SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs

A good example of the balance is found in the implantation of gun turrets. These powerful guns can be accessed for fast and furious fragging, but often reveal your stationary location through its loud bursts of fire. Nevertheless, it's good for completing various mode-specific objectives, say, when you're picking off VIPs as a terrorist in extraction or the all-new escort mode, one of two added to the sequel. Escort involves SEALs leading VIPs to an extraction point as a gang of terrorists attempt to take them out before reaching safety. It's a lot like extraction, only there's two extraction points instead of one and hostages start with the SEALs rather than requiring any rescuing first. Breach, on the other hand, supplies SEALs with C4 to blast through barriers while terrorists try and prevent a bombing within their base.

If you're taking either the defensive or the offensive role in one of these games, like every mode, weaponry is a key to winning and SOCOM II provides explosive additions like the anti-personnel mine and the rocket launcher. However, if you aren't a fan of such a fiery arsenal, weapons adjustments, such as snipers only, shotguns only, pistols only or no bombs can be made when creating a new game. Other options give you further control over games including match length, a required skill level and the ability to respawn during supression maps. When respawning is enabled, players can continually rejoin the single round after dying, giving the entire 20 minute game an intense format that all older shooters used to follow.

Besides the respawn matches, all modes of SOCOM II come to a close when one team is eliminated. Though this is the easiest way to end the match, actually completing the objectives goes a long way this time. That's because progress is based on skills and not just kills, so there's more involved when earning the MVP award and upping your rank. This skill level is signified by a series of badges that appear to the right of your name to determine progress on a whole and decide which skill-specific matches you can access. On the opposite end, in front of your name, there's room for an optional clan name which SOCOM II supports much better than before.

Whether you're using the headset from the first game or own the latest version offered separately, communication improvements are present in SOCOM II. The speakers name is now displayed above the new health meter and an icon hovers above their character's head if they happen to be living, letting you know whose talking at all times. This allows you to effectively silence the immature individuals that whine into the microphone, especially because we've been given the opportunity to ignore specific players in the same menu that allows us to vote them off. On the other side of the fence, friends can be added to a list located outside of the briefing rooms and, in the same place, game filters grant quick access to our favorite match types. Unfortunately, there's no easy toggle button for the filter, so it's a matter of opening the options menu and resaving each time you want to turn it on, off, or make a change.