Tactically Proficient
SOCOM: Tactical Strike manages to present Sony's best-selling license in a new way that's entirely at home on the PSP.
Published: November 18, 2007
It makes things like chasing bonus objectives that much more infuriating, because one AI glitch or improperly handled encounter could mean having to start all over, which in turn means watching another few minutes of load screens -- first to go all the way back to the main briefing screen and then to re-load the whole level again. Not only is it clunky and annoying, but it saps what little remaining patience one might have for trying to slog through a mission to get to that next far-off checkpoint.
Clearly, Slant Six has learned their way around the PSP hardware in most other regards, though. Tactical Strike is at times a surprisingly pretty game. The levels themselves are absolutely massive, and the animations for everything from sneaking around to enemy deaths are smooth and varied. Plenty of care was spent in throwing tons of cover around a level without it being too overwhelming, meaning you'll still have to find the best cover for a situation, but you won't be short on temporary crates or walls to grab to stave off death by lead poisoning.
Aurally, things are even better; weapons effects have tons of punch and, thanks to the game's multi-national cast, all of the radio chatter between the squad and HQ is in that team's native language (with the translated subtitles appearing at the top of the screen). Combine this with enemies that quietly discuss things or bark out situational updates in their native tongue and you have a game with a startling amount of vocal content. Ladle a powerful soundtrack that knows all too well how to go from near-silent, atmospheric, tension-building pulses to all-out firefight anthems and you have a game that you'd do well to throw on headphones for.
So Tactical Strike ends up bungling a couple of key parts of the presentation, and what would be minor mistakes end up adding up to something that ultimately pulls some of the fun out of the game. Even with those faults, however, it's plain that Slant Six has a hell of a departure from the original SOCOM formula on their hands. It's likely not something that newcomers are going to glom onto because of the excessive loading and oft-times frustrating exercises in AI gone wrong, but if they can patch up some of the niggling issues that plague the game, this could be the absolute definition of a PSP killer app.
As it stands right now, though, it's merely going to have to settle for being the digital equivalent of tactical splinter; hardly lethal, but annoying enough that it can't really be ignored.