I understand this was in no way scheduled, but whos complaining about more content? I hope those people are few and far between....and yes I the Minecraft rant will be on schedule tomorrow.
Going in order of importance...
Aiming; Guns; Combat in general
S8P comes fully armed with an array of great guns, each exemplifying the battlefield in some way or another. The weapons reminded me of Halo, you won't find multiple versions of the same class of gun here.
The aiming is a little jolty at first, but you either a, get used to it, or b, change the sensitivity. No problem there. You have a special little key called Control, which allows you to "lock on" to your targets and decimate them. It adds a lot to the feel of the combat, while not being overly simple or "OP".
I must admit I was a fair bit disappointed when I saw you needed to choose a melee attack on your class and you couldn't just do it whenever. Having the option of melee was always one of my favorite parts about FPSs, and that being restricted like that is not so great.
Classes
I love the class design in this game. You immediatly start out with all the weapons, jsut not all the weapon attachments or upgrades. You have a large number of pre-set classes or custom classes to choose from, and I personally love to experiment with them. Much better than the standard "Unlock guns as you go" system modern FPSs seem to think people like.
Movement, controls
The movement in this game takes a while to get used to, same with the aiming. Its a lot more focused on either moving at "L33t sp33ds br0" or literally turtle-like. This actually seemed to play at its advantage however, because the combat is a lot more movement based instead of precision aiming.
When holding down the spacebar you activate your jetpack, a fairly weak little boost into the air that can still mean the difference between dieing or living.
Then there is overdrive. After sprinting for a few seconds, the camera zooms out into 3PV, allowing you to move at inhuman speeds. Also a very integral part of the combat, it is definitely a game mechanic that is worth patenting. (:D)
Map design
The maps so far, while few, are exceptional. Something that would really help would be some map-packs, and I would be delighted to pay for them. They fully use the running and jumping kind of combat this game offers, while not being bad to look at either. They are full of strategic locations (open to the open-minded only) and you really don't understand them fully until you play them quite a bit.
Interface
Not really that important, but I will include it anyway but saying this: It is functional. While a little choppy on some parts, it gets the job done. It might need a little extra searching to find what you need, but otherwise its not that bad.
Spawning System
Now this is truly the best part. You come cruising out of a space ship thousands of feet above the ground, flying towards your destination. You can try and land on someone, instakilling them, or you can land far away and sneak up on them unsuspectingly. Its really a great system, but the only way you can truly get it is too play it.
Music/Soundtrack
Truly eh. Not great, definitely not something that would stick in your mind for a while, but not bad background music either.
Final Thoughts
In essence, S8P is just pure fun. While best with friends, the Matching system is great too. If you are looking for a quick, fun shooter with little annoyances, try this. You will not regret it.
Quick Disclaimer: This was after a mere 4 hours of play. My veiws may change over time, and I will release a follow-up review in the next few weeks.
