Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs

Written by Adam Woolcott on July 05, 2002

Hands-On Preview: Complete with Village People musicЕwell maybe not.

With Sony's online gaming plans set to kick into high gear with the release of the $40 network adapter, it's apparent that Sony is avoiding the approach that sent other add-on peripherals to a certain doom Ц that being, plenty of online games available to justify the purchase of the extra piece of hardware. The most high-profile online game at the moment is SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Ц which, ironically (yet not so ironic) ships the same day as the network adapter. Revealed for the first time at E3 2001, SOCOM has moved from a curiosity to a bonafide must-own for PS2 owners not only interested in hopping online, but a game for the single-player gamer in mind as well. After some hands-on time with the single-player game, it's easy to see that not only will SOCOM be the highest-profile game on SCEA's online gameplan, but also one of the best.

The level provided in the single-player demo puts you into the cold uninhabited wilderness of Alaska, on a mission to shut down a band of terrorists (no, really, pretend you didn't see the terrorist thing coming, I beg you), as well as take a member of the faction who wants out of the group into custody and send him in for some interrogation. There's well over a dozen objectives per level, with many unlocked after accomplishing other tasks. Some are required to complete the missions, but others can be left unfinished if that's what you'd prefer. All the objectives come with a flyby that you can reference in order to find the location of some tasks, since the wide-open spaces of the level could draw some confusion at first, as well as a map that points out the objectives in your area.

Many weapons are at your disposal, and can be arranged before the mission or taken from your enemies after you send them to their death. You get your share of handguns (both the silenced and non-silenced variety), Uzi's, and the super-duper-badass Sniper Rifle for long distance pickoffs. Many variations of grenades are also available, such as smoke grenades, stun grenades, and the standard pin-pull grenades that just cause limbs to detach from torsos. There's also some C4 charges that are available too (yet, no MGS-like fun of strapping them to the back of an enemy, then running away and detonating the thing). You can only have a couple weapons at a time (primary and secondary), so choose your tools of destruction wisely.

When you get into the levels, the game kicks in a very, very nice cutscene of your SEAL team jumping out of an airplane and landing at the drop point. You have a contact away from the area giving you extra orders and just giving you general advice along the way if necessary.

You have your choice of the 3rd person or 1st person view for traversing the game Ц the switch is as simple as pressing the D-pad up or down. Provided also is a zoom mode for your sniper rifle for those oh-so-useful headshots. Moving around is the same as any other FPS out there, with an option to turn on the inverted pitch (thankfully, since without the inverted pitch I wouldn't last 5 seconds out there)

The controls on a whole are somewhat difficult to get a hang of, but once you do it becomes second nature. Every button is used; so just testing the different buttons will give you the chance to get to know every one of them. The controls can be changed in the Demo options menu, so that's sure to be included in the final version.

The circle button is used exclusively for communicating with your team (since the headset isn't available for use at the moment), and is mapped out rather simply, with commands for all the usual methods of teamwork. The final version will let you play the single-player game with the headset, so this may be just a moot point, but if the headset doesn't interest you (or you don't want to look like a complete moron talking to your TV all alone), Zipper Interactive provided a nice way to communicate with your team. SOCOM is undoubtedly based around a lot of stealth-based measures. The demo level required you to quietly knock off several sentry guards without causing much of a commotion Ц otherwise they'll sound the alarm and cause you a little more grief than you're really supposed to deal with. So SOCOM emphasizes being smart and not rushing into a battle commando style, but to turn on that silenced handgun and pluck the baddies from a distance & make sure nobody saw you doing it.

Your team doesn't stand by and let you do all the work though Ц if they see someone they shouldn't, they'll take shots and kill too. They can also be killed, so you should give them some cover if the chance presents itself.

One thing I find interesting is the small amount of damage you are allowed to take before dying. Only a few hits will take you down for the count, and either I'm blind or I didn't see a single heath-pack of first-aid kit anywhere around. So not taking hits is a wise thing Ц tying into to the whole stealth-approach thingy. Thankfully there aren't a million enemies around, but only just a few at a time, so being able to stay alive improves with your ability to kill everyone without taking any hits yourself.

Besides the single-player game, SOCOM will come equipped with a 16-player online game, that is supported for broadband only. The single-player game is just as emphasized though, so don't think this is some game that has no replay value outside the online mode. If it's all tied up right, SOCOM will be a game that is just as good offline as it is online.

The graphics in SOCOM are pretty well done Ц though difficult to judge in this case. Since the whole level is white and snowy, the only real effect is the snow that's falling and handicapping your view of the area. The terrain is loaded with trees that are covered in snow, and the effect is done well. The inside-areas (the little buildings that house the enemy) are sparsely detailed, but what is there looks decent enough. The characters are realistically portrayed and the animations for shooting, ducking, and dying are done nicely as well. Certainly more levels need to be seen before the graphics are judged in full (which will happen when the finished copy is reviewed); but the level here is a good sign.