Originally Published: August 2, 2011, on EGMNOW.COM

Publisher: TimeGate Studios
Developer: TimeGate Studios
Platforms: PS3 (previously released on Xbox 360 and PC)

Release: 7.26.11

The Good: Deeper story mode than original serves as more than tutorial for multiplayer
The Bad: Dated, last-generation graphics, glitches, and horrible voice acting
The Ugly: The splatter when an orbital supply drop crushes someone

Section 8: Prejudice is a sequel to Section 8, a sci-fi shooter that revolved around space marines who would be shot from an orbital cannon into various military conflicts, and provides players with the personal challenge of trying to crush hapless opponents on impact. Although an interesting take on the shooter, the campaign served as nothing more than an extended tutorial that seemed to gear players up for the multiplayer. With the release of Prejudice though, the entire Section 8 universe has seen a re-design.

The most obvious fix to this franchise comes in the single player campaign. Although there are several parallels between the action of this new story, which continues to follow Alex Corde, the first game’s protagonist, and the original game’s campaign, the clear ramping up for the multiplayer, which remains the game’s meat and potatoes, is much better hidden through a more complex story.

The terrific multiplayer, which is what most attracted players to the first game, has only been bolstered by the new Swarm mode. Similar to Gears of War’s Horde mode, Swarm sees players team up to defend a single control point as they eliminate waves of enemy bots. Up to 32 players can also take part in the returning Conquest mode, which rounds out the multiplayer experience. In Conquest, two teams attempt to score points by killing their opponents, capturing objectives, and finishing a plethora of missions that prompt teamwork from the entire group in order to complete. This variety in a glorified death match mode really lends itself to team tactics in order for your squad to emerge victorious. Include again several customizable load outs you can pre-set before jumping into any and every fray and the multiplayer is something that most shooter fans should check out at least once.

Even with this downloadable title having more content than the disk-based original from two years ago though, there are still many flaws right on the surface of Prejudice that keep it from being elite. The paltry graphics, glitch riddled combat, and horrible voice acting makes you think this could be a game from the last console generation. And, again, even with a more involved story and much better character development and cut scenes, the single player campaign still feels like an extended tutorial to play before jumping into the multiplayer mode.

Despite this though, Section 8: Prejudice is a much richer experience than its predecessor and with the cheaper downloadable price tag, is a worthy distraction for shooter fans with itchy trigger fingers.

Score: 7.5/10