Section 8 Review

By Jim Rossignol Published 6 September, 2009

A hard landing.

Version tested: PC

TimeGate Studios has a habit of doing things differently. The developer's real-time strategy series, Kohan, was greeted with a mixture of glee and puzzlement by the gaming community: it was good, but it was somehow unfamiliar. TimeGate hadn't bothered to ape what everyone else was doing and had created something mechanically unusual, if thematically stuck within the same old fantasy tradition. The same seems to be true of Section 8.

While gun-toting soldiers in space-armour seems like the most generic subject imaginable, the execution and delivery is rather unlike that of this game's peers. Jetpacks might suggest that Section 8 is taking cues from the linear nature of the Tribes games, but it doesn't play like them. The closest in terms of pace is probably Halo, but Section 8's broad multiplayer palette is entirely unlike anything Bungie have attempted. It's akin, in many ways, to Sony's MMOFPS, Planetside - but it's not an MMO, more a Battlefield-like shooter.

Section 8 is a multiplayer combat game which does not seem to have learned that lesson about improving on what the last guy did. TimeGate is, once again, doing something that doesn't quite fit into our familiar gaming templates, and that is both the crowning strength and undermining weakness of the game.

Multiplayer is what Section 8 is all about, but there is a single-player element. It's called Corde's Story, and it consists of a series of missions on the planet of New Madrid, the science fiction setting for the game. As earnest warrior chap Corde you play your way through a series of cutscene-framed objectives, working with various characters to tell the story of what Section 8 (the titular space marines) are doing here and who they are fighting.

As a single-player shooter it's not great, largely due to the way the AI bots handle themselves. They're only scripted at the most rudimentary narrative level, and you're playing across the wide-open multiplayer maps. Thanks to the way the fights unfold the experience is never particularly tight. You soon realise, however, that Corde's Story is simply a gigantic tutorial sequence designed to introduce you to the many different elements and ideas the game will throw at you. Play through Corde's Story and you'll have a basic idea of how to approach multiplayer - and good thing too.

'Section 8' Screenshot 1

Mechs are tough and potent, but they draw a lot of fire. Repair them for great victory.

An extended tutorial is useful because Section 8's multiplayer has a number of esoteric aspects to it. The first, and most dramatic, is the fact that you do not respawn on the map. Instead you fall to Earth at a location of your choosing. Much of the map will be off-limits thanks to anti-aircraft guns, but the "burn-in" dynamic means you can pretty much arrive anywhere you like on the map.

This means that strategic awareness is difficult for any player, anywhere on the map, because you can't tell where the enemy is going to come from. You have to continually watch your back, and also the skies, for signs of new arrivals. This alone is disconcerting enough to put off some player but once you've adjusted to the idea of an enemy coming down on your head where-ever there isn't air cover, there's plenty of scope for clever, inventive play.

While you're up in the sky you have another option, too: loadout customisation. At face value Section 8 is a class-based game, with an engineer to repair stuff, a sniper to recon and strike stuff, an anti-armour guy, and so on. But with the loadouts being totally adjustable by the player you enter a grey area of infinite mix and match. Pretty much anyone and everyone can carry the repair tool, and even the basic "assault" setup can be fine-tuned for different methods of play.

And it's not just active equipment and weapons you'll be choosing from: there's a whole bunch of passive modules, with a range of effects, that can also be fiddled with to alter the effectiveness and application of your loadout. I'm sure there will be a bunch of acceptable "optimal" builds as the game goes on, but the variety and possibility space is nevertheless intriguing.

For example, Section 8's armour has two grades of defence. The first is the shield: this is a classic "regeneration over time" system, but it doesn't behave quite how you might expect. Rather than simply being a hit-point buffer it's actually only good for long-range or explosive defence. If you have your shields up and a rocket lands nearby you won't take much damage, but if you're inside a building and someone sets about you close-range with a pistol it'll go straight through to your armour.

People will have their loadouts adjusted with that in mind: a sniper will be keen on high, rapidly recharging shields, while someone defending a capture point inside a building will definitely want high-powered close range weapons, like a shotgun, and hardened armour. Initially the effect of this can be a little baffling: why did that guy beat me? Doesn't my gun work? For folks used to the easy A to B connection of weapons to hit points in other FPS games it doesn't make a lot of sense.

However, it's that "capture point" bit that explains why Section 8's eccentricities make sense in a large picture. There are, I think, two ways a multiplayer can go. Either it makes sense on a very basic, personal level - you shoot that dude enough, with enough skill, and he dies, you win - which props up the very best deathmatch games. Or it makes sense as a team game with team objectives.

Of course there's plenty of overlap to this - I play Quake III capture the flag all the time, and that works both as a team game and as a game of individual skill. However, if you really want to stress team play, and to create a complex set of possibilities for interaction and co-operation between players (more complex than simply capturing the flag, anyway) then it makes sense to focus on team-play systems.

'Section 8' Screenshot 2

The super-run and jetpack mean you can get anywhere in the map quite rapidly.

This is what Section 8 has done. Consequently it's never going to be a great "drop in and play" game, and comes off far better when you're playing with a semblance or organisation. Play with a group of players who want to co-operate and it rapidly falls into place. Elements such as the purchase system, allowing you to buy deployables and vehicles, or the aforementioned loadouts, make a lot more sense, and the game becomes an interesting challenge.

To illustrate this I'll run through a game I played the other night. It was a small match, of maybe five aside, on one of the smaller maps. Section 8's Unreal-powered environments are generally beautiful, but a couple are spectacular. This particular map was an island at the base of a space elevator, which you could see disappearing up into the stratosphere.

Anyway, we captured one of the three main base capture points on the map and augmented it with a selection of deployable turrets. Common sense might say that we would lose, two to one, if we only held that single point, but there's even more going on in Section 8 than you might expect, including a bunch of stuff that can only work if you play as a team.

While we had that single capture point sewn up, we could concentrate on the various missions that the game spawns. These are events around the map which also earn points towards your overall victory, including moving a convoy truck across the map, escorting a VIP and delivering intelligence. They are sort of mini-game types within the larger game. If we could foil the enemy's missions and succeed in our own there we would hardly need to waste our efforts taking one of the other points on the map. That's precisely what we did, to a resounding victory.

As we played, the high-hitpoint value of the individual soldiers (and low damage of the automatic weapons) demonstrated how important team play could be. With the enemies at range some of us could not engage them effectively, but we could heal our comrades or call in support tools. When the enemy was in close our high-armour, close range set-ups came into play. Having a variety of tools at our disposal made the game all the more interesting to play. Section 8 is, I think, aiming to keep players alive longer than other shooters: respawning is instant, and easy, but staying alive on the ground is much more interesting.

At this point I should probably be drawing the review to a close but there's still a load of other stuff to talk about: the awesome personal mortars, the jetpack use, the "power-run" which kicks in after some time spent sprinting, the mechs and their melee, the tank, the possibilities for weird defence structures built via deployables... The list goes on which bodes well for the game; it's a thing that can't be learned and mastered in a day.

One thing which deserves special mention is the auto-aim. Everyone gets a few seconds of auto-aim, which can be very useful when trying to do tricky Y-axis tracking of a suddenly jet-leaping target. You can see exactly why TimeGate has included it (to counter vertical evasive moves) and why they included counter-measure modules to defeat it, but it nevertheless feels like it should not have been included in the final build of the game.

'Section 8' Screenshot 3

Honest, look really carefully - there's a Werther's original down there somewhere.

Section 8's biggest problem could be in finding an audience that is happy to sidestep "hardcore" FPS conventions and accept this is a game that demands teamplay. It's likely transfix a certain type of player, the kind who doesn't necessarily demand pin-point accuracy from his weapons, and would rather win out with a plan than pure skill. I do wonder how many of those kind of players are out there - we can be rather particular in our tastes.

Section 8 definitely rewards time but it is initially disconcerting. I wonder whether it will be another one of those shooters that develops a small, dedicated community that is difficult to crack. Being on the inside of that community, however, is likely to be glorious. I have already spent weeks playing through some of the best firefights in years: dropping from orbit through a skylight into the midsts of a base assault, leaping from rooftops into a gunbattle in my two-tonne mech armour, valiantly defending a capture point with turrets and persona repair tool while my squad races to my aid...

Section 8 is capable of scintillating multiplayer drama, and it is impeccably solid throughout. I've had some maginficent tooth-and-nail matches, which is all I can really ask for. For all the offbeat design decisions and mechanistic foibles, I've been enjoying the hell out of it.

8 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
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About Jim Rossignol

Read more articles from Jim by visiting the Jim Rossignol archive page.

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Comments (92) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • harzo #1 2 years ago

    Wow wasnt expecting that - I turned the demo off after 5 mins... maybe I didnt give it enough time?

  • Snuffb0t #2 2 years ago

    This is clearly one less good than District 9.

  • Nephirion #3 2 years ago

    Sounds good, its nice also that for once their is not a 3 month wait for the PC version as that is my platform of choice for FPS. After the dissapointment that was Wolf's multiplayer this sounds like something genuine to sink some time into.

  • brommers #4 2 years ago

    it seems it would be more worthwhile to grab on the PC as,it seems, PC gamers tend to play more co-op then the gun ho, lone wolf, i'm the best cosole gamers.
    just what i've noticed over the years.
    Game sounds intriguing.

  • Felwyn #5 2 years ago

    80% for this? ....you must be joking

  • metalangel #6 2 years ago

    Excellent review (typos aside, subs please check again or collect P45 later) and though I've not played the demo I think I grasp it pretty well - from your descriptions it sounds closer to Tribes than you think.

    From the sound of it it'll have a hardened cadre of fans who'll extol its virtues to a disbelieving mainstream - sheep who're happily ensconced in Call of Duty: Martyrdom Woof-fare or Halo 3: OMFGDLC. This will place it in the same league as forgotten greats like Frontlines and Battlestations: Midway which offered multiplayers thrills but were roundly ignored in favour of whichever title had the flashiest adverts, biggest name and most mindless fanboys.

    Will check out the demo later.

  • Matt_Edwards #7 2 years ago

    Good review :)

    I'm not hardcore FPS but I'm going to at least try the demo

  • Amblin #8 2 years ago

    8/10?

    mmm I see ads speak a thousand points, or 8 in this case rofl. The game is poor. No one will beplaying in 3 months time. The very hook that should make it good makes it worse. The level design is torrid, the weapons and aim make me shudder.

    The game could be good but it shite. Gaming journalism at it's best though. =/

  • frostcircus #9 2 years ago

    The front page combination of this article's pic and George Harrison is darkly amusing

  • skillian #10 2 years ago

    The review clearly talks about how it's not a game that'll grab you in 5 minutes.

  • Pastici #11 2 years ago

    The demo just confused the hell out of me, basing this on the demo I have to agree with people that say it looks crap. It's a shallow view I know.

  • Maykael #12 2 years ago

    You muppets! I played in the open beta for maybe 10 hours and it got me in! It's not an easy game, but it has the multiplayer something that will make me buy it. 8/10 is a brilliant score (one I would've expected from someone like Jim). Try more than 5 minutes and you'll see it's great. Fucking Halo... fucking console shooters....How can you even judge a game based on 5 mins of gameplay? A multiplayer game ffs... I don't wanna be the old PC gamer superior race asshole, but you guys need to learn a thing or two about multiplayer shooters. Not everything that's not Halo is shit. Try to get in TF2 now a days. 5 minutes would be very shit indeed, but when you start as a sniper and get in a duel with another sniper (for example) you'll why see this game is brilliant. Also try to stay alive more than 5 minutes in Section 8 and you'll why it's a (at least) decent game!

    LE: Never post when drunk kids! You might forget a word or two!
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/09 @ 02:30

  • Inquisitor #13 2 years ago

    Obviously the fact that the reviewer went to great lengths to explain how this is likely a game few will love and takes patience and time to get into flew right over most of your heads. If you're not all that interested in the game skipping to the score is fine but jumping in to comment on that score without first reading the text does make you look oh so foolish.

  • JayKwon #14 2 years ago

    Hmm, tried the demo for 5 min, but just wasn't really interested in diving into all those features. After reading this review however, I can imagine this game can be a lot of fun when played for a longer time. Good review.

  • stonedben #15 2 years ago

    Having played the demo a little bit on the 360, I'd be interested to note if the control scheme - which felt entirely unnatural for a console FPS - would cause review score to be lower than the PC version. I think I'd enjoy it a lot more on PC, where I get to customise to familiar settings.

  • muscleblade #16 2 years ago

    Great review! It explains why i didnt enjoy the demo. The game obviously need some play time before one can fully appreciate it. To bad the game probably isnt going to sell because of the release date. One week before Halo ODST. Maybe the PC version can do alright.

  • KDR_11k #17 2 years ago

    I played the 360 demo and found it decent but I'm absolutely certain I would never buy it for the console, aiming was just too clunky (not a strike against the game, I think that about all console FPSes but in many of those enemies stand still while you move that shopping cart known as your aim over their heads).

  • Praetorianer #18 2 years ago

    @ Maykael

    Well, PC gamers are the superior race, so no problem with that ;)

    Joking aside, the review is very good and probably the same guys that posted crap like "played demo for 5 minutes, sucked omg!" didn't even bother to read the review or stopped after reading 5 lines into it, fast forwarded to the review score and then judged the review based on the same superficial impression as the game itself. That's the problem with nowadays' ADHD kids...

  • guernican #19 2 years ago

    I realise it's Monday, but the number of typos in this article is astonishing.

  • MrWonderstuff #20 2 years ago

    Sounds interesting but made me pine for Planetside 2.

  • Dizzy #21 2 years ago

    It is the next Shadow Run. A very good team-multiplayer game that will sadly be ignored by the masses because they want easy-to-play COD4 FPSes.

    BTW good review... it explains a lot about the design behind the game.

    /hugs copy of Section 8
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/09 @ 09:18

  • PearOfAnguish #22 2 years ago

    mmm I see ads speak a thousand points, or 8 in this case rofl

    HURRR THEY PAID FOR THE SCORE ROFL

    Never mind all the other games that had lots of advertising and received poor to middling reviews, eh? If this gets a good review it MUST be because of a bribe. Cretin.

  • thegamesthething #23 2 years ago

    "Sounds interesting but made me pine for Planetside 2."

    It looks a little bit like a tiny little corner of Planetside, and plays a (tiny) little bit like it too.The hot-drop thing is similar. All they need to do is scale it up to 200 a side. And add a load of purple loons in pyjamas :)

    I quite enjoyed the demo, but it's asking a lot of the wider console FPS crowd to use actual team-work. Not the done thing, generally.
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/09 @ 09:45

  • miiiguel #24 2 years ago

    The game could be good but it shite. Gaming journalism at it's best though. =/

    Clearly spotted that jumped right into the score and looked at the pictures. Posting comments at it's best.

  • Haloboy #25 2 years ago

    Yep, after spending a fair bit of time playing the S8 beta I can honestly say it's far and wide pretty misunderstood by those who expected instant gratification. Spend a few hours with it and it reveals itself for the rather excellent online game it actually is. Fantastic review, and one I hope many who dismissed the game so quickly take real note of.

  • Instinct #26 2 years ago

    Quite enjoyed the demo really. The spawning did add something new, spawning into AA areas while team-mates were destroying the guns and hoping they took it down before you got killed was neat. The objectives were fun, and since they changed often enough, kept things varied.

    Don't get the Halo-clone comments though. Its very much a mixture of Battlefield 2142 and Tribes, me thinks. I might pick it up, not that worried about the 'dead community' aspects, since whenever I go on shooters like Frontlines they still have a fair community still going, the hardcore I guess.

  • Haloboy #27 2 years ago

    I always pinned it as a mixture of BF2142, Tribes and Unreal II XMP. And yet somehow it still retains a distinct feel to it.

    It needs to be said though that even fans of the game such as myself thought S8 just felt plain wrong on a console, if you really wish to enjoy the game the PC version is 100% where it's at.
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/09 @ 09:50

  • UncleLou #28 2 years ago

    "hmmm I see ads speak a thousand points, or 8 in this case rofl

    HURRR THEY PAID FOR THE SCORE ROFL"

    I wonder where these people are when a game that has ads all plastered over the site gets a 5.

  • PearOfAnguish #29 2 years ago

    I wonder where these people are when a game that has ads all plastered over the site gets a 5.

    They're in the comments moaning about how EG is biased and only gives good scores to 360 exclusives.

  • viper_h #30 2 years ago

    LMAO this game was an absolute joke. And this review is even more of a LOL.

    Watched like an hour of gameplay on YouTube before I played this dreadful demo, just to see how bad it was, and there was no excuse.

    Rubbish controls, stupidly overpowered weapons that YOU never seem to get, one-shot melee attacks... and if you're playing the demo it doesn't give you ONE idea of how to actually play! There's not even one of those diagrams showing you what the controls are!

    What were they thinking when they came up with this game? What is it trying to be? It's absolute shite compared to BF1943, I can imagine it's not as good as Halo3, although I've never played that game but it sounds garbage, and I really just have no idea what they were trying to achieve with this steaming pile of dung.

    The fact that it gets an 8 from this site just says everything really. Maybe I better look into Darkfall afterall....
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/09 @ 10:03

  • miiiguel #31 2 years ago

    "I can imagine it's not as good as Halo3, although I've never played that game but it sounds garbage"

    This confession tells about everything about the poster (and LMAO too). And judging a game after "Watched like an hour of gameplay on YouTube"... an hour?!!! Who the heck watches a game for one hour on youtube.
    Anyway, I'm depressed, I want another community.

  • Rtrdo #32 2 years ago

    I've preordered this based on the open beta, and have no plans to buy CoD4:MW2 for a good few months because I want to concentrate on this instead.
    I've played every CoD game so far with the exception of Cod3 because they forgot to put it on pc, and frankly, theres nothing about them that cant be picked up 6 months after everyone else.
    This however is different. It won't have the instant appeal to the ADHD kids as someone said earlier, which means the players will be (mostly) decent team players, who want to play the game properly with a good community.

    Unfortunately, I think in 6 months time section 8 will only have 8 players total, which is a shame. Until then, there should be good games with no kids, griefers, and relatively few cheats.

    My brother has preordered it too, our plan being to use voice comms between the 2 of us and work as a small unit within a larger team. Should be good, much in the way Left4Dead showed everyone proper teamwork with voice comms is excellent.

    Speaking of which, L4D2 is the only other game I'll be buying this year.

  • PearOfAnguish #33 2 years ago

    Well done, viper, you're a moron. Come and collect your award (it's a giant cock statue with your name on it).

    one-shot melee attacks

    This sounds like the whiny cry of someone who has been knifed to death. The knife is my favourite weapon in S8, not only is it immensely satisfying to run up and stab a fool in the face, but the tears of rage it induces make it that much sweeter.
    Edited by 2 at 07/09/09 @ 10:10

  • MrWonderstuff #34 2 years ago

    The Internet was invented for people like Viper.

  • RedSparrows #35 2 years ago

    If you read the review and hated the demo you might, just might, have an inkling that you weren't going to get the game from a cursory, solo, 'noob' play of a demo. Kudos to this title, I hope it gets a good core community - I'd join it if I had spare cash :(

    One shot melee attacks? Like the God that is CoD4 has? :)
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/09 @ 10:18

  • Gearskin #36 2 years ago

    Saw this coming :)
    Jim gave the game a solid preview too, and it set my expectations pretty high. When the demo hit I played it loads and loved it. Came online, expected to find people saying the same thing as me... all I got was people saying "It's shit! I turned it off after 5 minutes!"

    Idiots.

    Moan about the lack of original games. Moan about dependence on Franchises. Then moan about the Section 8 demo because it's not COD, or Halo, or Gears.

    I've pre-ordered the game, although most places say it's out now? I thought it got delayed until Friday? If you want some multiplayer on Xbox 360, add my gamertag. It's MoBiUGeArSkIn. Just be sure to PM me so I know what you're about :)

  • DDevil #37 2 years ago

    OMG I WATCHED A 10 MINUTE VIDEO OF THIS ON YOUTUBE AND THEN I DOWNLOADED THE DEMO AND THEN I DELETED THE DEMO WITHOUT EVEN PLAYING. IT'S SHIT. HOW COULD YOU GIVE IT 8/10 IT'S NOT WORTH A 5. I KNOW BETTER THAN A REVIEWER WHO HAS SANK A LOAD OF WASTED HOURS INTO ACTUALLY PLAYING THE GAME.

    HEERRRP DERP.

  • viper_h #38 2 years ago

    Shut your faces, halo fanboys. I have no need to play Halo3 because I know it attracts pissants like yourselves.

    As for the one shot melee kills, i'm talking about fighting mechs, who just sprint up to you and suddenly you're dead, because they break you in half while your stupid gun does no damage.

    As I said, I don't quite know what this game is attempting to be - a Battlefield clone or straight up deathmatch, but from the demo, it fails at both,

  • Haloboy #39 2 years ago

    How dare you call me a Halo fanboy.

    Section 8 proves what's wrong with the majority of gamers today. All those idiots who all complain constantly they want something new, something unique, something fresh. Then when it finally comes along it simply gets ignored or condemned because nobody is actually willing to play a couple of matches to really get a feel for what it's all about. During my time in the beta I tried and tried to get others to come and play with me, and not a single one who eventually gave in said anything other than "it's shit, or "I don't know what I'm doing" or even "it's just Halo with crap weapons and snail like movement!".

    Seriously, I mourn for what online gaming has become I truly do.
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/09 @ 10:44

  • RedSparrows #40 2 years ago

    viper, shut up.

    'As for the one shot melee kills, i'm talking about fighting mechs, who just sprint up to you and suddenly you're dead, because they break you in half while your stupid gun does no damage. '

    You just described a Juggernaut on CoD4. Oh the ironing. Irrespective, you're being a fool. Stop conflating your ill-founded opinion for fact.

  • Fellblade #41 2 years ago

    "...stupidly overpowered weapons that YOU never seem to get..."

    Given everyone has the same weapons this neatly demonstrates that you are both being stupid and bad at the game.

  • Dizzy #42 2 years ago

    "As for the one shot melee kills, i'm talking about fighting mechs, who just sprint up to you and suddenly you're dead, because they break you in half while your stupid gun does no damage. "

    Lol.. have you seen the size of those things? You should not be near one and definitely should not be using your pea-shooter gun. You have guys with rocket launchers for that.
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/09 @ 10:44

  • sharky_ob #43 2 years ago

    Yeah, nice gamertag. Really easy to enter.

  • Roland_on_the_Ropes #44 2 years ago

    "Oh the ironing".....forget you left the iron on while making your comment? :)

  • Haloboy #45 2 years ago

    Or your own mech. For crying out loud.

  • PearOfAnguish #46 2 years ago

    OH WHAT IS THIS GIANT ROBOT THING, I SHALL WANDER UP AND SAY HELLO WITH MY PISTOL.

    OH MY, I APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN STOMPED INTO THE GROUND. WHAT A POOR GAME, I AWARD IT -2/10 ON THE VIPER SCALE.


    HURRRFF

  • AccidentProne #47 2 years ago

    Had initially written this off after reading all the negative comments about the demo, didn't even bother downloading it to find out for myself. That'll learn me. Seriously tempted to pick this up after reading the Tribes and Planetside comparisons.

    One thing though, how many players do the maps support and do the numbers vary between 360 and pc? I generally prefer games with a higher player count, as they seem to mask my crapness at these sort of things a bit better.

  • Haloboy #48 2 years ago

    I found it refreshing that the review also didn't concentrate too much on the games graphical doodahday. As the real meat and potatoes of the game lies in every other area. If you just happen to be bombing it along a road or a patch of grass and the graphics suddenly come across as pleasing, that's just a bonus.

    It's one of those games that initially looks rather standard, but with continued play I found myself adoring the look of it overall.
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/09 @ 10:52

  • Gearskin #49 2 years ago

    @ sharky_ob

    Harharhar! I took it from the old Xbox game, Gunvalkyrie. Although I missed an S lawl

    EDIT - I thought it looked a bit basic at first, but then after staring at team mates in their metal suits... I thought to myself, this actually looks badass. Like the Templar from the ill fated Hellgate London.
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/09 @ 10:55

  • The-Bodybuilder #50 2 years ago

    I think some people need to understand that people dropped the demo after 5 mins purely because its first impression arenr't great. It's clearly a game with deeper mechanics, so it isn't "shit", but I dropped the demo because it isn't what I was looking for. I hate the graphics, the setting and the art design, and I expected it to be a single-player led game, not a multiplayer game.

    The game clearly isn't bad (as the review confirms), it just isn't for me. I'm sure some PC snobs will jump on thier high horse and look down on a "common console gamer" like me, who hasn't got the depth to get into a game like this. Fact is, I just haven't got time for these sort of games and just don't particularly enjoy it. Its why I don't like COD4 multiplayer, TF2, and many PC games. Heck I hardly play halo 3 anymore as I just haven't got the time to commit to being "badass".

    But its clearly a good game, just not for some people, like me.

  • asphaltcowboy #51 2 years ago

    I... sort of enjoyed the demo. I thought it did play a lot like Tribes. Loved the dropping in and all the objective stuff was varied and fun. I just found the gun combat to be a little lacking. It may be due to the strange damage modelling that Jim's just talked about - that was not explained in the demo!!

  • Schiraman #52 2 years ago

    I don't know if the negative karma earned by every post so far that criticises this game is due to there being a lot of Section 8 fans in the EG audience, or if it's something more sinister - but either way, I'm willing to risk it ;)

    I played the beta for an evening - long enough to get a vague hang of the basic mechanics, though not enough to master the game by a long shot - and I was left with no desire to ever play it again. I can see how some people might like the game, but to me it felt as if the devs had had too many ideas and hadn't been sure which ones to cut - it felt cluttered, overcomplicated and intimidating and the complexity didn't really seem to add to the actual fun of playing the game at all.

    At the very least I think it's fair to say that it's going to be very much a marmite kind of game - a dedicated few will probably love it, but I'd be willing to bet that most gamers will hate it. 8/10 seems pretty generous to me, but regardless of that - this is definitely one to try before you buy.

  • JusticeMoses #53 2 years ago

    The developers really shot themselves in the foot by releasing a demo that had no tutorial. As the review says its a game that really takes time to learn so why they expected people to know what to do in a demo I don't know. As much as this review surprised me and even made me want to give it a proper go my poor first impression from the demo is keeping from doing so.

  • Haloboy #54 2 years ago

    @ Schiraman, although I'm obviously a fan having poured hours into the beta I can understand exactly where you are coming from. I remember becoming quite frustrated early on with the whole "wtf how did he kill me so quickly?" and "why do I keep dying in a 1 on1?" moments. But my frustration soon led to exploration and the realisation that I too could beef myself up in vital areas when and where it really counted.

    As someone else mentioned earlier though, S8's one true vital flaw is expecting folk to know very early on what extra activities and aspects need to be handled properly in order to really start enjoying the game. And it all comes down to if folk are willing to play through the games campaign (tutorial) before the jump feet first online and get their arses constantly handed to them. Never to play ever again.

  • chiefian #55 2 years ago

    Pretty interesting. I'd love a demo!

  • XdarXideX #56 2 years ago

    Well... first impressions do count in games as well as life. Which is why I haven't delved deeper into Fallout 3 yet despite everyone telling me it's one of the best games they've played.

  • Schiraman #57 2 years ago

    @Haloboy!

    The cliff-like learning curve presented by jumping straight into the MP is definitely part of the problem - but TBH I think the real problem with S8, at least from my PoV, is that it feels more like a laundry list of good ideas thrown together at random than like a coherent game. It's a rather nebulous complaint I know, but it feels lacking in direction or purpose - individually I like a lot of the concepts involved, they just don't seem to come together into a satisfying whole.

    Also, at the risk of appearing shallow, I thought it was graphically dull and the weapons had no feeling of weight or impact, which I think are potentially big flaws in an FPS.

  • metalangel #58 2 years ago

    @XdarXideX: Keep playing, I assure you that you don't spend the whole game as a baby ;)

  • XdarXideX #59 2 years ago

    Oh I will at some point I'm sure. I stopped after getting to the first town and doing a couple jobs. I'm not sure I like the way it plays as a FPS... VATS may as well be the only combat option in my opinion as the aiming is sluggish. I'm also put off by the robotic nature of all the characters and the animation, as I was with Oblivion. I don't think I've given it enough time for the atmosphere to settle in... or maybe playing STALKER on PC is what makes Fallout seem lacking in atmosphere to me.

  • esperanto #60 2 years ago

    Played the demo and was reasonably impressed however this review has just inspired me to pre-order a copy - Captains Armour bonus FTW

  • TruWari3r #61 2 years ago

    For all the good ideas implemented, still to reward that with an 8 is too generous.

    [link url=http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/xbox360/sect ion8
    ]http://ww w.metacritic.com/games/platform...[/link]

    The graphics, textures, player models, fps gameplay is all come across a tad outdated. Of course I only tried the demo a few times and yes, it interesting but it's not going to be successful looking like an xbox game instead of a 360 game.

  • viper_h #62 2 years ago

    I like that I get jumped on for having on opinion, I really do! No, please don't stop giving me negative rep. Continue!

    AccidentProne - If you want a good way to decide whether to buy a game, play the demo, don't just read reviews for it.

    The Bodybuilder and Schiraman - I am in total agreement. I played the game for a while and had absolutely no desire to ever play it again. In its defence there are probably a few game mechanics I missed out on, but the demo was so hostile that I didn't want to bother learning them in the first place.

    Sorry if I dissed your game, fanboys, but people have been playing games like this on the PC for years. Look up Battlefield, Planetside, Tribes, and Team Fortress 2 if you want. I'm just not interested in an inferior console-controlled hard-to-learn clone of these games.

    To the neg-repmobile, away!

    Edit: Also, the graphics... Not exacly blowing me away. At first I thought the game was an XBLA game and I gave it the benefit of the doubt, but when I realised it was a full-priced game I was... underwhelmed. Not that graphics make a game of course, but still...
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/09 @ 12:25

  • Dizzy #63 2 years ago

    "Y'know sometimes, people just don't like something. Yes I played this game for just 5 minutes its true, and in that time I could tell that there was just something that I didn't like about the game. Seeing as I've owned hundreds of games over the past 25 years, I tihnk I'm entitled to base judgement on my gut instinct. "

    On the Internet some people spend more time whining than actually playing. That is why you get negative feedback probably. Do we really need posts in every thread saying "I played this for 5 minutes and it sucks (yet I care enough about this to actually make a post about it)". Maybe it is just a cry for attention??? In that case head over to 4Chan, they will *love* you there.

  • RedSparrows #64 2 years ago

    'LMAO this game was an absolute joke. And this review is even more of a LOL.

    Watched like an hour of gameplay on YouTube before I played this dreadful demo, just to see how bad it was, and there was no excuse.

    Rubbish controls, stupidly overpowered weapons that YOU never seem to get, one-shot melee attacks... and if you're playing the demo it doesn't give you ONE idea of how to actually play! There's not even one of those diagrams showing you what the controls are!

    What were they thinking when they came up with this game? What is it trying to be? It's absolute shite compared to BF1943, I can imagine it's not as good as Halo3, although I've never played that game but it sounds garbage, and I really just have no idea what they were trying to achieve with this steaming pile of dung.

    The fact that it gets an 8 from this site just says everything really. Maybe I better look into Darkfall afterall....
    Edited 1 times, most recently o'

    To quote. A moronic post. Stop bleating about opinions, yours is terribly based. I'd hardly say the people here are fanboys, and those who disliked the demo are much more reasonable than your rubbish.

  • muscleblade #65 2 years ago

    @viper_h

    Your last comment should have been your first. There are many ways to share an opinion.

  • viper_h #66 2 years ago

    Thanks for putting my review on the second page too!

    Doofus.

    Edit: Yes there are many ways to share an opinion. I share mine through petty insults and hostility.

    Edit #2 - Yes, it's DSP's videos I watched of this game that made me give the demo a try. I could only sit through 3 or 4 videos of him sucking ass at it before I had to try it myself. As I said, I'm sure it's got more in-depth game mechanics than I was able to glean from my 10 minutes of play, but I have absolutely no desire to discover them. DSP spent money on this game so of course he's going to want to get into it. I, on the otherhand, didn't, and I'm pleased.
    Edited by 2 at 07/09/09 @ 13:17

  • Ranger101 #67 2 years ago

    Sounds like TimeGate need to find a way of making better demos.

    DarkSydePhil has loads of videos of him playing and enjoying it, after realising fairly early on that this game has a learning curve.

  • Synthesis #68 2 years ago

    I'd quite like to try this game, but unfortunately I can't due to this:

    "We do not have plans to release a Section 8 demo for the PC at this time. Currently, we only have a demo for the Xbox 360 version."

    Which is a shame, because the only real hope this game has is on the PC. I can't see it being much of a sustained success on a console.

  • JayKwon #69 2 years ago

    viper_h: " and if you're playing the demo it doesn't give you ONE idea of how to actually play! There's not even one of those diagrams showing you what the controls are!"

    There actually is such a diagram, atleast on 360 it is. You should look better in the options menu.

  • glo #70 2 years ago

    sounds interesting though I doubt it can sustain a decent multiplayer community on xbl with halo odst about to drop.

    will download the demo and have a look at it.

  • ukzz4iroc #71 2 years ago

    @ Synthesis. There is a fine PC 'Demo' called Beta!! I can't beleive the response this is getting, for me the demo rocked. So good to see something new and refreshing. Gameplay 10/10, graphics 7/10, presentation 7/10 Originality 8/10

    Overall 8 is fair. I will be buying this for sure.

  • davisorle #72 2 years ago

    The thing about htis game, since i tested it myself is that it will devide opinions a lot. Dont be downrating ppl that didnt like it the least. After all it's all about a matter of taste. Not all would like your woman for their's would they? :p

    So, thing is that when I started it I was honestly expecting the worst. Saw how slow it was from early videos and all that and that still is a negative thing cause when you play FPS the fact you cant move to avoid enemy fire is bad enough, right? Its somethign more than important to highlight about this game. The only thing that covers that is the capability to jump over someone which isnt enough.

    Now the good things is that it's unexpectingly interesting and, in a weird way, refreshing. Think of a slow Unreal Tournament, just poorer but hey, its a great effort. If you spend your time online with it with a decent group along you will enjoy it for sure. Now the thing is that according to your FPS needs you will enjoy it for just the first 10 mins ( 10 mins AFTER you get to know the game and play normal rounds without trying to figure it out anymore ) and get bored due to how slow it is etc OR you will get stuck with it. Unfortunately I think this game wont go far and specially with COD:MW2 on the way .. Doesnt have many online hopes .. Sucks.

    I need to mention that when you keep the "run" button pressed and get into the VERY fast running mode after a few secs, it makes a sound when it boosts that I f**king love the way it comes out of the speakers. And to thin I have the sub on 10% :p ( Yeah, weird thing to mention but that sound just got my attention! ).

  • rashes #73 2 years ago

    Does this have a party system? I played the demo and enjoyed it but was put off because of the lack of a party system. Maybe I missed it or it's in the full game?

  • Dizzy #74 2 years ago

    >Does this have a party system?

    The standard Live party system should work.

  • Francuzzz1010 #75 2 years ago

    i thought it would be lame but no
    thats good

  • rashes #76 2 years ago

    @Dizzy

    I mean as in a lobby where I can gather with my friends and join a game together? We found it hard to all get onto a server together on the same team.

  • Whizzo #77 2 years ago

    I loved the 360 demo so much I've bought it for both 360 and PC (it being stupidly cheap on Zavvi helped there), it may not appeal to the CoD/Halo crowd but it certainly appeals to me.
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/09 @ 16:22

  • dingo75 #78 2 years ago

    @ Synthesis. There is a fine PC 'Demo' called Beta!!


    You know I don't waste time to play betas these days.
    Shit is usually broken / unbalanced in beta that's why it's called "BETA".
    In a demo I expect a representation of the quality of the retail version hence a beta can't replace a demo.

    I think the developers shoot themselves in the foot by not releasing a PC demo since multiplayer FPS is still happening a lot on the "dying" PC platform.

  • Gearskin #79 2 years ago

    So when is the EG Section 8 throwdown????

  • organica #80 2 years ago

    Now see I am one of those people who played the demo for 5 minutes and then jumped ship. From the sounds of the review I still wouldn't get along with it if I'd given it more time, but interesting to see how there is a lot more to it than what I experienced.

    On a side note, I find it hilarious how people use the voting system for when they simply have a different opinion. I've just been using it to mark down absolute twats and mark up amusing or particularly valid comments. Now I know better and you will all be marked down for spelling errors and badly phrased sarcasm.

    Fear my clicky wrath.

  • MrCarrot #81 2 years ago

    It's like Planetside, you say?! To the pre-order-mobile!

    Or maybe the demo-mobile first.
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/09 @ 19:00

  • Geminosity #82 2 years ago

    I'm going to have to echo the few people here who've eloquently stated that it has nice ideas but it doesn't grab them.

    I went in with a positive mindset as the drop-in idea plus the mega-run were already well documented and I wanted to see them in game. I also thought the armour looked kinda nifty :3

    Once in-game though I quickly found myself overwhelmed by information and the weapons didn't feel right to me.
    As a player who's always used tactics over twitch I often found the game was distinctly not in my favour (some people are probably have this expression while reading that sentence: o.O ).

    The issue is that I tend to get the drop on people because I maneuver to find myself behind them. I rely on outwitting my enemies with smart tactics for a quick takedown before they can fire back or even know I'm there. Unfortunately, players have a boatload of health and move like a brick covered in glue, so my old cloak and dagger is rather wildly ineffective except when you get a lucky one on one. Even in these situations the game didn't seem to like me much and lacked significant feedback resulting in situations where I'd follow someone stabbing them in the back manically to no effect or fights where I'd glide my knife across them as if I'd missed only for them to die on the second 'non-hit'. Very confusing.

    As with most games that I don't 'get' I ran off to research the finer mechanics on the forums, learning about shield penetration and all that razmataz. Armed with my new knowledge I headed back in yet still didn't find myself enjoying the general experience. Despite knowing the mechanics I often felt the game lacked obvious enough feedback about certain things and combat in general still felt random... it was rare that I'd kill someone and feel like I'd earned it, rather instead that I'd just got lucky and vica versa.

    All it boils down to is that while I adore team-play I just don't like it in this format. I'm the medic or the pyro in TF2 for example but neither really exists in a quantifiable amount to me in this game. I don't have the same healing powers or support ability with my repair pack nor do I have quite the same 'mass ambush' power that allows me to wreak absolute havoc on people as pyro in TF2. I was also the light class in XMP, often sliding past the attention of people in the cannons to EMP them unnoticed or slipping through the gunfire to rez and heal teammates. I sniped too if it helped (oddly the older I get the more I like to be up-close and personal. I'm no worse a sniper, infact I'm darn good at sniping but it bores me now. Maybe the Leon quote has some merit: "The closer you get to being a pro, the closer you can get to the client. The knife, for example, is the last thing you learn." :p )

    Anyhoo... Nice ideas but not my thing :/

    Edit: More importantly than my thoughts on the game is the whole "5 minute" thing. I played for 6 or more hours trying to 'get' the game and failing but 5 minutes is the key value for most people. Most people aren't as stubborn as me and research has shown in general that the first 5 minutes of a gaming experience are the 'selling point' for a game on the average person. It's all very well to say "this game takes more than 5 minutes to really hook you" but I'm afraid that's actually bad design. Games are designed around people... if you can't make your design work around the constraints of the average person then it's not the person's fault :p

    Edit 2: I don't write comments, I write novels :s

    Edits 3 & 4: De-novel-izing and fixing some formatting thingies :D
    Edited by 4 at 07/09/09 @ 21:44

  • metalangel #83 2 years ago

    Having now spent the evening with the demo I can say that it's a pretty good game. Perhaps not an 8, but certainly good.

    That you have no idea what's going on or what to do is going to be a deciding factor... much as I think it was for my two earlier examples, Frontlines and BS: Midway. And without a proper manual to explain to me the underlying concepts in the game I won't be entirely sure I'm just dying pointlessly trying to do things the wrong way... but I can see a lot of fun here and certainly had a good time playing it.

    Not that it matters, it could be the best multiplayer game ever and because it doesn't have 'Halo' or 'Call of Duty' on the box, the majority of 360 gamers will ignore it.

  • n3utr0n #84 2 years ago

    Geminosity: in that case you should trade your flamethrower for a spy knife ;)

  • craziii #85 2 years ago

    I hate games that doesn't require aiming, and team work is 100% mandatory.

    reason why my team fortress 2 is collecting dust.

    I want in and out whenever I want to. team work requires too much of my time, which I don't have much these days.

  • LewisResolution #86 2 years ago

    Very much worth pointing out that Jim's just posted this over at RPS:

    "It’s worth stressing that I haven’t seen 360 code and can make no judgment there, but impressions have not been favourable. I tried playing it on the 360 pad and, well, yes. Mouse and keyboard will be the default choice. It seems like the release of a demo on the console might actually have seriously damaged the chance of the game on there. As a relatively complex multiplayer FPS it does seem to me like it carries some serious PC heritage, however, and you won’t win any prizes for guessing what version I would recommend."

  • metalangel #87 2 years ago

    Crumbs. I don't know what's worse, devs thinking they have to dumb down complex games with a "PC heritage" or the fact that apparently they're right to do so.

  • Fitzmogwai #88 2 years ago

    If it was actually in the shops I'd go outside right now and buy it. As it is, I'll have to wait until Friday.

    Bah!

  • Fidjit #89 2 years ago

    I'm really liking the 360 demo. Its got the solidity and tactical gameplay that Quake Wars didn't deliver. Took a couple of sittings to work out all the controls and mechanics, but it clicked after that.

    Highlights so far:
    Changing my assault rollout to carry an assault rifle AND missile launcher.. hehe
    Busting up base defenses in the power suit
    Burning into a level and not hitting the brakes :)
    Sprinting around in general( luuurve the sonic boom!)

    So yeah... its a buy for me.

    Anyone found any team order commands? (ie hold this position, cover me etc)


  • Agent_Orange #90 2 years ago

    Will this tide me over until Bad Company 2???

  • carlitoswagon #91 2 years ago

    This one looks interesting. Will get the demo tonight and give it a proper go at the weekend. No point trying it for 5 mins and giving up.

  • Quak #92 2 years ago

    Damn it this looks awesome and has popped out of NOWHERE for me. I LOVED Tribes (actually preferred the second to the first - yes I know lots of you will disagree) so I'll have to pick this game up post-haste.

    Hmm. Have it on PC for the better community and communicate by keyboard or take the hit on the community on the 360 and communicate by mic... damn, tough choice. Might have to get both. :/

    This brings me onto the subject of PC game communication - when the hell are we going to get an audio system as seamless as Live?