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Review:

23rd July 2003:
SOCOM: US Navy Seals
Voice recognition in a console game? Multiplayer squad based gameplay on a PlayStation 2? Originality does not make a good game, but it helps. Does it help in this case? Read on to see...
Posted by Chris Barnett - PlayStation 2 - UK and Europe

If SOCOM were a PC game it would not be very appealing to gamers. The fact that it is a squad based third person game would condemn it to the 'games to enter a competition to win' list. But that would be unfair as even as a PC game it would stand out amongst the other squad based games, so on the PlayStation 2 it is pretty essential to anyone wanting to see what all the squad games are about.

The main problem with consoles and squad games is that the term squad usually implies that the other members are human too. But until now there have been no mainstream networking options available to the average gamer (so mister Moneybags could have brought his son and his five mates all PlayStation 2s, games and network cable, but that would be a minority case) so the squad genre has been pretty much confined to the PC (all the console attempts have been mediocre at best). But with the broadband revolution starting to take hold it is now possible to play true squad games on consoles, namely the PlayStation 2 in this case.

So SOCOM is a squad-based shooter, that much has been cleared up, but it is much more than that. Of course there is the multiplayer (which I will discuss later on) aspect to the game, but the main point that sets the game from other similar titles is the ability to offer voice commands to troops in your squad. Each mission has you and three squad members working to achieve mission objectives with various weapons, but the team members are AI controlled. That's a bad point, right? No, not really as they are quite intelligent and can be spoken to with real words. That means that you press the square button and say the person (or group) that you want to talk to and then the command, and they will carry out the command. I know it sounds a little gimmicky, especially as all the commands can be offered without voice use. But after you learn the commands, you will realise how much the voice really adds to the game.

The voice feature is genius for many reasons:

Firstly, it makes the game more realistic as you really feel part of the action. As you say a command, you get a reply in the ear speaker (not through your TV or surround sound system) and you can see the troop(s) responding to your order actually on the screen, even if it leads them into certain death (which you will do a few times, maybe out of error or just for the sake of humour).

Secondly, the voice allows commands to be used without the worry of selections or menus. If you neglect the use of the voice command and use manual selection of commands it would make hectic situations (where the need to move and fire is essential) impossible to manage. This increases the gameplay considerably as on a similar game without the voice communication I would be complaining at this time about how useless and slow the commands are.

Lastly, the voice makes the game more original, no matter what games you have played before. If you have played squad based shooters before, even on the PC, you will have never had the ability to command AI squad members. The technology to recognise voices has been used many times on PC applications, but never to command troops. Essentially this makes the game a first, and on a console too.

So now I have got the voice communication out of the way (as you can see by the space devoted to it, it really adds so much to the game) it may be a good idea to discuss how the game actually plays. Well it plays pretty well for most of the time, as well as you could hope. The controls are responsive and the ability to strafe and shoot is very well executed (so often a problem point of third person shooters), as is the crouch/crawl movement. The missions all involve primary objectives that are clearly lined out by the use of maps and briefings (which are very well presented), and secondary tasks that are optional. Whilst all of the tasks are linear, they can be tackled in any way that the player sees fit, with any equipment that they care to equip before the mission. This means that although the game is easy to complete once, it will certainly be worth replaying it with different strategies to see what happens. And with 12 missions, that is pretty good lifespan for a single player game.

The game looks pretty good too, with good animation and varied environments. To give an idea of the variation, the first mission is on a boat and later missions take you to jungles and warehouses. The distance of vision is used well too, allowing sniper tactics to be planned and executed with ease. Night vision is employed well too, allowing ambushes to be created. A minor gripe can be had at some of the animations though as the characters can be seen to move a little robotically when strafing or climbing. This is quite clumsy as the presentation generally is faultless with neat menus and equip screens.

The final aspect to discuss is that of online multiplayer gaming, which is the reason why many people will be buying the game. Well to be honest, it is pretty impressive compared with both the PC and Xbox Live. The game modes vary from death match to hostage negotiation, with up to 8 men on each team (one of terrorists and one of SEALS). With the death match the game can lose its feel, but in the negotiation and bomb diffuse game modes there is plenty of need for teamwork and co-operation. Of course, the headset is used again to communicate to team members, but this time they should be able to understand a slightly broader vocabulary. There is a small slowdown problem when the action gets intense, but nothing to stall the game. This could be corrected in the sequel (already in development) to make the online game as polished as possible.

So the game is very impressive as a demonstration of innovation in gaming, and it is a very good way of keeping your PlayStation 2 modem in use. But the head set is the reason why this shines. So much so that I find reviewing the sound almost impossible. You know when you are in an intense situation (maybe in a busy crowd or in a fight) and you can't remember the sound at all (what music? What old woman speaking?), the game is like that. There are so many voices to listen for that the only sound you hear is that of your enemies moving. The overall impression of the game is one that is linear in one player mode (with room for varied attempts) and limitless in multiplayer. But you must remember that it is a squad-based game involving some stealth, so if you don't like strategy or if you hate Metal Gear Solid type games (please don't hold me at gunpoint and ask me to name them all) then it is not for you at all. It may be worth a rental to see how you like the multiplayer mode, as that does not have to be any set genre, if you want it to be a shooter with no brains, it can be. And that is the beauty of online gaming, there is no limit or boundary to what a game can be, only to the imagination and skill of the players.

Chris Barnett

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Review Summary:

If you love squad games, buy it. If you love multiplayer games online, buy it. If you don't like neither, still give it a try, it may surprise you.

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SOCOM: US Navy Seals
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