Section 8

Section 8 for the most part is a decent shooter game that's more fun in a multiplayer environment, despite the reasonable included singleplayer campaign.

The graphics are pretty, but the environment appears more generic and artificial than realistically gritty. This can lend a more dated look to the engine, but is probably what the developers were aiming for. Levels look vast and reasonably well designed, with a variety of environments and lighting effects; you're probably looking at the mid-upper echelon of games still using DirectX 9. With video cranked up (antialiasing and bloom effects) this looks fantastic and exciting to play. On the whole, expect something like Tribes: Vengeance styling with maybe Mass Effect quality.

Sound is your average fare; lots of excitable and sci-fi filled weapons effects, shield impacts and detonations. Those with good base will enjoy deep explosions and rich high energy reverbs. Can't say much about the music; it provides ambience but it's not so good that it's noticeable during gameplay. Voice acting is average, with ample use of various accents and voice tones that only sound mildly fake at times =)

The weapons selection and equipment loadout is decent; you'll find gear for most of the roles you're accustomed to playing in other shooter games. The ability to finetune and custom-modify your gear and bonuses is a nice touch. You can also call in deployment pods to change load-outs during the course of a mission, which is excellent for real-time adaptability.

Unfortunately, the game can get repetitive quickly. The story missions can be summed up to “get from A to B and kill everything not on your team in between”. Not that this is a big deal if plot isn't a big deal and you just want a decent shooter to blow stuff up in with your buddies. The unique orbital deployment at the start of a round or singleplayer mission is refreshing and injects a little taste of tactical personalisation to how you approach a battle as it allows you to decide where to drop into the map. The addition of an overdrive sprint and jetpack also contribute to personalised gameplay. This is great and all, but I have to admit the potential for variety even with these features is still limited (you can blow stuff up THIS way or THAT way).

Multiplayer is fun and should really be why you purchase this game. Keep in mind though, it requires Windows Live Games account to take advantage of the game fully. Many players on large maps with equipment/vehi­cle/turret drops enabled will allow for insanely crazy carnage similar to those enjoyed in Halo. Be warned that the game does suffer from gaping holes in memory management that make hacks when playing multiplayer a potential constant annoyance. Teamwork and group tactics will play a huge part in this game mode and you can expect to be rewarded with much better frag scores by working together than going lone wolf.

All in all, the game is reasonably entertaining and interesting. I imagine a replay value of about 20–25 hours before you exhaust both singleplayer mode as well as every major ‘tactic’ you can use when gaming with others, before you notice you're starting to run out of new things to amuse you ingame. Nevertheless, it's still fun to play with others and the sheer firefight storms (and associated awe and hilarity) it offers is worth replay from time to time. There have been better sci-fi shooters for sure but for the price, it's not a bad buy.

but it lacks a bit of execution. It has very nice eye candy, but the the repetitive tedium is its greatest draw back. There seems to have been a shift away from the multiplayer side of things due to a number of reasons, attributed to the tactics that people enlist, i.e. camping, in what is essentially an assult and defend based game as well as the inability to regulate hax, and the exploitation of code weakness. If you are buying this for the multiplayer aspect, perhaps troll the s8 forum and get an idea of what its like. As far as single player goes, it could do with a bit more refinement, as it seem to be just a very pretty, run and gun. One annoying thing is the idiotic AI that you have to live with, it make tactical descisons hard, as well as vehicle employment an absolute chore. Personally I got a good 15 hours out of it before I had that “been there done that feeling.”

A fairly neat concept and enough entertainment value to give it a once over, but i'm afraid I wouldn't sell it for any more than half of the current RRP, far too many games of this particular style are hitting the shelves these days, developers need to go beyond an extra mile to create an entirely new and refreshing experience for us all, this one didn't quite display anything I haven't seen some form of already, but it was still good for a thrill in the time I spent playing.

Section 8 has a strong storyline and enjoyable gameplay that offers multiple challenges, diversity and overall an exciting game experience.

Multiplayer gameplay is specifically enjoyable because of its open areas and gametypes, as well as the need for teamwork to draw you into the multiplayer experience. From deployables to vehicles to dropping from the atmosphere, Section 8 has an excitiing and diverse multiplayer experience.

Even if just playing with bots, it is still a good experience as I have found that the AI in the game is smarter than alot of other games I have played in the past, giving a challenge and overall fun gameplay.

Overall, Section 8 is an enjoyable experiance in terms of singleplayer and multiplayer.

The single player campaign is fun but very short. This is a very solid shooter with a storyline that could have been expanded on. Controls are easy to master, gameplay overall is excellent, the graphics are average and sound is good. Multiplayer is pretty good too. Not a game that stands out above the crowd, but holds it own.