One of my favorite moments in Section 8 so far was during an intel mission. My team had the briefcase. We were on the way to return it to our base for a score boost. I was running slightly behind the guy with the briefcase, bringing up the rear. I would occasionally spin around to look for anyone chasing us, but most of the time I was looking for any telltale tracers coming over my shoulder.

What I didn't expect was my friend Chandler, on the opposite team. So far, he had done a lot of racing around using overdrive when he should have been shooting, which I thought was a foolish newbie mistake. Overdrive is a charged-up super-running mode that sends you flying across the map at high speed. Combined with jetpacks, it gives players in Section 8 lots of mobility.

So naturally, I though Chandler was being foolish for using it when he should have been shooting. But that was before I realized two things. The first thing was that Chandler was wielding the shotgun, so his overdrive rush was intended to quickly get him within its effective range. The second thing was that hitting someone or something when you're in overdrive inflicts damage. In fact, if your shields are down, being hit by a charging overdriven enemy is pretty much fatal.

I learned this second thing while I was following the guy carrying the briefcase. Suddenly a large blur - Chandler in overdrive - passes by my right side and slams into the briefcase carrier, sending his body ragdolling through the air. His arms and legs spread wide and he pinwheeled limply through the air. It was like a glorious YouTube video of a skateboarder who has failed to land a trick. And before I could dive for the briefcase, I had a face full of futuristic shotgun pellets. In fact, this is where I learned that if you haven't equipped any modules to improve your shields or armor, it only takes two shotgun blasts to kill you.

Wait, so what's this about intelligence missions?

Find out after the jump.

You earn intelligence missions by accumulating recon points for your team. This is actually easy to do with a little patience (in fact, I'd say recon is the easiest resource to earn). The micro-sensor is a secondary item anyone can equip. Drop it on the map and you've got a sensor radius that reveals all enemies. You can use it as many times as you want, but you can only have one deployed at a time. For every minute a micro sensor is deployed within 100 meters of an enemy control point, you get a recon point. Simple!

The other easy way to earn recon points is with a secondary item called a sensor blocker. This will make you invisible to sensors for a short time, after which there's a cooldown period before you can use it again. For every 20 seconds it's active while you're within range of enemy sensors, your team earns a recon point. An icon in the upper right hand corner always tells you when you've been spotted, so you'll know exactly when you're within range of enemy sensors. And it turns green when your sensor blocker is in effect. Also simple!

You also earn recon points by getting kills with the sniper rifle, pistol, or knife. Finally, for every eight enemies you sight for your team - it's simply a matter of looking at them long enough to get a flashing eyeball icon to lock on, at which point the enemy appears on everyone's map - you earn a recon point.

Once your team has accumulated the same number of recon points as you have team members, a briefcase will spawn. This is often in an enemy base, but sometimes it can be way out in no man's land. For instance, a map called orbital relay features a huge radar dish in the center of four capture points. On this map, the briefcase spawns on an elevated gantry high above the center of the radar dish.

As soon as the mission is in effect, you get a notice on the HUD and a timer that indicates the duration before the mission will fail. Simply pick up the briefcase, carry it to the designated destination, and enjoy the boost to your team's score. Simple! Except for the other team members always seeing exactly where the briefcase is and where it needs to go, and knowing they'll get points if they stop you from carrying out the mission. Other than that stuff, it's simple!

Once you've successfully completed an intelligence mission, you reveal all the enemies on the other team for about a minute. Tap M to check your map screen when you get the message that the mission was completed. See those red triangles? That's every enemy in the game, each of whom is now has an icon in the upper right corner of the screen telling them they've been spotted. It's sort of a scarlet letter for failing to prevent an intelligence mission.

Tomorrow: VIPs (and commandos) in the house
(Click here for the previous Section 8 game diary.)