Section 8

Section 8 is a fun game and immediate. Do not expect anything more. If we want to chase enemies and shoot carelessly is an excellent title for a few hours. Then the boredom and repetitiveness will force us to abandon this title.

This is what Battlefield 2142 should have been. [Dec 2009, p.52]

With a few more weapon types and vehicles that actually worked, Section 8 could have been a lot more exciting. As it is, this is a satisfying take on the genre that makes up in fun what it lacks in innovation.

Section 8 delivers a good multiplayer online action game, but it's just an average game. The lack of a good single player campaign, the unbalanced weapon system, and the bad use of the jetpack are its main flaws. Overall, at least, it's interesting and fun to play.

The lack of a proper single-player experience (it's an extended multiplayer tutorial and nothing else) and the poor graphics will prevent Section 8 from achieving huge success and high review scores, but the core multiplayer gameplay should ensure a healthy and loyal following for a while at least.

It is good game, not a great game; fortunately the sum of its parts don't equal the end product. If you can get by the remedial graphics and sound, you could have some hardcore gaming in store.

A fun objective-focused shooter with a good premise and ideas, but less satisfying core combat. [Issue#25, p.46]

Lots of tactical freedom. [Christmas 2009, p.89]

The nice backend clan support is wasted since the game just isn’t much fun to play. The shooting lacks the high-intensity lethality of Counter-Strike, the lightning-paced speed of Tribes, and the great cooperative mechanics of Battlefield. You won’t spit this hamburger out, but you probably won’t tell your friends about it, either. [Oct 2009, p.92]

Section 8 is a fairly traditional FPS, featuring a couple of interesting points (the launch phase and device management). The story mode is too short, only eight missions, while the online multiplayer mode seems to be fun, with forty players and eighteen maps. Definitely not the best FPS around.

There are some neat aspects of Section 8 and some good ideas that keep the game from getting too straightforward. But it feels like half of a game.

Has a scarce story mode and an interesting multiplayer, but uneven results in global.

If TimeGate Studios had a desire (time, money, talent), here’s what it could have done to turn Section 8 into a proper game: expand its story, make a single-player campaign a la Tribes: Vengeance instead of a humdrum tutorial, improve visuals, introduce additional gameplay modes, add vehicles and destructible objects. Unfortunately, the final game is just an empty shell.