Tactical squad games are an unusual animal. They can either be very good or horribley bad!! Seems like there's no "in between". SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALS is one squad game that not only manages to avoid the common pitfalls of many squad based tactical shooters, but it also blazes new ground in the field raising the bar for everyone else.
The U.S. Navy SEALS are an elite covert ops group that operate under cover in hot spots around the world. This game gives you the SEALS experience as best as it can be represented in the video game medium. Through 12 single player missions you lead a small fire team of elite commandos through such a variety of situations that range from hostage rescues, to demolitions and intelligence gathering. Stealth is more important that firepower. Fire a shot or get spotted by a bad guy and it makes your job that much more difficult. The best weapon is often not to be seen.
The gameplay starts fairly easy during the single player missions and progressively becomes more difficult. Sometimes this can be frustrating. Often you need to repeat the mission several times to accomplish your goal. What really sets the gameplay apart from the other squad shooters has to be the command interface. Squad commmands are laid out in very simple terms for your team. Unlike a game like Ghost Recon, your fireteam can do more than just "run, hold and shoot". They can cover an area, advance to another part of the map, deploy grendades, breach a door, clear rooms....all this makes the way you use your fireteams more versatile. What's also unique is the voice command system. Using the USB headset to command your team adds a more immersive feel the the gameplay. Your teamates give you updates and you can recieve intel from HQ through the earpiece. If you don't buy the game with the headset then I highly recomend picking it up afterwards.
The graphics in this game are exceptional. The environments range from desert to arctic. Zipper Interactive has laid out some nice areas to play "hide and seek" with the enemy. There's lots of cover and there are lots of interactive elements in the environments. The non player characters are all rendered very niceley. They don't give off the look of being stiff and "inhuman" as are the SEALS themselves. All the human characters move convincingly. The game can be played from either the third person or the first person perspective. However third person offers the best view. You can see more of the landscape and you can command your teamates easier.
One of the things you can knock on this game is probably the sound. The weapons and explosions all tend to sound exactly the same. The ambienent sounds of each environment are presented well. Crickets chirp, birds cheep, grass rustles, water splashes when you move through it. There's alot of sound happening here.
There is also a nice extra included. A twenty minute documentary about the real life US Navy SEALS. After playing the game it was very interesting to see the actual team in action and to learn about their training. This may seem like a throw away feature but it's a good educational piece.
Unfortunately I do not own the Network Adaptor so I can not comment on the online component at this time.
This is probably one of the best Playstation 2 games in the system's extensive library. It offers realistic team combat while being very player friendly. Definitley check this game out. You won't be sorry.
Tactical squad games are an unusual animal. They can either be very good or horribley bad!! Seems like there's no "in between". SOCOM U. S. Navy SEALS is one squad game that not only manages to avoid the common pitfalls of many squad based tactical shooters, but it also blazes new ground in the field raising the bar for everyone else. The U. S. Navy SEALS are an elite covert ops group that operate under cover in hot spots around the world. This game gives you the SEALS experience as best as it can be represented in the video game medium. Through 12 single player missions you lead a small fire team of elite commandos through such a variety of situations that range from hostage rescues, to demolitions and intelligence gathering. Stealth is more important that firepower. Fire a shot or get spotted by a bad guy and it makes your job that much more difficult. The best weapon is often not to be seen. The gameplay starts fairly easy during the single player missions and progressively becomes more difficult. Sometimes this can be frustrating. Often you need to repeat the mission several times to accomplish your goal. What really sets the gameplay apart from the other squad shooters has to be the command interface. Squad commmands are laid out in very simple terms for your team. Unlike a game like Ghost Recon, your fireteam can do more than just "run, hold and shoot". They can cover an area, advance to another part of the map, deploy grendades, breach a door, clear rooms.... all this makes the way you use your fireteams more versatile. What's also unique is the voice command system. Using the USB headset to command your team adds a more immersive feel the the gameplay. Your teamates give you updates and you can recieve intel from HQ through the earpiece. If you don't buy the game with the headset then I highly recomend picking it up afterwards. The graphics in this game are exceptional. The environments range from desert to arctic. Zipper Interactive has laid out some nice areas to play "hide and seek" with the enemy. There's lots of cover and there are lots of interactive elements in the environments. The non player characters are all rendered very niceley. They don't give off the look of being stiff and "inhuman" as are the SEALS themselves. All the human characters move convincingly. The game can be played from either the third person or the first person perspective. However third person offers the best view. You can see more of the landscape and you can command your teamates easier. One of the things you can knock on this game is probably the sound. The weapons and explosions all tend to sound exactly the same. The ambienent sounds of each environment are presented well. Crickets chirp, birds cheep, grass rustles, water splashes when you move through it. There's alot of sound happening here. There is also a nice extra included. A twenty minute documentary about the real life US Navy SEALS. After playing the game it was very interesting to see the actual team in action and to learn about their training. This may seem like a throw away feature but it's a good educational piece. Unfortunately I do not own the Network Adaptor so I can not comment on the online component at this time. This is probably one of the best Playstation 2 games in the system's extensive library. It offers realistic team combat while being very player friendly. Definitley check this game out. You won't be sorry.