Section 8: Prejudice - Timegate Studios Glance at screenshots of Timegate Studios' upcoming sci-fi shooter Section 8: Prejudice and you might be inclined to dismiss it as "just
another Halo clone."
Actually, nothing could be further from the truth: this ambitious title claims a more rarefied lineage. The follow-up to last year's
underappreciated shooter Section 8, Prejudice is in many ways a modern
reimagining of the 1998 sleeper hit Starsiege: Tribes, often regarded as one of
the most influential videogames of all time. The basic gameplay elements
include huge, wide-open maps; a gritty sci-fi backdrop; the capacity to kit out
your avatar with fancy power-armor and explosive jetpacks; and a deep strategic
layer that ensures plenty of replayability.
The original Section 8 explored the adventures of its
eponymous squad of hardcore space marines -- soldiers so whacked-out and
fearless that no mission, however perilous, fazes them. Though the first game's story campaign mode was really a glorified tutorial to set the stage for the meatier multiplayer,
this time around Timegate is crafting a rich, 5-hour solo game comprising nine
missions and original locations.
The plot involves a further investigation of the sinister
"Arm of Orion," a group of renegade soldiers who served as the villains in the
first game. Playing through Section 8:
Prejudice, you'll delve deeper into the origins of this mysterious faction, who
were once colonial soldiers such as yourself, but have been transformed via
government experimentation into something… different.
As for multiplayer, Prejudice will focus on two main modes:
Conquest, in which two teams vie for domination of a large map by securing
control points, and Swarm, a cooperative game in which up to four players work
together holding the base against an ever-increasing number of enemies. The real meat-and-potatoes of Section 8's
gameplay is in the details — the turrets and vehicles you can deploy to help
hold your ground against hostiles, the weapon and armor loadouts you can
configure to customize your avatar, and the tactical possibilities inherent in
battling across sprawling maps and structures.
If any of this sounds intimidating, don't worry: Timegate is
devoting plenty of effort to smoothing out the learning curve and helping
rookies get up to speed. With an
aggressive downloadable content plan — including new maps and game modes that will
be offered post-release — Section 8: Prejudice is designed to have a long shelf
life.
Prejudice is scheduled to release in early 2011 on the Xbox
360, Playstation 3, and PC.
