size to number of player ratio is bad.
Section 8, which was originally released on the PC and Xbox 360, has finally made it to the PlayStation 3, and with some improvements too boot. The name derives from the military term “section 8,” which is a reference to a military member who has been discharged because of mental disorders. The reference obviously being that the service members in the game Section 8 must be insane to go on the missions they do. So, does the title stand for that reason, or are we all crazy for playing the game?
I never actually saw a grassy landscape in the game. I played mostly multiplayer, but it was all rocks and sand for me.
The single-player campaign in Section 8 is wholly uninspiring. It is the epitome of a generic sci-fi shooter. In fact, it is basically a tutorial for multiplayer. The very basic premise is that an organization called ARM is taking over government-controlled worlds across the galaxy. Your team is sent to investigate these happenings and fight to bring down ARM. That’s really it. There is no character development, and no real reason to care about your characters. Additionally, everything looks so similar. That’s the uninspiring part. I never felt as if I was experiencing different locations (with the exception of terrain).
The multiplayer part of the game is where the game actually is decent. It is obvious from the main menu that multiplayer is king in this game as it is set above single player in the menu list. In multiplayer, you pick from a list of classes (assault, recon, artillery, etc.), and you select a spawn point. Spawning is actually a HALO drop from 15,000 feet. At mid-point in the drop, you hit the air breaks and have some control over your actual landing, with a view of the radar map. That means, you can spawn drop in right behind an enemy mech and start lighting it up.
The maps in multiplayer mode are huge. Normally that would be a good thing, as I’m the guy who gave up Modern Warfare 2 in favor of Bad Company 2, but there just are not enough players on the PSN to make these large maps interesting. Additionally, default character movement is quite slow (you are in an armored suit), making traversing the maps even more boring. There are two short-term solutions to this issue. First of all, you can perform a short burst of speed because of the power of your suit. It is extremely fast, but does not last forever. Additionally, your suit has jet boosters, which allows you to perform great bounding leaps. Once used, the jets must be recharged.
The color palette in Section 8 is really bland, which makes everything look the same. Moreover, the bland palette makes shooting more difficult than it should be. As your enemy zig zags to dodge your fire, aiming becomes an issue as he blends in to the surroundings. If the camouflage was an intentional mechanic, it could have been cool, but it was actual just a bland color palette choice. Again, with a bad thing, there is a good. There is a short auto-lock mode that allows you to lock onto an enemy for a short period of time. Again, once used, this power must be recharged.
What are you looking at? I'm crazy you know!
The PlayStation 3 version of Section 8 has made some improvements over the PC and Xbox 360 versions. First of all, there has been a graphical overhaul. Though the graphics look better, my complaint still stands regarding the palette. Additionally, the PS3 version supports the ability to run a dedicated server from a PC, which is pretty awesome. Too bad nobody is actually playing the game.
Section 8 will not even come close to replacing Modern Warfare 2 or Bad Company 2 in gamer’s libraries. Nevertheless, if PS3 owners are really itching for a sci-fi, somewhat Halo-esque multiplayer experience, then grab up Section 8 on the cheap. It will not completely scratch that itch, but it may rub a little lotion on it.
Popularity: unranked [?]
