SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs

Sony's taking its online plans to new heights. One of the company's first broadband online software is a tactical army game where you as a Navy Seal will guide an elite team of operatives through 17 different missions taking place in 4 different actual world places. Thailand, Alaska, the Congo, and Eastern locales will be these battlegrounds...you know, the army stuff. While this idea is nothing new, for Sony players, and how they'll have an online database to connect to with up to 16 different players at the same time, the premise is just fine.

In SOCOM, you can expect two different types of teams in arms. There's the bad, and then there's the good. Don't anticipate the army men in SOCOM to be just as repetitive as the troops in such games as...well, Army Men. The two different types of gun toting marksmen will vary. For the effect of differentiating the bad and the good, you can expect the bad guys (terrorists) with AK-47s most of the time, and the good guys (Navy Seals) with mostly high profile sniper rifles. That doesn't mean that those are the ONLY weapons in your arsenal. Except up to 30 different types of weapons one can wield throughout the game. With the outcome of distinct weaponry one side may have, you should know that the two differences in teams will carry diversity in battle strategies as well.

The test version of the game that was demoed so far hasn't shown a promise of outstanding graphics, mainly because the developer's (Zipper Interactive) efforts were put into the aspect of combat. Such effects like weak explosions, rough character models, and cramped battlegrounds have been implemented into the game thus far. Hopefully, the final version of the game won't share these elements. It's nice to hear that a lot of the missions, though, will take place during different times of the day with even various weather effects. Just imagine...battling your nemesis through blinding rain or fog.

The collection of missions will vary from taking on a hostage situation, clearing out buildings, doing some reconnaissance work, or even rescuing comrades or civilians. It's really amazing from what you'll be able to do in the game. Sometimes it may come down to a good old fashion ambush. Often you may find the enemy AI to typically be smart. Your job is to guide your men and work around the strategically problems of war. Remember, if you take care of your men, they'll take care of you.

If you've been a big fan of last year's PlayStation 2 release TimeSplitters, then you might find the control scheme to be similar to that game. Using the analog sticks will come in handy for aiming and controlling your character, while the directional pad zooms in on the target. Stealth will play a large role in controlling your team of operatives through fields of tall grass and even muddy swamps. In the game, you're able to pull off such moves as peeking around corners, crawling belly first silently on the ground, or even sniping the opposing force. Think that's cool? Well, having the ability to find the enemy under camouflage masks (literally) should make SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals a challenging, but unique experience for most fans of the genre.

With two player modes -- both single player, and multiplayer -- the war will rage on this holiday season! Single player mode lets you as mentioned before, guide your own team of men into the field to do justice. You can take different courses of action, leading your men at your command with sniping the enemy, blasting them to bits, or simply blowing the hell out of their carcasses. Two players can just as well take on the task of delivering hurt into the opposition. If that's not how you and a family member or friend play games, then try letting them be the enemy, and you the good guy (and vice versa) battling against one another with sheer military force.

The online mode on the other hand lets you team up with 15 other players with the same rules applied of course. Take on your friends or family from a distance, or go up against a stranger in real time. Dare I say that SOCOM could possibly be the multiplayer game of the year? We'll see. And just so you know, this fall, expect the release of a PlayStation 2 microphone headset peripheral, which allows voice recognition technology for shouting commands to your comrades.