Special Ops Tactical Commander: Reviewing the SOCOM Series for PS2
The SOCOM series was huge on the PlayStation 2. With its four main titles, it spanned the lifespan of the console and set the tactical shooter standard for an entire generation. Yet it doesn't seem like a series that has quite faded into the annals of typically common gaming discussions; either one knows and loves SOCOM or has never heard of it. Well, that changes today. Deep diving into early stages of the series and looking into how these games have been aging, along with giving their phenomenal, frequently overlooked campaigns the love they truly deserve.
Though ridiculously simple, multiplayer is what this series is well known for; single player modes are among the best around for the console. If it felt like playing the original Ghost Recon or early Rainbow Six titles, you're going to feel at home now. It's time to command a squad of Navy SEALs and see whether all these classics hold up or not.
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs, the very first SOCOM game in fact the game which began it all, released in 2002
The first SOCOM is really a masterpiece. Every mission is introduced with a narrated overview beforehand, and then the wise opportunity of customizing your and your squad's loadout. It's good to have options, but although the weapon variety in this first playthrough is a little skewed, it's clear that the silenced M4 carbine is just too good; it's quiet, accurate, and versatile enough for both sniping and full-on assaults. It does everything.
Ironically, this tactical shooter contains a New Game Plus mode. After finishing the campaign at least once with SEAL weapons, the gamer can enjoy again but on a harder difficulty with access to enemy's arsenal unlocked. Did I immediately give my entire team M79 grenade launchers? Of course, I did. So while the first run can be a bit one note weapo wise, the replayability is fantastic.
Briefing, Story, and Tone
One of the most thrilling things about it is the map, which also features as one of the amazing parts of briefing. It is always given in-universe such that either it's hand-drawn schematic that is hand drawn or it's such that it's collected intelligence. That little detail just adds so much to the mood, making you feel like a real operator. There's not exactly a deep overarching one, but there's something for every mission that sets up what you have to do and why you're here.
Very serious game. Admittedly a bit sterile, as if it had been designed by the US Military, as was the earlier FPS America's Army. Great, but it lacks some seriously human element. The story is this: We are the good guys, we do bad stuff while trying to stop the baddies in their gun smuggling, kidnapping, and whatever other general villainy they do. That kind of earnestness doesn't seem that common today; SOCOM is straight out of the gate, while programs like Call of Duty later on would roll gleefully in that spectacle of the war. It is refreshing to remind oneself with a game that treats its subject matter with a professional seriousness.
Gameplay Innovations that Still Impress
It comes in a chunky box because it comes with a headset with an earpiece and a microphone one of the first if not the first official Sony accessories for the PlayStation for you command your squad with voice commands.
Team, fire at will.
» Going hot.
It sounds really but is surprisingly effective. Menu: press a button, and you've got access to everything, while voice gives your game so much more heart. Another excellent touch involves your handler as well as your teammates' radio chatter directly playing through the headset's earpiece for making immersion even more crazily powerful for a game made during the 2002.
You could play the entire game in first person or third. The first-person view has no gun model, giving it a retro feeling and wider field of view. And yes, this console game has a lean mechanic! You can lean left and right from any stance (standing, crouching, or prone), a feature that is rarely seen on consoles that is really handy with tactical gameplay.
Incredible Attention to Detail
Just the amounts of detail in this game are breathtaking. You leave footprints, snow, and sand. You can shoot down lights to affect the gameplay. Spent bullet casings make different sounds depending on the surface they hit. Smoke pours out of your barrel after a signature. Characters' breath fogs in cold levels. AI, for the part, is loosely good; they make callouts and are effective without babysitting.
Your squadmate Jester is a polyglot, who translates enemy speech for you when you stealthily sneak in to listen to it, along with subtitles bearing potentially usable intelligence. These little details make that world feel alive and these gameplay systems deep.
The Campaign: World Tour of Takedowns
Operation: The campaign is divided into four operations, each against a different terrorist organization, and each consists of three missions, totaling twelve missions. Former Spetsnaz gunrunners are gunned down aboard a ship off Alaska, oil rig infiltration, hostage rescue in Thailand, and F/A-18 strike calls on mercs in the Congo. The level design also features a lot of diversity and memorability, from claustrophobic interiors to wide-open snowy landscapes.
It connects so well with some missions: find optional intel in one mission that ties into the next by, say, picking up a map and then upgrading your own map for the next level. It's a very light version of what later games such as Metal Gear Solid V would do, giving you reason to really look around.
The gunplay itself is what ties it all together. It's just... satisfying. Blood splatters behind enemies on walls, which gives a certain tangibility to bullets. There appears a small red marker that indicates if your barrel gets obstructed, showing you where your shots are actually going to go. It connects your character to the world in a way few games achieve.
The Negatives
It's not perfect. The stealth capability is painfully slow, but it's workable. You'll probably end up giving up on trying to crouch-walk through an entire level. I had a few little gripes over the weapon balance, especially with the M4 seeming to be far superior to the other choices. But those small stains on what really is a great campaign and still one of the best available on the PS2.
SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs (2003) - What Perfection Is to Fanatic You
For a series of which SOCOM II is often regarded as the zenith, its simplicity is perhaps incomprehensible: take what was the first and build upon it in every conceivable way. In its doing so, this was a grand success.
Unlike the last time, there's a real story.
The story is set in a squalid brothel in Albania, and you know right away that this is different. SOCOM II has its own narrative, voice acting, characters to remember, and CGI cutscenes that one would not feel terribly distressed for missing out. We are introduced to Platz, an international terrorist and second in command of the Cesari Syndicate, stuttering, munching chocolates, and ruthlessly executing an effective subordinate for a minor transgression. The opening cutscene is short, simple, and perfectly establishes the villain. I already want to take this guy down.
Deeper Gameplay Systems
Mission briefing has been made expansive. Hand-drawn maps are back, but now, the intel has direct gameplay ramifications; it might point at a potential sniper nest or that the enemy cowers when overwhelmed. This ties directly into the new surrender mechanic. Now, enemies might give up based on damage they have taken, squad pressure, or use of non-lethal equipment. Taking enemies alive yields more intel for future missions, creating a fantastic gameplay loop that rewards tactical, non-lethal approaches.
The game still gives you the freedom to play how you like. Go in guns blazing as a run and gun shooter, or play it like a stealth game. Play in first or third-person. Go solo or command your team. Every choice you make truly impacts the way the game plays.
The combat feel and level design
And improved upon from great to an even better feeling of combat. Every shot is heavy with consequence. Groans and shouts, coiling, and all those good sounds follow the missed shots as well as their satisfaction ping noise. That well removes the irritation of having a bulleted sponge; thus making every firefight really engaging is the fact that every enemy reacts to the amount of damage it takes.
Some of the best levels I've seen. You'll meet an informant in an Albanian countryside, raid a rundown factory in the rain, and assault a huge castle-like manor at night. One of my favorite levels is a close-quarters brawl through the slums of Brazil, taking on a matriarchal crime organization. Then you're in the jungle raiding a drug lab, complete with surprising verticality. Finally, you're disarming bombs on a massive dam, avoiding cameras and snipers.
The variation is huge. It is continually switching day and night, distance of engagement and type of enemy all keep things fresh. Use a laser designator to call in a helicopter strike, repel an assault on an American embassy in a horde mode style firefight, and stop a dirty bomb from being detonated in Seattle.
A Real Smarteness and an Excellent Ending
At last, the first mission of the original game comes back to life in the last level-it takes place on a cargo ship. Fun twist: the informant who you trusted at the very beginning of the game was a sellout and used you to eliminate his competition. It's a neat callback that brings the story full-circle.
SOCOM II is the epitome of how not to make a sequel. Everything that worked was refined, coupled with some honorable new additions, and merged into what could be seen as a masterfully woven tale. Incentives for multiple playthroughs include the New Game Plus mode and deeper mechanics. There is no getting around it.
SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs (2005) - The Action-Packed Detour
Appropriately, SOCOM 3 represents the definitive turn in this series; levels were bigger and there were vehicles and more customization available. However, why is this so hated by many fans? Replaying it now reveals the sad truth: this is a terrible SOCOM game. As an action game, it might be okay, but it has lost the soul for which the series has always been known.
From Tactical Shooter to Michael Bay Movie
And the biggest problem is definitely an identity crisis. First and foremost, SOCOM 3 is an action game. Only then comes the far brushed view that it is just a tactical shooter. The first mission has defending yourself from tank fire with turret behind the helicopter swooping in to rescue not quiet, methodical infiltration with which the series was defined.
Loose, because it does not feel very tight or crisp with the first two, although perhaps that would not be a problem in another third-person shooter, it is a plummet coming down for a series where every footstep was meant to be intentional.
The main point of departure is, in fact, the introduction of vehicles: you drive a truck, you go in a Humvee or you board a boat, all with a mounted machine-gun. Although a very cool idea in concept, execution finds itself in direct conflict with the stealth oriented gameplay which has defined SOCOM. The larger maps are leaning towards Battlefield inexplicably, because this time the online capable player count was increased to 32. The series was, obviously, trying to reach out to the hardcore, broad-market audience but, in doing so, drove away its core fans.
What Went Positive: Customization and Dimension
Not all down, though. Greatly enlarged was the squad loadout function. You may now customize your actually used primary weapons with mounts or accessories like grips, stocks, and suppressors. New, in fact, was a weight limit, having given way to limitations on the things you can carry that also affect decision-making and considerations when designing your loadout. Because you can't load up heavy machine guns without a serious speed penalty, it's a smart system that adds welcome RPG-like depth.
Part however had developed the introduction of swimming, allowing you to dive dodging enemies for a while. Generally, combined with vehicles and climbing, never because you hold doing the same thing for long keeps the pacing dynamic.
What Went Wrong: Checkpoints and Gunplay
It was a mistake, nonetheless, to add checkpoints. This alone deprives any tension from the game. Not only can you continue at a given point in the level, but also, checkpoints medicine refill your health and ammo so that there are neither stakes nor resources to manage. Why not put this with difficulty? It feels like one of those features that were just inserted into a modern game without thinking about how it would impact gameplay.
The gunplay feels worse too. Very aggressive spread of bullets, tracer rounds flying lead to very random, very unsatisfying shooting. Mixed bag of a campaign - some missions allow for player agency and tactical approaches, while others fall into the tedious, boring defense missions where you mow down waves of enemies.
In the end, SOCOM 3 is a very enjoyable action game, albeit an empty one. Just not a SOCOM game. If this is the defense of the classic tactical experience, then this is not it.
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Combined Assault (2006)- More of the Same, Less Soul
Arguably, Combined Assault is the weakest among SOCOM for the PS2. Featuring a major share of DNA with its predecessor, Combined Assault seems almost like SOCOM 3 in terms of feeling, looks, and gameplay. Some major changes were introduced, however- some beneficial, many detrimental.
THE GOOD: Full Co-op Campaign
The best new feature would have to be the full co-op campaign. You can play through the whole story with up to three of your friends, which could definitely raise an otherwise dull experience to something very fun. The weapon variety is at its highest here; plenty of guns and attachments. You would then assign specific roles to players: one covers from a distance with a totally cool sniper rifle while the other two assault in with barely given the time of day amazing but not too exciting assault rifles. The threat of vehicles was always present, so anyone coming with an anti-armor role would be very much appreciated. Nothing beats the moments when a tank surprises you out of nowhere and you have to run for your life!
THE BAD: Nothing New and Backward
Unfortunate, that's where all credit ends. The game suffers from three major flaws:
- Poor Mission Variety: The objectives are so simple and brain-dead that you'll never remember a mission. From the first recalls, mission objectives are purely based on boring "enemy go kill" or "hold X on bomb."
- A Lack of a Story: The project sucks when it comes to story or cut-scene worth talking about; Gone are the engaging cutscenes and named villains-put in place are working man generic 'neutralize the baddies' reasons. Every enemy faction feels identical. Those few cut-scenes in use during co-op don't play anyway.
- No Weight or Impact: This has an inexplicable Teen rating among the other Mature ones. Reason? Blood and gore. Shooting enemies feels weightless; impact and feedback do not exist. It's a laser tag, not any military simulation. Another notch in the belt of gloomy soullessness for this entry.
Did I have fun playing Combined Assault? Surely, but the fun was greatly increased due to friends. Good times can be had with a group. Playing solo? Just pass it. You're not missing anything but a mediocre and quite forgettable shooter experience.
Ending Remark About A Legendary Series
SOCOM series on PS2 it is interesting of a trip. It started a deeply innovative and highly detailed tactical shooter, peaked with a sequel that had perfected the formula, and from there on began to lose itself into a generic action series on a chase for broader appeal. The first two are absolute classics in the genre still worth a play today for their sheer brilliant campaigns. While the later entries were less impressive, the SOCOM legacy as the early days' pioneer of online console gaming and tactical shooters can never be followed. It is a series worth remembering for its positives.
