Section 8 is something of an underdog in the first-person shooter genre. Timegate Studios, the veterans of the FEAR expansions, is bringing is bringing a lot of new ideas to the table with Section 8. They are also bringing a lot of genre staples back, such as playing as an armored super soldier. It's difficult to say at this point whether Timegate will be able to capitalize on their fantastic design or if Section 8 will be crushed under the weight of its ambition.

There is a requisite single player campaign, but it is certainly not the focus. Multiplayer is where all the innovation is at. Section 8 introduces features that will fundamentally change the way every game is played out.

Spawn points are a necessary part of every multiplayer experience but this rule is shattered in Section 8's principal innovation. At the start of every multiplayer match, all players begin with an overhead view of the map. Each player then pinpoints a location, anywhere on the map and "burns in," essentially dropping into gameplay from the atmosphere. While falling from the sky you can aim where you land just as in Pilotwings and try to squash enemy combatants and vehicles. Every spawn in Section 8 is handled in this manner.



One of the focus points of Section 8 multiplayer is to make the game varied and dynamic to ensure each game is a different experience. To achieve this end, each player has a pool of requisition, essentially points, and can call in turrets of different sorts, vehicles and new weapons. All of these weapons also burn in from orbit so anti-aircraft turrets are an extremely powerful commodity.

The regular multiplayer match consists of a capture point system nearly identical to that found in the Battlefield series. What changes it up is "Dynamic Combat Missions" that spring up during matches. A message would flash saying that a VIP is in the area and you must protect him, while the other team gets the message to kill the VIP. The team that wins the mission is rewarded with a large chunk of requisition, which it can use to gain an advantage in the ongoing battle. There are quite a few different Dynamic Combat Missions in Section 8 and they look to be the crux of delivering the varied gameplay Timegate is hoping for.

Timegate is a big believer in player choice and their contribution to this is character customization. You can essentially create classes in Section 8 in any way you choose by spending points in a RPG-like system. You can make a tank, a sniper, rifleman, or a jack of all trades if you want. The variance and depth in the class creation tool is impressive and trying out all of the different options looks to be another way to add variance and depth to gameplay. Of course, Timegate has the difficult job of balancing all of these different options.

Section 8 is a great game in concept. The final product will be out on Xbox 360 and PC in August with an unannounced release date for a PS3 version that is in the works. Timegate Studios has their work cut out for them in not only trotting out an original IP, but loading it with years of ideas that have been sitting on the backburner for far too long. Here's hoping that their finished game is as strong as the ideas leading to its creation.