FREE: Section 8 PC

The listing, Section 8 PC has ended.

Barreling down from the sky toward the field of battle with fire on all sides is how every life of Section 8 starts. A multiplayer-focused shooter from TimeGate Studios, known for its Kohan PC-only real-time strategy titles and the Extraction Point and Perseus Mandate expansions to Monolith's F.E.A.R., the heart of Section 8 is in the right place. Not only is it far more entertaining than watching a respawn timer to come screaming down from above after you're killed, but it's a mechanic that lets you pick and choose exactly where you want to fall and even gives you a degree of control beyond that since you can hit the brakes as you near the ground to allow for a more precise landing. Maybe you'll need to use it because your initial drop put you in the direct line of fire of an enemy's anti-air fire, or maybe you'll want to adjust so you can land directly on top of an enemy convoy, or in the midst of your fellow teammates. It's all about versatility in Section 8, and if it weren't for some drawbacks when it comes to combat and presentation, this would have been a real standout experience.

As it is, the game, like most good first-person shooters, lets you fall into a rhythm when it comes to movement. Every soldier in the game gets a Tribes-style jetpack with a limited burn. Use it to launch up onto rooftops or, better yet, in combination with your overdrive run. Since the maps tend to be fairly large, traversing the terrain is made easier by shifting out from first to third-person view once you've sprinted enough to fill a gauge, called overdrive. Once it's engaged you blast across the ground, can cause damage to those you run into, and can spark your jetpack at your higher rate of speed, allowing easy access into enemy territory as you rocket skyward, pick out an enemy, and engage your weapon's temporary lock-on ability to score a kill.