Section 8

Section 8 is a remarkable shooter that goes above and beyond its expectations.

The pistol is one of the most satisfying I've handled since scoring head shots with Halo's popular handgun, and when you're shouldering the rocket launcher, your character fills nearly a third of the screen with an impressively threatening presence. Most of the gadgets and features from the online conquest mode carry into the solo campaign, too.

Section 8 is what it is, a great multi-player experience that will likely suffer more because of the community and less because of the game itself.

Providing a complex and multi-layered experience, Section 8 is one of the better multiplayer titles currently available on the 360. With clan support, stat tracking, and more, hopefully this game will sell well and build up the sizable community needed to keep the battles large and epic. Despite some need for the weapon balance to be re-tuned, an undersized HUD, and poor tank controls, Section 8 is a blast, and worth checking out if you're into large-scale multiplayer battles.

Even so, Timegate’s shooter is a well-put together experience that should make Tribes fans giddy, and remind the rest of us a time, for better or worse, when shooters were a little bit bigger.

All in all this is a great game with solid gameplay, beautiful worlds, tons of customization, and an excellent multiplayer component.

ection 8 really brings some neat new concepts to the table while at the same time drawing on a wide variety of ideas from other games such as Planetside, Tribes, Counterstrike etc.

Slick sci-fi palettes, strong sound design and stable performance pull you into Section 8. Sub-orbital drops, zippy character movement and effortless mission tracking make navigation dynamic and fun. A scarcely adequate campaign means life for S8 proceeds online, where teamplay is rewarding, the loadout system is fairly nuanced, and both 360 and PC enjoy detailed multiplayer portals.

Unfortunately, I suspect that the initial impressions of Section 8 will not be positive for many due to the slightly odd setup system, fairly complex character customization system, muddy controls and bland single player campaign. This is fair to a certain extent as all of these are valid issues but once you become accustomed to the game it really does offer an awful lot of value.

Pretty innovative and very interesting in its multiplayer side. Just for hardcore fans of first person shooters.

Ultimately, TimeGate Studios has created a good foundation for what could be a very popular FPS MMO. The online community is certainly growing, but it will be interesting to see how things look six months from now. Right now, the pulse seems very positive and here is to hoping it stays that way.

Section 8 also offers a lot of customization options, with players able to tweak their weapon loadouts, tools (like healing abilities and various flavors of explosive), and even a whole slew of buffs and perks called “passive modules.” Best of all, racking up kills nets you points that you can use to buy deployable gun turrets, hard-to-drive tanks, or hulking mech suits.

Although I'll be the first to admit that online multiplayer is usually the least interesting aspect of any game for me, Section 8 did a great job of making it easy to learn and easy to take part in. That facility combined with the excellent abilities of the armor and fast-paced nature of play make for a solid experience that 360 owners should certainly take note of.

If you're willing to put in some time to learn the game's systems and are eager to work as part of a team, then it's easy to have a good time with this one.

Section 8 looks great, sounds above average and tries really hard, but the short campaign mode will disappoint the non LIVE players; there are some out there, and the LIVE experience for me was just too much work for little reward.

At the end of the day Section 8 is not that bad of a game, but it is just that it isn’t a great one either.

Certainly, it is far from perfect, and misses out on lessons learnt elsewhere. But what it does do is bring some genuinely new ideas to the genre, while creating a game that is a lot of fun to play.

The only aspect of Section 8 that truly stands out is how you spawn into the map, leaving the rest of the gameplay to reside in more of the tried-and-true territory established by previous games in the genre.

Section 8 is a decent shooter which doesn’t really excel in a particular field. If you’re craving multiplayer and teamwork, the game won’t disappoint. If you’re looking for a game with a deep story, a beautiful single-player campaign and run-and-gun tactics, move along.

The big downside to all of this frantic fun are the vehicles and heavy armor walkers.