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Offline Review: "Bravo to Charlie! Bravo to Charlie! Hey...what the?! Where the heck are you guys!"
"You meant Charlie as in Charlie Baker from Minnesota, right sir?"
Delays have circulated around the lifespan of Sony's startup benchmark into the world of online games ever since it was announced over a year ago that the Network Adapter would be ready for a Summer/Fall 2001 launch. What was to be just one of its online ready titles for the release with the adapter, was overlooked by the majority as a "been there, done that" sort of thing. But when word broke out officially that this summer would be the one where the PlayStation 2 would be brought to that next step in leaping from every day and ordinary game console/DVD and CD player to a fully functional, online capable entertainment center, one title stuck out like a sore thumb. SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs was then ready for the masses to receive its acceptance, and Sony went to work to make sure that their first flagship title to ship along side the Network Adapter wouldn't disappoint anyone in the least.
You are elite, but you are not alone. You are the commander of a small United States Navy SEALs team. Through your vast training in combat and strategic skill work, you will accomplish the most daunting tasks against a wide array of terrorist groups to cut off their demands into bringing the entire world into a state of elimination. Commandeer three others than yourself to achieve victory; or find the world at its own demise. Simple isn't your way of thinking. You'll bruise and you'll bleed. And it's up to you to neutralize this monumental threat. There is but only one option here: risk you and your men's life to save the planet from total annihilation. Now get to it!
First and foremost, SOCOM is not your typical action packed release. Similar to the Rainbow Six franchise, SOCOM involves a lot of planning ahead. With over 12 missions in all, you'll take each level by storm in using both an in-game map and your ability to think on your feet. The map is very handy and comes into play often in case you forget where your next destination lies. Because the missions assign you a certain set of goals, you'll find yourself completing each one in a run down through the given list. Missions, even though somewhat relatively the same, differ. Most of the time you'll find some levels take on the task of clearing entire areas of bad guys. That's not always so. Extracting hostages, acquiring Intel, destroying an enemy's escape vehicle, forcing a gang leader to surrender, and even calling in an air raid are namely some of the other cool aspects to the game. Although you're only handed around three or four priorities per level, there are quite a few goals that aren't as relevant, but can be dealt with if you're looking to gain the highest grade for every mission.
At the end of every level, you'll be marked off on your performance statistically. Everything counts up here, in whether or not you've done certain tasks properly or not. For instance, using stealth and teamwork grants you a better overall score. But sometimes you may find that the best way to successfully finish smaller, sideline goals are not so easy to pull off. Insertion into a level without being detected by enemy forces can very tricky, for example. Once you blow your cover on that part, you'll flunk the goal, which won't become accessible again unless you restart the mission a second time. Although, achieving a perfect on the grading system every time isn't necessary, unless you're really one who must do it all.
There is quite a bit of skill involved in playing the game, even if you're not playing it by the books. Your character can do almost anything you'd expect, from setting C4, gunning bad guys down, scaling heights, crawling, strafing, transcending areas by using stealth, and of course barking orders to your teammates. With that power to command your own team, the process is entirely effective and becomes the norm for the gameplay rather quickly. Without your partners to back you up, the game's difficulty increases the farther you draw away from them. Here is where your thinking cap goes on. Initially you're in a group of four men, with you being one of them. You're split into two symmetrical parts. The main component is you (aptly named Kahuna) and your backup, Boomer. While Boomer isn't exactly the greatest help with only the ability to take fewer actions than the second team -- amidst placing bombs and covering your backside -- he's still useful in certain parts of the game.
The other half of your team is like a broom used to sweep away the dirt underneath the table before crawling underneath it. Jester and Spectre are their names, and what they can do is a lot. Leading you to specific destinations; attacking at pinpoint positions; sneaking to any area you so choose them to; ambushing guards; regrouping to your location; covering the outside of an area as you dispose of whatever's inside; and even opening doorways to a room only to clean it out of terrorists is just some of the feats these two men can take charge of. Knowing the what, when, where and how of deploying orders gives SOCOM a brain. If there wasn't any thinking available, the game might otherwise appear dull in the process of mindless killing. But even though you're in charge of an entire SEAL team as you encounter new heights, your computer controlled allies will actually offer you suggestions that you can use to your advantage in handling each situation cleanly and clearly.
Stealth is used more often than most other tactics throughout SOCOM, and you'll be thankful it's in there. Whether you're hidden behind objects or in shadow dark enough to render your body invisible, the enemy won't be able to detect your presence. Using either a silenced weapon or the butt of a gun will knock a guard out. From there, you'll need to drag the body out of site so a second guard on patrol doesn't find that their comrade's gone down by intruders. One gripe I have with the game though, is that enemies sometime can vary to either being sharp as a blade or dumb as a post. Without even being hidden in the dark, you could bust right into a room having the opposition in front of you, and it would take the enemy a few seconds before it develops a way to pull the trigger. However, not every enemy is always the same, and it's better to be cautious than not.
Controlling your character, aside from controlling the computer, can be just as simple and entertaining. Moving your guy around gets a little stiff with having the camera switch positions as you rotate it with the left analog stick. Control of your character is performed in the same method by using the left analog stick. The scheme setup isn't that big of a deal, however, since you can set your control preference even before you start playing a new game. Elsewhere, you can strafe, jump, climb, and shoot, and even peek around corners from behind a wall. Each of these maneuvers is also easy to pick up on. Getting the hang of reloading your weapon can at times be a bit of a hassle. Whenever an enemy is down, their guns, already loaded with ammo, are where their body now is or once was. An icon setup informs you when you're able to pickup the leftovers by popping up right before your eyes. Although, these icons can be mixed in with others, such as the one that lets you pick up a fallen enemy body. Between the two, you might find yourself spending some time trying to place the character right to where the icon finally stays put, and where you want it to be.
My main quip in the control design though lies in its various stances Kahuna has at his disposal. Straight up, hunched down, and with your stomach to the floor are the three types of positions you'll form throughout SOCOM. Despite being able to hold one of these three postures, you may end up sliding against a tree or any other game object that would force the character to rise up from his crouch or flatline spread into the default, upright position. When you want to stay hidden along on the ground, and end up accidentally finding yourself soon being seen by sticking out from it like a giant root, then you'll understand my distress.
Plain and uninspiring, the graphics in SOCOM don't strike like lightning with what you'd expect from a game that's on a 128-bit system. Rather, the visuals relate more closely to something that was intended to appear in a dated PC game. Textures seem to exist in one state of simple shapes and colors, as everywhere you look is not much more thrilling than the next spot. In-game models are really no different, when objects such as huts, boats, trees, rocks and more look as though they could pass for heading straight out of a regular PlayStation title. It's not that the visuals are ugly -- because they're not. It's that they lack any real definition in the list of much better PlayStation 2 titles that have been available long before SOCOM was released.
Luckily though, the game doesn't always suffer the same fate with heading into a huge variety of real world locations to keep the game's direction not focused on one theme. From the cold, blizzard lands of the Antarctic, to the murky swamplands and crumbling ruins of Thailand, and even the dark night of an oilrig in the middle of the ocean, SOCOM packs one huge area to explore after the next. Both team and enemy characters aren't too outstanding in any shape or form, but at least they're more developed than the obscurity ridden level models and textures. All four of your mates, and you alike, will dress up for the elements. Whether you're plunging into a snowy outing with white flakes surrounding the skies with winter gear on, slipping into a wetsuit as you board the dock of a ship, or getting drenched as droplets pour upon your jungle camouflage wear as you trudge through waist deep muddy waters, the attire is ever changing, and appropriate for each occasion -- and looking decent enough in the process.
However, all of your team looks alike, as the same can be said about the enemy forces. Not that you need to know which of your team or enemies are, but it'd be nice to see some variety in body structure and maybe even clothing attire. One of the larger focal points to the game has been definitely been paid to character animations. Tell your men to move forward, and Kahuna will signal the call with a motion of his arm. Bending over and creeping around demonstrates the notion that you're actually there and taking charge into enemy filled land. Firing a weapon at a terrorist's chest and gazing upon him as he lunges down into death is always great and never better. Course by course, shadow and light also plays a key role to your success or failure. Most of each level has a set of darkened mass that will let you proceed forward unnoticed. Each patch of dimness works effectively and visually looks pretty good. Just as well, anything that moves drags its own line of shadow along with it in well adherence. From exiting the darkness into the lighted spots meshes seamlessly with how ambient any character on screen blends into the environment. Other natural light sources, like the glaze of a gun's fire, lights inside and outside buildings, and the burst of a bomb all act accordingly to the purpose they serve.
War is a battlefield that you'll need all of your senses intact for. If anything, SOCOM's audio is one of the most important sense driven aspects of all in the game. Snow, soil, stone, liquid, wood, grass, and steel are just some of the many surfaces you will have to approach the opposition across. Every step you take is delightful to hear as the crunches, splashes, and pounds of your team's and your enemy's footsteps all pulsate realistically into the eardrum. Firing or getting fired upon, or even listening to grenades and C4 exploding all sounds very good too, as the noises that are emitted in far and near distances that from where you're stationed (and if you're close enough), are believable differentially no matter what stage in the level you're at. Game levels even have their own background audio. In the swamps of Thailand, for instance, you'd notice the croaking of toads throughout the dead of the air. SOCOM's soundtrack isn't always abroad, but when it is, it fits the action on the screen. Balances of unobtrusive and blatant pitches swim around you depending on an enemy's presence being near. When they're not around, the orchestra dips in and shows up in a way that ties into the surroundings of where you are in the world. And as the battle ensues, the orchestra rises to a faster pave of intense listening.
If you're one who was left in the dark about SOCOM being packaged with its own Logitech microphone, get ready for a whole new type of gaming experience. With or without, SOCOM offers you the option to use those pretty vocals of yours by bossing your own team of Navy SEALs. Once the headset USB chord is plugged into the front of your PlayStation 2, whatever voice work is heard -- from friend or foe -- is done by way of the mic. In return, your own voice can be used to send commands to your teammates, instead of manually pressing down on the buttons each time. The mic works great, and while it's on your head, it sort of creates a realism that you're there, fighting a war for the world over radio communication. But, while the game's voice acting does sound authentic at its best, you'll hear the same replies when your teammates are given a command many times during any mission. Certain lines are humorous, such as "He's not moving anymore!" or "Scratch one terrorist." Others can be plain, from "Okay." to "I copy that, sir." If only there was way more dialogue, which was spread out further rather than in repeated in patterns, then the annoyance factor could be lessened for the better.
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What is SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs? It's the hyped strategic action game countless PlayStation 2 owners have been waiting for. Is it worth spending the sixty or more dollars on? That depends. SOCOM is split at a hinge. On one end you've got the choice of heading into a single player game, and on the other, there's an online 32-person matchup with your name on it. The single player game isn't the greatest thrill ride of all, and appears to be a bonus next to its other half of tearing enemies up online. Either way, though, the game is a surefire title that may miss a few marks, but still manages to cover a heck of a lot of terrain.
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