Section 8 review
There are plenty of FPS titles around, and there are even more sci-fi based FPS games. However, 2009 hasn’t seen that many, and actually, Section 8 is the first AAA (or just, “AA”) sci-fi FPS title this year.
Section 8, developed by the guys who did the FEAR expansions, is a sci-fi themed first person shooter that focuses on multiplayer action, much like Battlefield. The goal is to control a series of points in a game mode called “Conquest”, again, much like in Battlefield. However, Section 8 is far from a rip off; for instance, you no longer have to wait for a respawn timer to tick tock away so you can get back into action, no, in Section 8, when you die, you are instantly dropped from the sky and have the glide on to the battlefield. This is quite a unique take on the respawn mode, and it works quite well in practice, as you can decide where you want to land, whether you wanna drop close to the enemy, or perhaps a little further back and get an overview of the situation.
The maps are fairly large, and to get around you not only get a jetpack (with limited burn, much like in Tribes), but you can also charge up your “overboost” by sprinting, which will give you a brief moment where you can charge across the map quite fast. Before each respawn, you can select your weapon loadout, which is not limited to classes, instead, you can select a wide variety of weapons, from assault rifles to rocket launches, and various equipment as well, like a repair tool for guns and turrets. The conquest game mode is nothing new, but it’s so used and tested that it basically works in any multiplayer setting and game, and that’s true to Section 8 as well. However, Section 8 does include secondary missions in addition to the main target of capturing points. For instance, it can be escorting a convoy and protect it, which means there are always multiple battles going on — one’s attacking and defending the bases, and ones dealing with the secondary objectives. It definitely adds some variety to the main mode. It also presents a tactical choice for players, adding another level to tactical team players.
One of the things that doesn’t seem right with the game are the weapon balances. The sniper rifles and especially shotguns are far underpowered, leaving everyone to stick with the standard assault rifles to do the majority of killing. The rocket launchers especially seem underpowered, as there is practically no splash damage and the damage to vehicles is negligible. Technically, the game looks decent, but is of no comparison to newer FPS titles like Crysis (actually, Crysis is 2 years old, can you believe it?). If you can imagine the visuals of the three year old Battlefield 2142, it’s pretty much how Section 8 looks, which is kinda disappointing. Worse, the art style is fairly generic, meaning that nothing really stands out. In all, Section 8 can be recommended to folks who enjoy massive online multiplayer FPS action — especially fans of Tribes and Battlefield — and we hope that a patch would fix the unbalances in the weapons fairly soon.
The Good:
Great respawn feature
Interesting combat
Runs smooth
The Bad:
Dated visuals
Generic setting
Unbalanced weapons
Overall score: 8/10
Popularity: 1% [?]
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