Commander Fury reviews SOCOM 4

shane · July 13, 2010

It was August 27, 2002. The day that changed my life as a gamer. The day that my mysterious lady was born.

She was so mysterious in fact, that her name was an abbreviation. Special Operations COMmand or SOCOM, as I like to call her, was magnificent. And, she had everything.

Thanks to the PS2′s nifty Network Adapter, I could play online with 15 of my closest friends (that I’d never met). Her COMs featured a fancy-schmancy voice command system, that was so unique, she came with her very own USB headset. Her COMs also allowed me to voice chat with my team mates during the game, and in the lobby (the first game on the PS2, to do so).

I’m talking complete clan support. I could create, and name my clan. And could actually manage my clan (and my Socom friends) online, all with the press of a few buttons.

I could even create, customize, and name private rooms. All that, and her crazy third person POV, which allowed me to see how cool I looked as a Navy SeAL, was a match made in Heaven.

Every night, for hours at a time. Sometimes until daybreak. I would become a US Navy SeAL. One of the most elite war fighters in military history. And I would hang out with people from all over the world, and play a game that would eventually, become a part of my life.

Then, as the years passed, she changed. My mysterious lady had become something else. And, the more she changed, the further I felt from her. Eventually, she became impossible to enjoy.* And our relationship became a string of broken promises. It was over (or so it seemed), and I was heart broken.

Don’t get me wrong, I tried to forget her. To just move on.

Like others, I was tempted by Modern Warfare. I mean, let’s face it…she was beautiful, with a control scheme & Singleplayer story to die for. But, no matter how great she was….she was no SOCOM.

Then, in June, I went to Los Angeles to see her (SOCOM 4 @ E3). I had heard that she was back in good hands (Zipper Interactive), and that she was looking much better. But, I had to see for myself.

As soon as I grabbed the DualShock, it was obvious that this was not the SOCOM that I’d grown to hate over the last 2 years.* This was familiar to me. Very close to the game that I fell in love with. The controls just felt like SOCOM.

Gone was that #!@%* circle menu. I wasn’t tripping over propane tanks. And there weren’t 9000 birds flying around in a circle (BTW…I never did get that Slant 6…you went through alot of trouble to make those birds, and to make them destructible…but why?). There were stealth kills, air strikes, and “iron sights“. Yes, I said* “iron sights” (finally) in SOCOM 4.

In the Singleplayer campaign, you play as Commander Cullen Gray, a NATO Spec Ops officer in command of a 4 person fireteam. The team is comprised of 2 American operators named Schweitzer and Wells. And 2 South Korean operators named Chung and Forty Five. Veteran SOCOM players will recall that Forty Five is one of the original female combatants from the original SOCOM. And, Zipper was sure to point out, that the character is “vital to the story“. The plot of the Singleplayer story plays out over a 6 day period, somewhere in southeastern Asia.

With a revamped reticle/crosshair, and a more natural gameplay mechanic, I felt like I had more control over my commando. And, with all-new squad commands (via a very simple D-pad configuration), I felt like I was actually in control of my team, as well.

I mentioned the addition of* “iron sights” (classic FPS view, where you actually look down the sights of your weapon while aiming) to SOCOM 4. With this very basic addition, my aim was almost flawless.

The cover system took me a second to figure out, but once I did, it was quite helpful overall. While in cover, you can peek and fire, which really helps when you encounter more than one enemy. There was also a noticeable improvement in the accuracy & hit detection departments. For instance, if I shot a tango in the foot, he fell to the ground, holding his foot. If I shot him in the arm, he lost use of that arm. If I scored a headshot, he didn’t do anything else, ever.

A new “single button” grenade mechanic (again…finally), with an improved “arc” & blast radius, make frag grenades user friendly again.

And of course, Sprint & Melee’ are still part of the control scheme, with the buttons mapped out a la’ COD/MW (L3/R3 respectively) .

Visually, the game looks wonderful. While COD/Modern Warfare still wears the GFX crown, SOCOM 4 gives the franchise a noticeable (and much needed) face-lift. The lighting seemed much more natural. Textures & backgrounds looked much deeper, and the cutscenes came off like “reality television“, complete with the live feel of a “shaky” cam.

Sonically speaking, the audio in the demo was spectacular. Authentic “battle chatter“, and combat SFX only add to the robust gunplay.

Apart from the single-player mode, the game will also feature an online mode which supports up to 32 players, and has been described as an “an all new experience” by Zipper. But, we’ll just have to wait, as no further details about the Multiplayer mode were made available by Zipper @ E3.

All in all, I know that there will be SOCOM purists, who will still try to find eveything wrong with SOCOM 4. But, the one thing I took from this brief encounter with my old flame, is that she seems to be back, and maybe…just maybe…a little better. And, while any intel regarding Multiplayer is still tightly under wraps, if the Singleplayer mode is any indication….there just might be a future for me & my beloved SOCOM after all.

~V~