SOCOM has always been a bit of an oddity to me. I first bought into the hype for the release of the first PS2 game back in 2002, I couldn't resist the promise of a well put together third-person war game, with actual voice recognition used to command a squad of crack commandos. I purchased it, played it and... it just wasn't that good.
For a start the voice commands didn't recognise half of what I said. It's a common problem with voice recognition that exists to this day, attempts to issue commands degenerated into shouting as it refused to understand. Bravo flash and clear, bravo flash and clear, flash and clear. FLASH AND CLEAR, BRAVO FLASH AND CLEAR OH FOR FU... before giving up and just using the context sensitive menu instead. Plus the levels were quite bland, the gameplay was clunky and the story line was sub-Tom Clancy bum fluff.
Then I bought and played the second game, hoping that it would be a good deal better. It wasn't - it was much the same with seemingly little, if nothing, actually fixed. I did give the multiplayer a fair shake as well, but it seemed to be occupied by people who were VERY noob unfriendly. Couple that with the PS2's shaky net play and I quickly fell out with the very idea of the SOCOM series. I didn't even know about the next two games on the PS2 or the first 3 PSP entries.
But now I'm faced with the forth of the PSP SOCOM titles. To be honest I didn't know there was one of these games on the PSP let alone it being successful enough to warrant a third sequel. My ignorance aside I was keen on reintroducing myself to the series. I had high hopes back in 2002 and I wondered how the game had been improved upon since.
Time changes... some things
The main change is obviously the fact there is no voice control on the PSP version. Just as well really as I didn't really fancy having to shout HOLD POSITON on the train. Instead the circle button is used for a context sensitive order menu. For instance point the crosshairs at a door and you can either tap circle for the default command or hold for a full set of options. It works well with the action freezing while you make your choice but I often find myself accidentally ordering my men to just move to a point rather than, say blowing up a generator because the crosshairs were a little to one side.
Plot wise, surprise - again we're given sub-Tom Clancy guff. Your team is sent to "aquire" some KGB operative only to arrive just as he is forcably bundled into a van by members of a Russian rebel group. How inconvenient! Kidnapping the man you wanted to kidnap is just plain rude. At least your team were in time to see who took him.
So what follows is a very po-faced journey through mostly snowy areas in an effort to get Mr KGB for yourselves. Of course the rebels are suspiciously well armed and trained and it quickly becomes clear there's even more to the kidnapping than it first seemed.
I described the story as po-faced because SOCOM is soon revealed as straight and humourless. They haven't even had the decency to include the odd hoorah for camp chuckles.
Each character is introduced as being a specialist in a certain area but that is largely forgotten apart from the odd line here and there, it certainly doesn't factor in to game play. They even all look the same thanks to the hardware limitations of the PSP. In fact the only reason I could recognise the player character is he's the black one. Oh and one of them doesn't wear a hat either. But that's about it.
The environment too suffers. Although they're impressively large (for the PSP) they tend to be very square and blocky. As you may expect the texture resolution is low as well so you're left shooting your way through a blocky smudge of a game.
It's a shame as the first couple of levels involve making your way through a snowy Russian town, complete with a fun shootout at a small hotel leading over to a train station. Shortly after there's a stealthy mission through a forest but then it quickly degenerates into warehouses and military bases. So it gets very grey, or white, or both which on a PSP screen can be an issue.
Going loud
Thankfully the controls are up to scratch. The developers have clearly understood the problems of only having one analogue nub and have worked around it well. You move with the nub and the robust targeting system (controlled with the shoulder buttons) handles the targeting of enemies extremely well. Good job too because manually aiming involves standing on the spot, looking down your sights. You'd have thought well trained SEALS would be able to move and aim at the same time, but no. It's like their version of Doom 3's flashlight/gun incompatibility.
Plus the nub's accuracy comes in to question whenever stealth is involved. As normal with this type of game you can creep along quietly by just pushing the nub gently in one direction. Sadly the line between "stealthy" and "bloody noisy stomping" seems so slight that a attempt to silently knife a guard is thwarted as they snap around to face you. They spin around so fast it's almost like your character has forgotten to put his mobile phone on silent and has just received an ill-timed call. It happens to the best of us I suppose.
Then we come to the multiplayer. SOCOM has become known for it's robust if unsophisticated multiplayer. One of my first experiences with online console multiplayer was with SOCOM 2 on the PS2 and I found it to be full of very good but very unfriendly players. After a handful of games staring at the screen waiting to respawn while being verbally abused for being a noob I gave up and never looked back.
Fire Team 3 offers both co-op and competitive modes and I approached them with a degree of nervousness. I'm used to the idiots online now, and I'm used to those players who are so good they've surely found a way to directly interface their brain with the game. Despite that my ego still bruises easy so it took me a while to gather the courage to select the option - I went straight for competitive.
Then I was struck down at the first step. Without a game joined or shot fired I was denied by Sony's decision to tie your online account to a code printed on the back of the manual. No doubt the codes are single use in the on going battle to encourage new sales over pre-owned. Problem for me is that review copies of PSP games don't come with manuals and the code was not forthcoming in any other form.
So this review should be taken as an indication of the quality of the single player experience only, and I hope I've given the impression that alone is a mixed bag. On one hand it is obvious that the SOCOM experience has matured since the early releases. I don't mean "mature" as in blood and swearing (although both feature) but rather in terms of game mechanics and design that have been refinded from their rough beginnings on the PS2, and that bodes well for the recently announced SOCOM 4 on PS3. But regardless of that we're left with a game that works well within the confines of the platform but cannot match up to the bombastic experiences offered on the "big" home consoles, especially since the art direction is nothing to write home about.
Fans will love it, but prepare for a lukewarm experience otherwise
Bungie vows never to follow the Activision route and charge extra for online multiplayer
(1) (30/07) 
Welcome anonymous user.
You can have your say below and post a comment,
but why not sign up and register for an account?
#1 - peej - on 11/03/2010 at 15:54 wrote:
Hoping SOCOM ends up OK on the PS3. Still like that sweep and clear type of gameplay.
#2 - Hughes. - on 11/03/2010 at 21:15 wrote: