Section 8 Looks To Beat Halo At Its Own game
Section 8 is a brand new first person shooter game that is so confident in what it offers that it has shrugged off the threat of the bigger boys on the block, namely a new Halo and new Call of Duty game, to launch at the same time as them.
The first thing to note is the size of the multiplayer - Section 8 has clearly recognised the importance of online play to the success of a first person shooter these days. PC gamers can play up to 42 players at once, and 32 on the Xbox 360 with the use of the X-Server technology that Section 8 implements for the first time on the console.
There is only one mode in Section 8 - red versus blue team, but it does include a tactical way to enter the game, using a battlefield overview that shows you the enemy strongholds, and then offers to let you drop far out from the fire and work your way in, or risk it and drop closer by. This eliminates the spawn camping that spoils so many multiplayer games.
Section 8 ensures players can’t do all the normal stuff that annoys us so much, like pogoing and running away. Gameplay features like Overdrive, the super speed ability, have cooldowns built in so you need to be careful when you use them. It does however include one thing everyone will love - guns, really big ones.
Section 8 uses the Unreal Engine 3, so the graphics are good, but no cutting edge. The beta proved that the game is frantic and fun when populated, so as long as the game can keep that number of people online up after launch, it will be a success.
In the single-player you play as a member of the 8th Armoured Infantry called Alex Corde. The 8th Armoured Infantry are nicknamed “Section 8″ because its an old military term that describes when soldiers were discharged for being mentally unfit. Section 8 earned this name because everyone else thinks they are crazy for jumping into danger zones.
Section 8 is coming out on PC and Xbox 360 only, and is due 11th September 2009.
Dave Taylor is Publishing Director for the free digital games magazine publisher, GamerZines. They have publishd a free Section 8 magazine for free download, and they also publish the monthly free Xbox 360 magazine, 360Zine.
