Section 8: Prejudice

Section 8: Prejudice
Developer(s)	TimeGate Studios
Publisher(s)	TimeGate Studios, Southpeak Interactive
Designer(s)	Keith Turkowski, Drew Rechner, Mark Yetter, Andrew Krausnick
Writer(s)	William J. Coakley
Composer(s)	Cris Velasco
Engine	Unreal Engine 3
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date(s)	Xbox 360 (XBLA) April 20, 2011[1] Microsoft Windows (GFWL) May 4, 2011 PlayStation 3 (PSN) July 26, 2011
Genre(s)	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Section 8: Prejudice is a science fiction, first-person shooter video game developed by TimeGate Studios. It is the direct sequel to the 2009 game Section 8.^[2] Unlike its predecessor, Prejudice is a digital download-only title that contains more content than the previous game. It was released for Xbox 360 on April 20, 2011, on Microsoft Windows May 4, 2011, and on PlayStation 3 July 26, 2011.^[3]

The game features a single player campaign and several multiplayer modes. In multiplayer games teams compete to control control points and complete a range of mission objectives to gain victory.

Plot

The single-player campaign explores the conflict between the 8th Armored Infantry and the Arm of Orion. The player again takes control of Alex Corde, the protagonist of the first game, who must complete eight objective-based missions taking place in four different environments.^[4]

Gameplay

Screenshot showing mini-map in bottom left and machine gun reloading

Like its predecessor, the characters in Section 8: Prejudice wear powered armor suits. The player can use "overdrive" to move horizontally at superhuman speeds, or activate their jet pack to achieve new heights. Instead of having fixed spawn points, the player chooses where to "drop in" and their character is subsequently launched into the battlefield from orbital dropships that are 15,000 feet above the surface. While burning in, the player character can be attacked by enemy players and anti-air turrets, but the dropping player can instantly kill another player by landing directly on them.^[5]

In multiplayer, players are encouraged to work in teams to achieve objectives and defend one another. They may purchase the following defensive structures: Mini-Gun Turrets, Rocket Turrets, Anti-Air Turrets, Supply Depots, and Sensor Arrays, to protect friendly-controlled objectives. Players may also purchase a tank, a bike, and a mech. Players are able to purchase these using "Requisition Points" which are awarded to the player for various feats they perform through play.^[4]

Players are also able to choose their primary and secondary weapons, such as assault rifles, pistols, machine guns, shotguns, pulse cannons, and sniper rifles, as well as grenades, explosives, knives, mortar launchers and engineering tools. The player is also able to create their own player class through various stackable modules that determine the player's speed, stealth, or the regeneration of the limited-use jetpack.^[4]

Multiplayer

Section 8: Prejudice has four multiplayer game modes, Conquest, Swarm, Assault, and Skirmish. Conquest is a multiplayer game mode where two teams compete to capture Control Points, complete DCMs, and Destroy enemy players. The team that reaches the score limit first or has the highest score at the end of regulation time wins the match. Players can compete in Conquest mode with up to 32 players on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 or up to 40 players on the PC. Swarm mode is a co-op multiplayer mode where four players defend a single Control Point against waves of attacking enemy bots and try to prevent the Control Point from being captured for 15 minutes. Every five minutes in Swarm, players are rewarded with an Airstrike that eliminates all enemy bots on the battlefield.^[4] TimeGate Studios has hinted that more game modes will be released in the future. On May 11, 2011, a new multiplayer game mode, Assault, was released to the public. Assault mode is made up of the two warring factions. One team takes on the role of the Defenders, whilst the other team is the Attackers. The Attackers have to capture all of the Defenders Control Points within ten minutes. Once the Attackers have captured a control point, it cannot be taken back by the defenders. Once there is one Control Point left, the game goes into sudden death mode during which neither team's players can re-spawn after being killed. If the Attackers capture all of the control points within ten minutes, the time it took them to capture the Control Points will be the new time limit, and the teams switch sides. The defenders spawn early with a sum of Requisition points to fortify their bases. On July 26, 2011, TimeGate Studios released the Skirmish multiplayer mode. Skirmish is a type of team deathmatch and is similar to Conquest mode, but without the ability to capture control points.

Like the original Section 8, Section 8: Prejudice supports dedicated servers for Xbox 360. On April 26, TimeGate announced a partnership with GameServers.com to provide dedicated server rentals for fans.^[6]

Development

Including testers, the development team consisted of about 80 developers who took about 18 months to complete work on the game.^[7] The game was intended to be a full-priced, however while under development TimeGate Studios decided the game would be self-published and distributed digitally, allowing for a lower price point with the potential to gain a larger audience.^[8] The low price was planned to entice impulse purchases.^[9]

Section 8: Prejudice uses the Unreal Engine 3 game engine. The art direction was influenced by the movies Aliens and The Spirits Within.^[8] The developers were keen to avoid objects from just appearing in game out of nowhere and so choose to implement the drop in feature for players and objects such as turrets. Because players are able to drop in anywhere on a map, the level design had to be paid particular attention.^[8] They also listened to critics of the first Section 8 title and ensured similar issues were addressed.^[9]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 360: 76.30%[10] PC: 79.13%[11] Metacritic 360: 76/100[12] PC: 77/100[13] Review scores Publication Score Eurogamer 9/10[14] Game Informer 8/10[15] GamePro [16] GameSpot 7.5/10[17] GamesRadar 8/10[18] GameTrailers 8.0/10[19] IGN 6/10[20]

Section 8: Prejudice holds a 76.88% at GameRankings^[10] and a 76% at Metacritic^[12] for the Xbox 360, while the PC version was given slightly higher ratings.^[11][13]

Eurogamer gave Prejudice a 9 out of 10 and Gamefront gave them a 90 out of 100. Both reviews praised its distinctive gameplay and affordability, but criticized the game's dated graphics and bland voice acting.^[14] IGN gave it 6/10, citing a plentiful amount of content but poor execution.^[20]

See also

• List of first-person shooters

References

External links

• Official website