I have been a Socom fan since I first plugged in my PS2 network adapter and popped in the disk. The first couple games of the series were nothing short of brilliant. I would spend hours and hours playing them, and they never seemed to get old. It’s been a long time since I first played Socom, but I have yet to play a new online shooter that has made such a great impression on me. I won’t speak of the offline mode of Socom, because it was never the focal point of the games. It was always just, something a little extra on the side.
I bought the first Socom after its successor (Socom 2, obviously) had already come out. Therefore while I certainly played Socom 1 less than the other games of the series, I did play it just enough to know it was a solid online shooter with a lot of good maps and fun gameplay.
Socom 2 was even better than its predecessor. It improved on many areas of the first game, and in no way did it go wrong in the wrong direction. In other words, Socom 2 only built on what the first one established. It did not drastically change many things, and it was only an improvement on the series. The online portion of Socom 2 was nothing short of addicting.
I myself logged hundreds of gaming hours on it, much more than I have on any other game to date. It remains the most enjoyable online shooter I have ever played. In fact, if it wasn’t for relentless cheating and pretty terrible lag (all because there really isn’t much motivation for Sony to keep maintaining the servers), I’d STILL be playing Socom 2 online. And so would a considerable number of gamers who just haven’t found an online shooter that could fill the gap left by Socom 2. After some years of playing Socom 2, I began hearing about the next game in the series, Socom 3.
Socom 3 was hyped through the roof. All people talked about as they played Socom 2 was the next game in the series. The weeks leading up to its release, I often found myself daydreaming in class, thinking about Socom 3. And then, October 11th rolled around.
At first I wasn’t exactly sure about this game. It was just so different. I didn’t know what to say. After about a week, I stopped feeling like playing. Playing Socom 3 actually started feeling kind of like a chore. It was completely different from Socom 2, which I played for hours at a time. In contrast, this game had me bored out of my mind. At one point I only played when my friends were on, and even then and they had to beg me to get on. I had finally come to the conclusion that this game… stunk.
So what exactly was wrong with Socom 3? Well, where do I start? The gameplay was cheap and overly-realistic. In other words, it was much harder to run around and shoot, which was very popular in Socom 2 and usually allowed for some fun, evenly matched games. Socom 3’s game play mechanics had 90% of the people in games lying down in bushes all over the map, waiting for someone to walk in front of them. The gunfight, once one of the Socom series’ greatest occurrences, was very nearly extinct.
The big maps were too big. The games took forever to finish, with huge distances to cover and big time limits.
And most gamers were aware of the fact that this game was… well… bad. I remember visiting the message boards that were featured with the online portion of the game. There was a poll there that I found very amusing. “Which do you prefer: Socom 3 or Explosive Diarrhea?” And to further my amusement, there was the fact that the latter poll choice was winning in a landslide, even before I had cast my vote against Socom 3.
The only thing keeping me on the game was the fact that a few of my friends still played it, and I didn’t have any other online shooters to play.
Some time after I had finished playing Socom 3, Socom: Combined Assault came out.
Combined Assault was an extension of Socom 3 with new maps and a few minor improvements. And for its part, it wasn’t a very bad game. And as if Zipper realized just how badly they let down Socom fans all over the world with Socom 3, new map packs were recently available on Combined Assault for free. These map packs featured many popular Socom 2 maps, maps that had been promised to the Socom 3 and Combined Assault gamers for ages.
The map packs were ok, but they just weren’t the same. They were the right maps, but on the wrong game. Well, at least it was something.
And don’t think I don’t know that there are some players who really enjoyed Socom 3 (and Combined Assault). And from my personal experience, many of the players who loved Socom 3 have never even played Socom 2. What’s that saying? “You can’t miss what you’ve never had.”
And perhaps there are gamers who even preferred Socom 3 to Socom 2. Well, all I have to say about that, is that I have played Socom 3 with a variety of people who enjoyed the game greatly. The fact that these players were also the ones who loved waiting in bushes is purely coincidental, I’m sure. These players also had a fondness for killing one enemy in suppression mode, and then running into their base and waiting with their scopes on the door, knowing the other team would lose if the time ran out (in suppression, the team with more players wins when time runs out). Of course, Socom 3 fans are entitled to their own opinions. But even these gamers are probably wondering what’s next for the SOCOM series.
So now what’s in store for all the Socom enthusiasts who’ve been waiting (some more patiently than others) for a game to end their misery?
Socom Confrontation, that’s what. To my surprise (not really), Zipper will NOT be working on the next installment of the SOCOM series. Instead of the game’s creators, Confrontation is coming to us from Vancouver-based Slant Six, the same guys who brought us SOCOM: Tactical Strike.
The SOCOM series’ first venture onto the Playstation 3, Confrontation is certainly getting many gamers’ hopes up. The makers of the game have promised a “back to basics” approach to the game’s gameplay. In other words, they will (hopefully) start where Socom 2 left off, and we can all pretend Socom 3 never happened. And from what has been seen up until this point, Confrontation looks very good.
The fact that there is going to be no offline mode, I see as a very good sign. This means the ONLY focus of the game’s developers will be on the online portion, which is pretty much all most SOCOM fans care about. The idea behind this is that with all the attention placed on multiplayer, the online design and functions of the game will be quite impressive (hopefully).
The game will also feature character customization, which will vary depending on the player’s rank. Clans can also have their own signature uniforms. Such customization has not been seen yet on the console series, but is a welcome addition. The game will hopefully take good advantage of the power of the PlayStation 3, and in the trailers released for the game the graphics look extra sharp, and very well polished.
Also, there will not be any vehicles in Socom Confrontation. Now, I have no problems with vehicles in real life. But there were no vehicles in Socom 2, and I never once, in over 3 years of playing Socom 1 or 2, thought to myself “Gee whiz, I wish there were some cars in this game”. The game was fine without vehicles, and the vehicles in Socom 3 did nothing for me. Confrontation will not have cars upon its release (later on it may be possible, but I hope not), but there is something it WILL have. Crossroads.
Crossroads is without a shadow of a doubt, the most popular map Socom has ever had. No map has been played on more. For the next SOCOM, Crossroads has undergone a facelift, but it is the same map for the most part. Confrontation will have a selection of re-tooled classic maps (Crossroads among them), as well as new maps. The maps will also have destructible elements. Not everything could be blown up, but there will be various damageable elements throughout every map.
I am certain I’m not alone in hoping this game turns out to be as good as it sounds. Based on what has been seen up to this point, Confrontation looks like it’s right on track. But only time will tell what’s in store for the SOCOM series and its fans. Confrontation is set for release in the United States in Fall of 2008.
c(*o*c)
Editorial: SOCOM: Past, Present, and Future -
05-01-2008, 02:20 AM
05-01-2008, 08:43 PM
Starcastle
Breakout
Linear Mode
