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SECTION 8 REVIEW Posted by Kory Baldwin on Sep 8, 2009 11:03 (91 days ago) |
 When a review copy of SouthPeak Interactive’s Section 8 first landed on my desk, I readily admit that I didn’t know what to expect. I had played the demo—and genuinely enjoyed the trial—but remained unconvinced. What was this relatively under-the-radar, futuristic and ambitious shooter? More importantly, how was this strange meld of Halo, MechWarrior, and Call of Duty going to hold up in a crowded genre? Eager to find answers, I put the disc in my Xbox 360 and started Corde’s Story.
As Corde, players fight as a member of the celebrated and elite 8th Armored Infantry (nicknamed Section 8), tasked with repelling the growing threat of the ARM of Orion, a splinter group of colonized planets trying to tear down Earth’s galactic empire. Turns out, Corde’s story is little more than a tutorial of the game’s rich multiplayer with a brief, underdeveloped, and repetitive structure. Totaling less than four hours, Corde’s adventure takes place in the game’s multiplayer levels and unvaryingly tasks you with finding and infiltrating enemy computers. Needless to say, you will not grow attached to Corde, you will not be moved by the story’s conclusion, and you won’t feel motivated to play through the campaign a second time. Luckily, all that is notably uncelebrated in Section 8’s single-player campaign is rendered moot by the title’s gloriously fun, polished, balanced, and addicting multiplayer—the arena in which the game truly shines.
 Burning In - Spawn Points are so Old School
Section 8’s standout 32-person multiplayer takes place on massive battlefields, arguably some of the biggest any competitive shooter has seen in recent memory. To counteract the challenge of finding action on such massive locales, SouthPeak has placed each soldier in a rocket-propelled super-suit. With quick bursts—requiring only minimal recharge time—you can jet-pack/sprint your way around the expansive maps and land dead in the middle of any heated fracas within seconds. The ability to move so quickly and vertically is one of the reasons Section 8 is so unexpectedly fun. Ever wanted to rocket into the sky and shoot a rocket launcher at an equally sky-bound enemy? Now is your chance.
Another note-worthy mode of travel is the ability to "burn-in" by dropping onto the battlefield from drop ships hovering 15,000 feet above the game, thus moving Section 8 away from dreaded “spawn points” after a player’s death. Burning-In also creates the opportunity for the player to choose where they drop on the map, rendering game-play unpredictable. (Almost NOTHING is more fun than Burning-In right behind an enemy and punishing him mercilessly for not paying attention.) On the down side, players Burning-In can be shot down upon entry by sharp shooting opponents and anti-aircraft turrets. Be choosy when selecting your landing point.
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