SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Combined Assault
More of an expansion than a full sequel, we can see why it’s not called SOCOM 4.
Published: December 18, 2006
Sony Computer Entertainment America – hell Sony Computer Entertainment in general ---- owes a lot to Zipper Interactive. Tucked into the shadow of both Microsoft and Nintendo in Redmond, Worshington, Zipper created a game that not only worked well as an offline tactical shooter, but offered the experience that would define the PlayStation 2’s online experience. Now you can take that any way you want, and good or bad, the game did move Network Adaptors, but what started as something incredibly fresh is starting to stagnate a little, partly because the engine is getting on in years and partly because Combined Assault is basically a single--player expansion to things.
That’s not a bad thing – provided you like the offline experience, but for those looking for something significantly enhanced over what was offered in SOCOM 3. Again, this isn’t necessarily a knock against the series, it’s just that the focus here seems to have been in creating a thicker offline experience. The title says it all, not just in the fact that this isn’t SOCOM 4 in name, but because it represents a deeply integrated experience with the PSP version (which we reviewed here and is actually better if you can believe it).
The efforts of the two--man Fireteam Bravo on the PSP and the familiar four--man fireteam alpha found in the PS2 [i]SOCOM games have been intertwined in a fantastic way, with two stories running in parallel that often criss--cross and offer objectives that can be shared by making your way through the single--player game on either system. Over the course of almost 20 missions throughout the war-torn country of Adjikistan (don't bother looking that up on an atlas; it doesn't exist), you'll hit the coast, hike through mountains and poke your way through the rubble and squalor of semi-abandoned towns. There's enough topography that you feel like you're jumping around, though obviously it's not quite as varied as the previous globe-trotting outings.
This was intentional, however, as it allows for the same levels (or parts of them anyway) to be shared between the missions of Combined Assault and Fireteam Bravo 2. Things like sniping out a group of enemies early on in the game gives you a Crosstalk objective that effectively eliminates those enemies when playing the other game. It's this sort of shared presentation that shows CA's obvious attempt at blending gameplay between the PSP and PS2, and it's an admirable goal -- even if the execution is a little flawed.
It's not so much the PSP/PS2 interoperability, it's more in how the single player game works in general. AI, particularly, causes issues for both your teammates and the enemy -- moreso than I can remember in any of the older games. The pathfinding for your team is pretty horribly borked when navigating more complex hallways, leading to bunching and logjamming in doorways or more claustrophobic areas. Plenty of instances of enemies standing around waiting to die even when you're in eyesight, only to charge you without firing are "balanced" out by having enemies that are apparently omniscient and can give you a lead kiss to the jugular the second you peek from around cover.
If you don't mind the "Hurrrrr, Time-Life Operator!" jokes, you can still use the voice activated sections to issue commands -- some of them semi-secret and more flexible than the things you get in the recently revamped Team Command menu. You'll still run into instances where you have to repeatedly issue a command, but there are far more single button press context-sensitive commands in place this time around, and it does still feel cool to issue a command and then watch your team gang up on a doorway, flashbang it and then go in guns blazing while not harming any hostages.
That’s not a bad thing – provided you like the offline experience, but for those looking for something significantly enhanced over what was offered in SOCOM 3. Again, this isn’t necessarily a knock against the series, it’s just that the focus here seems to have been in creating a thicker offline experience. The title says it all, not just in the fact that this isn’t SOCOM 4 in name, but because it represents a deeply integrated experience with the PSP version (which we reviewed here and is actually better if you can believe it).
The efforts of the two--man Fireteam Bravo on the PSP and the familiar four--man fireteam alpha found in the PS2 [i]SOCOM games have been intertwined in a fantastic way, with two stories running in parallel that often criss--cross and offer objectives that can be shared by making your way through the single--player game on either system. Over the course of almost 20 missions throughout the war-torn country of Adjikistan (don't bother looking that up on an atlas; it doesn't exist), you'll hit the coast, hike through mountains and poke your way through the rubble and squalor of semi-abandoned towns. There's enough topography that you feel like you're jumping around, though obviously it's not quite as varied as the previous globe-trotting outings.
This was intentional, however, as it allows for the same levels (or parts of them anyway) to be shared between the missions of Combined Assault and Fireteam Bravo 2. Things like sniping out a group of enemies early on in the game gives you a Crosstalk objective that effectively eliminates those enemies when playing the other game. It's this sort of shared presentation that shows CA's obvious attempt at blending gameplay between the PSP and PS2, and it's an admirable goal -- even if the execution is a little flawed.
It's not so much the PSP/PS2 interoperability, it's more in how the single player game works in general. AI, particularly, causes issues for both your teammates and the enemy -- moreso than I can remember in any of the older games. The pathfinding for your team is pretty horribly borked when navigating more complex hallways, leading to bunching and logjamming in doorways or more claustrophobic areas. Plenty of instances of enemies standing around waiting to die even when you're in eyesight, only to charge you without firing are "balanced" out by having enemies that are apparently omniscient and can give you a lead kiss to the jugular the second you peek from around cover.
If you don't mind the "Hurrrrr, Time-Life Operator!" jokes, you can still use the voice activated sections to issue commands -- some of them semi-secret and more flexible than the things you get in the recently revamped Team Command menu. You'll still run into instances where you have to repeatedly issue a command, but there are far more single button press context-sensitive commands in place this time around, and it does still feel cool to issue a command and then watch your team gang up on a doorway, flashbang it and then go in guns blazing while not harming any hostages.
