Section 8: Prejudice

Preview

posted 4/20/2011 by Charles Husemann
other articles by Charles Husemann
One Page Platforms: PC
There are a couple of interesting moments in the build that I enjoyed, including a portion of the game where you have to attack an underground bunker while avoiding being hit by bombers that are circling the area. It had almost a platfomer- like feel as I had to dodge bombs while trying to take the shield down so that an orbital strike could open the doors to the bunker.

There is a feeling that TimeGate used the assets from the multiplayer modes to create the single player campaign (much like Kaos did with Frontlines Fuel of War) as I didn’t see anything that was unique to the single player campaign in the build. I do have to wonder how much fun co-op would have been,but it’s not a bad experience and there’s a good amount of polish around the cut-scenes and voice acting.


Of course buying Section 8: Prejudice for the single player is like saying you read Playboy for the articles. Unlike the earlier build Timegate didn’t have any multiplayer events scheduled so I was forced to play alone against the bots. While this didn’t give me a good idea of what the final environment would be like it with real people in it, it did give me a chance to play with the PC controls a bit, try all the weapons out, play with all the cool toys in the game, and explore the map a bit.

If you skipped the earlier preview the game will ship with two modes that can be played on four different maps. The two modes are Conquest, where you try to maintain and hold onto capture points located around the map, and Swarm, where you and up to three friends try to defend one capture point from waves of enemies. We’ve seen these modes before in other games but TimeGate has added their own special gaming sauce to the mix.


These sound simple but Section 8: Prejudice has a few extra things that make things interesting. The first is that as you play the game you earn money for completing objectives (killing enemies, capturing points, repairing comrades and equipment) and then you can spend that money on fixed structures like missile and mini-gun turrets, vehicles, and supply depots.

The second big thing is the addition of Dynamic Combat Missions (DCM) which add random, timed mini-missions to the game. DCM’s include things like recovering items that are spread across the map, killing all of your opponents at least once, escorting a VIP across the map, and a bevy of other things. Each mission has two sides and they really help to break the game up a bit. Completing a DCM earns you cash which you can then spend on fun things like turrets and tanks.
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