Hands On: Section 8: Prejudice

Posted 1 year ago By - Marko Djordjevic

When TimeGate Studio's released Section 8 back in 2009, it was applauded for its deep customization, nice graphics and audio along with a cool multiplayer experience. Yet, it was also bashed for its weak single-player campaign, levels that seemed too big and controls that weren't FPS friendly. With the follow-up, Section 8: Prejudice - expected to launch later this Spring - it seems that a number of issues have been addressed and if released at the right time, could be quite a hit.

Prejudice continues the story of the 8th Armored Infrantry (Section 8) and their battle with the rebel group called The Arm of Orion. One of the problems that many felt hurt the first game was that the single-player portion didn't really serve any purpose outside of preparing you for the game's multiplayer components. This issue seems to have been addressed as the Preview build featured the first two levels and both offered a fair share of combat and content.

Whereas the early parts of the first stage involved a good chunk of training, the later half deals with a surprise attack by the Arm of Orion and does a good job of incorporating an engaging plot. The second level, which opens up with multiple and varying objectives and a fairly challenging battle at the end, should also satisfy those looking for additional content. The first two levels weren't necessarily difficult on the game's default setting, but their length was more than sufficient in terms of pacing.

If the single-player portion's length is tasty enough, then the two multiplayer modes, Conquest and Swarm, should be a nice set of the extra toppings to compliment things. Conquest is your standard King-of-the-Hill-style multiplayer match. Your teams will try to capture and control as many of the four Capture Points as possible in order to be the first team to reach the required point total. As well as your primary objective, various side-objectives come your way. These vary such as a simple collection of items or capturing supplemental units then defending them for a specific period of time in order to collect the necessary points.

The other multiplayer mode is Swarm, and it puts you either in an attacking or defensive position. Depending on which side you are, your primary objective is to take control of a Capture Point; once completed, you will need to defend that position for a lengthy period of time. As with Conquest, you will not only have to defend or attack the CP, but other objectives will appear from time to time. Requests, such as securing a landing zone for a VIP or recovering items scattered throughout the maps, will be required to complete in order to be successful.

Both multiplayer modes were quite enjoyable and the addition of extra objectives really does mix things up instead of simply trying to capture, defend or frag your opposition. Map sizes were also quite good. One issue many felt with the original was that the maps were too large but in Prejudice, the sizes of the maps in this preview version were perfectly suited for the number of characters involved.

The only real issue I encountered with the game were the control schemes. Regardless of playing with the mouse and keyboard or a 360 gamepad, the controller layout might not be that appealing to some gamers. The real problem was the button used to trigger jumping and your jetpack. On the keyboard, it's the right mouse button instead of the space bar and on the controller, is the left bumper instead of the 'A' button. Yes, there are multiple choices available, but unfortunately, the ability to customize it was not available.

Outside of the minor issues I had with the controls, Section 8: Prejudice is shaping to be an interesting experience. Considering it will be a downloadable game for PC, 360 and PS3, it feels like there will be a lot of content for shooter fans to enjoy. Again, if they time the release to fit during a period when no other shooters are on the market, this could appeal to a wider audience instead of falling through the cracks.