SOCOM Special Forces Review
SOCOM Special Forces
Platform : PS3 exclusive
Developer : Zipper
Publisher : Sony
Socom Special forces is back in the hands of the team at Zipper and brandishing a new look, feel and story to draw in a new audience but at the risk of losing some of their old fan base.
The SOCOM series is synonymous with squad based tactical shooters and while this is not as hard-core as the PS2 instalments it is still pretty team orientated. The main addition is the new story mode, you are part of a NATO elite special forces team made up of different nationalities, set in a southern Asian country about to fall into a civil war. Trapped and outnumbered your team must battle its way through a number of fire fights using your team mates and a number of solo stealth missions.
For the majority of the game you are in control of two squads these can be sent to certain tactical points or to be made attack or flank enemies on your orders, orders are given out by using the D-pad. When it works its brilliant, as you storm a room and have your team mates flank the enemy on either side you can have a room full killed before they even know your there. When it goes wrong it’s disastrously frustrating. AI giving away their location or just not supporting you as you get attacked will have you at breaking point.
The third person view throws up a few issues, mainly around the cover mechanics. The camera angle from your point of view may not show clearly that you are not able to actually shoot around the piece of cover you are using, which of course then gives away your position to the enemy. This can be disastrous after spending such a long time setting up your attacks.
Generally the main complaint with the game is with the cover mechanics. Cover plays a huge role and as such it should be flawless. Luckily as we saw with MAG, Zipper have a great track record of listening to its customers and working out any issues so I’m sure this will be address pretty soon.
The story mode is good, nothing special but not bad, but using the sharp shooter attachment makes it all the more enjoyable. Usually I will play a game through with the controller and then the Sharp shooter but since this was made with the sharp shooter in mind it was my first option. While it takes a long time to get to grips with the character movement, while looking around, while controlling your squad, and requires a lot more messing around with the settings than I’m used to it really does make the game far more enjoyable.
Again issues arise with the Cover mechanics and the Sharp Shooter. The cover button is not the one under the trigger but rather the O button which is on the Nav. controller and quite difficult to locate blindly with no option to change the buttons!
SOCOM has always been about the online side of things and this one is no different, provided you are in a good squad this can be very enjoyable. A lot more action from the offset but once you settle into it and people stop running around like headless chickens the games are very enjoyable. 32 players battles in nice maps that are nicely balanced within a number of different modes such as your stable death match and co-op options.
When Zipper released MAG then made an online only game and a really good one too. It has won over many players with its use of squad and tactics. SOCOM takes the squad roles one steps further making it almost impossible to survive if you’re a lone wolf. Perhaps they should have done the same here as the online is really this game’s best selling point, it really is a case of a single player game tacked on rather than a multiplayer one tacked on
SCORE “C” Very Good Game
HOW TO DECIPHER OUR NEW SCORES
A= OUTSTANDING. A must buy for all gamers
B= GREAT GAME. Few tiny flaws just keeping it from top spot
C= VERY GOOD GAME. Solid but maybe just for fans of the genre
D= GOOD GAME. Some good bits, some bad bits but still enjoyable
E= AVERAGE GAME. Not worth full price, generally a bargain basement pickup
F= BAD GAME. Is just broken or utterly useless.
G= TERRIBLE. Don’t even read the back of the box
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