Section 8 Review

With no proper single-player campaign the multiplayer had to be pretty special

Aiding your movement is the ability to use a jet pack to leap across the battlefield like a frog. While you've only got a certain amount of energy available before you have to recharge, jumping is useful for leaping over base walls or making quick exits when the going gets tough. Perhaps because TimeGate was worried this ability would make skilled players too tough to kill, you're able to lock on to enemies for a couple of seconds, making shooting easier.

Underpinning these mechanics is a shield and armour system that makes each and every player an absolute bitch to kill. Everyone has a shield, which slowly reduces to naught as you take damage, but can be recharged ala Halo. Once gone, your armour is exposed, itself with a health bar. When that's gone your actual health bar is exposed, which also slowly reduces to naught as you take damage. It's perfectly possible to take a rocket to the face and survive in Section 8 - those power armour suits must be made of strong stuff.

This effect, coupled with the slow, often lumbering movement, will be off putting to some - the game isn't as instantly gratifying as other popular online first-person shooters. Section 8 isn't about running and gunning. It's about working as a team, playing smart and picking your battles.

As with so many team-based multiplayer games, the side that talks most wins most. Coordinated assaults on control points, then dogged defence of them, is a tactic worth employing since they yield loads of victory points. Personally kick ass and you'll earn requisition points, which can be used to purchase vehicles, mechs and turrets that drop on to the battlefield much like you do. Smart purchases can make all the difference - the mech's instant kill melee attack makes mince meat of enemy soldiers. Leading squads to complete or counter DCMs is also important, but without coordinating it with your fellow soldiers there's no point.

Play with some like-minded gamers and you'll have a good time

You're average multiplayer game of Section 8, then, is more of a tug of war than it is a straight up frag fest. You'll often see enemy players ignore you completely as they sprint towards some far off section of the map. It's a much better game played the way it should be - as a tactical FPS, not a twitch shooter. In fact, the actual shooting, the down the barrel of the gun shooting that CoD and Halo fans love, is pretty poor and unsatisfying.

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.