Section 8: Prejudice Review

[coldfrog]

OK, I've been reading a lot of stuff here, so I need only one answer before I give in to what seems like a good bit of shooter fun that I haven't had in a while for a price that I'm much more willing to give in to:

Can I get this on Steam and NOT have to install the whole Games for Windows Live deal?

 

[Ymbirtt]

For most of the review I was mildly interested. Then he respawned and my face exploded.

 

[Canid117]

I hope this game sells well - it was an excellent effort.

It would also set a lovely precedent.

 

[KDR_11k]

The campaign is divisive, some like it while others hate it. I'm in the former camp, nothing amazing but it didn't feel like a waste of my time and gave some context to the areas we're fighting over in multiplayer. Plus it gives some easy achievements (the PC version has the full 1000 points of a retail game) that also unlock additional gear for multiplayer.

 

[Lawyer105]

So they still use GfWL?

Absolute non-starter as far as I'm concerned then. I picked up the first one only a few weeks after the release. Loved it, played the campaign through twice and then tried the multiplayer... 4 weeks (and 5+ support tickets because the bastards kept closing them!) and I still couldn't get the game to register my character!

I'll pass on this (and anything else that uses GfWL).

 

[RanceJustice]

I picked this up from Steam on a whim and really, it is the BEST shooter I've played in the past few months at very least. As someone who has no interest in Metal of Blops type games, only a passing interest in Counter Strike and only like TF2 before it became a vending machine, I'm not the typical "modern" shooter player. Borderlands was a high point for me, as was Global Agenda that manages to do MMOShooter better than most MMOs do MMO and Shooters do Shooter, all while costing nearly NOTHING. I'm also an old school fan of Tribes and Planetside.

Section 8rejudice served to show how absolutely lacking Brink had been. With the exception of GFWL, its near perfect for what it is. Sure, the story is the standard Gears of Halo redux but it isn't done badly, and the gameplay is fantastic. Customization comes in that you can select your guns, their ammo, and a handful of utilities, along with your stat points - this being more meaningful customization than other games. There's a full featured single campaign as well as multiple multiplayer (and Co-Op) modes, vehicles, drop-ins, sprint and jetpack etc... for $15! Its well worth your time and is priced exactly right.

 

[Shjade]

On seeing the game is $15 and available on PC:

On seeing the game requires GFWL: D:

 

[Azmael Silverlance]

Lal Finally! Ive been waiting for you guys to write a review of the game. I saw the trailers on steam but i wasnt sure if it will be worth it.

How is the game bug wise? Any glitches you experianced?

 

[Fearzone]

Cool. I like this review. I tried the original Section 8 during beta but sound wouldn't work, it wouldn't come on at all, and that happened to me and several others, so that was that. But the little time I played it without sound I had a favorable impression of it, so I'm glad its designers stuck with it. At $15 I might give it a go.

 

[samsonguy920]

Tough choice. Cowboys & Aliens or Section 8? Well, since Steam has Section 8, it ain't going anywhere. But me likey.

 

[jackpipsam]

I brought this game and I am more than happy with it

 

[DJ_DEnM]

The promotional art reminds me a bit of the Dead Space 2 promotional art of Isaac fighting that one big enemy. Its also the box art for the special editions.

 

[thenewprince]

I really hope this review will bring more people in the game. It's not the most original idea out there but they have done a lot of things right:
1) Large maps and players
2) Increased mobility via overdrive and drop-ins to get to the action fast
3) Emphasis on player co-op rather than kills (no K/D ratio and you can only really compare when the game ends)
4) No cheap 1-hit kills (others may disagree with this)
5) Unlocks are relatively balanced, with the exception of Pauldrons, which are more of a reward for veterans without being too overpowered (another 4-10% more effectiveness, maybe). Some may argue that Particle Cannons are a bit OP at the moment.
6) Fairly diverse loadouts to experiment with
7) Offline play to practice
8) A fair chunk of weapons can be unlocked offline

Biggest problem right now seems to be the limited number of maps and maybe some design choices but generally I find this game to give as much fun per dollar as TF2. Also it's a small community at the moment in Australia (relatively). Some people accus GFWL of having an effect as well.

Still, I really hope this becomes a success so other companies will consider this as an example of not having to blow everything into an AAA title that costs 4-6 times more.

Cheers to that Mate,

 

[Doom-Slayer]

Hmm...Im genuinely surprised by this. I played the original and haaaaated it, the flying down thing was a cool idea but it took ages, and in every campaign you ended up 30seconds run from where you died, so dying wasn't a case of reloading, it was a case of spending about a minute just getting back to where you died. Got tedious since I refuse to play games on normal.

 

[Greg Tito]

Lal Finally! Ive been waiting for you guys to write a review of the game. I saw the trailers on steam but i wasnt sure if it will be worth it.

How is the game bug wise? Any glitches you experianced?

I didn't experience any bugs really, but my Xbox did freeze a few times while playing Prejudice. Not sure if that had to do with the game or the hardware though.

Greg

 

[ultrachicken]

I actually quit viewing around halfway through, to my defense I'm currently on the universities internet and it's slow, I have to say to me it just looked like another shooter, I liked that little speed boost thing but that's all I got to which was interesting. I may be a bit biased because I hate the setting as well (where everything is there for it's own sake, useless buildings and structures such as in Halo and guns are all fairly standard but look sort of stupid. This is all opinion of course, I don't expect everyone to agree with me) What I saw of it was incredibly underwhelming. I'll come back later to read the actual article and watch the rest though since everyone seems so into it.

I think that Section 8's greatest achievement, and what separates it from other games, is that its balancing mechanics are very polished. Each weapon is equally good, just at different things, so you never see an entire team using the same few loadouts. You can also choose where you spawn with the orbital drop, which effectively removes spawn camping.

 

[proghead]

It's funny how "the single player mode is similar to the multiplayer" is considered a feature here while Brink is being criticized for the same reason.

 

[Fai57]

...but generally I find this game to give as much fun per dollar as TF2.

Oooh, bad timing on that one. TF2 is free to play now.
Still, this game looks pretty fun, and looks like a good value too! I'll probably be picking this up.

 

[Podunk]

I was impressed by this game but decided initially to give it a miss, until I noticed there is apparently an achievement that's a reference to Arrested Development, "Money in the Banana Stand". Awesome. Gonna get this as soon as I get a new 360.