Section 8

Formats: PS3, X360 & PC
RRP from: £34.99
Buy from: £22.96
Released: 4 Sept



Section 8
is a futuristic first-person shooter. In the single-player mode you’ll
play as Alex Corde of the 8th Armored Infantry of the EDF, better known
as Section 8. Now that humans have mastered interstellar
travel and colonised the galaxy you’re fighting tooth and nail to stop
the evil ARM of Orion group from taking over those colonies. The long
and the short of this is that you’ll be using some pretty nifty
technology to take down the bad guys.

You’re suited and booted
in a mech-like armour that allows you to take massive leaps using a jet
pack, run at great speed, use shielding technology and a dynamic HUD
that gives details on points of interest around you. The weapons are a
bit more straightforward, forgoing big honking space guns for mostly
ballistic weaponry. Of course they’ll be sporting all kinds of
excellent scopes and aiming aids. In the single-player campaign you’ll
get a good feel for the gameplay, which is certainly engaging enough –
but Section 8 is designed with the multiplayer game as its
main draw. Going for the feel of Battlefield and Tribes combined,
objective-based team combat is the central focus for the game.

You’ll
be able to play over massive maps with up to 32 players. There’s plenty
of vehicle use, a variety of classes to play as and within that, huge
customisation options for your soldier. Best of all, respawning comes
in the form of “burning in”, which essentially consists of being fired
to Earth from the sky like a bullet, timing your landing to get you
moving quickly – and if you’re lucky, landing on an enemy for an
instant kill!

Taking the Battlefield style of play and adding a bit of a Halo
feel to it produces a fun online experience. Whether it can build the
sort of communities these other franchises have remains to be seen.


7/10