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this is an article about the Online feature
SOCOM US Navy Seals 3: Possibly the best game eve t
SOCOM 3 First Look
The online shooter makes a compelling argument for going offline.
by Ed Lewis
February 23, 2005 - If you're familiar with the online PS2 world, then you have to know about the huge impact of SOCOM II. Tens of thousands of gamers are logged on simultaneously every day and those numbers are still holding steady even after the game has been out for almost a year and a half. It's staggering and the only thing that will topple it will be its sequel, SOCOM 3. Today, we got a first look at the single-player experience and if the multiplayer experience sees just as much advancement and technical improvements, then get ready to spend even more time online. It's going to be crazy.
When SOCOM II came out, developer Zipper interactive had only worked on it for a year and the feeling was that of a game that was more of an expansion of the original than a truly rethought concept. Now, with about two years going into SOCOM 3 the results are that of a company who has taken a look at what it's done before and sought to deepen the experience without just putting in a couple of new features that are tacked-on to create new bullet points for the back of the box.
The most drastic change is something that fans have been asking for since the original game came out: vehicles. All told there will be around 20 vehicles that can be driven in the game, both on land and water. This includes Humvees, SOC-R assault boats, T-72 tanks, and a variety of others. The vehicles that the SEALs bring into the fights have spots for all four members of the team and are focused on hitting hard and fast. The Humvees' doors have been ripped off and every door besides the driver's has a turret installed in it along with another turret mounted on the roof.
The terrorists have their own style of vehicles as well and these are of the more low-budget variety. The best example of this that we saw were the technical trucks. These are just pick-up trucks with a gun turret mounted in the back. They're fast, simple, and can rush straight into the fight and let loose a volley of bullets before anyone knows what's going on.
In the regular game the control is focused on Specter, the leader of the SEAL team, but once in a vehicle it's possible to swap characters on the fly. After driving into a hot situation a quick button tap will cycle through the other SEALs so that the player can man the turret and have an active role in mowing down terrorists. A couple of taps later and the player can be back in control of the Humvee or boat and keep on driving.
SOCOM 3 will also feature the ability for Alpha and Bravo teams to split up, each taking a vehicle. Some of the terrorist vehicles only hold two or three people at a time and since it would take forever to wait for a lonely SEAL to catch up on foot this only makes sense. All of this helps to keep the game moving along quickly and lets players stay in the action rather than play a waiting game.
With the ability to move much faster than on foot there's the need for more terrain. Much more terrain. With some efficient streaming technology, Zipper has managed to create levels that are on average six times bigger than the levels in SOCOM II. These environments include some open spaces to race through as well as plenty of bumps to fly off of. There's no need to worry about flipping the vehicles since that only happens when they blow up and with some tight controls we were able to race through the dirt and kick up some clouds as we pulled off some SEAL-grade donuts. It doesn't hurt to drive over a few terrorists along the way either.
The next new major development was the addition of swimming. Carl Johnson pulled it off in GTA: San Andreas and now the SEALs can do it too. This adds a new stealth element to the game since it's easier to avoid detection once you've dropped below the surface. It's impossible to shoot while treading water here so it's best to avoid starting a commotion until the SEALs get their feet back on the ground.
Once out of the vehicles and on dry land the game goes back to being about squad tactics and the use of the weapons. Here there have been lots of changes that start with the loadout screen. There are over 30 weapons available here and over 20 attachments such as scopes, suppressors, grenade launchers, pistol grips, lasers, and flashlights that can be put on. Go through all the combinations and the total number of options easily climbs past 1,000.
Along with concerns for what types of add-ons will be needed, players will have to consider the weight of them as well. Maneuverability is affected by the choices and a heavy gun can make the SEALs run slower, jump lower, and take longer to turn around. When in a combat situation, the clumsier weapons will take also longer for the reticle to focus on the enemies. And even if you decide that the grenade launcher is worth the weight, be prepared to take care in aiming it. Zipper has taken off the auto-aiming handicap here to make the destruction a little more difficult.
One trick that's not hard to pull off and has already proven to be incredibly satisfying is the airburst grenade. This is a particularly nasty piece of technology where a laser first measures the distance to a solid object and is then capable of shooting a grenade that explodes at the same place. When an enemy is hiding behind a wall it's just a matter of flashing a laser, aiming a little higher, and then firing off the shot to explode over the poor bastard's head and take him out. Sweet.
One of the challenges will be the enemies that the SEAL team will be facing. The AI has been advanced to a state where the terrorists react to the player's actions much more than before. What's most apparent at first is that the enemies are more careful. Instead of standing out in the open they will peek around corners and even fire blindly, just sticking out their arms and the gun to take a few shots.
The terrorists have been given different statistics and one of these is courage. If the terrorists outnumber the SEALs and the player chooses to hide behind a wall, then they'll rush in thinking they have the advantage. If the player rushes the terrorists and takes a few of them out the survivors will be much more careful.
The next characteristic in play is that of training. Different enemies have different levels of training and when there is a group of enemies the less trained ones will follow the lead of the better trained terrorist, the leader. At first a group will be using the cover to their advantage, but if the leader is taken out the rest will be more careless and easier to take out.
The other SEALs have been given a boost in the AI department as well. They will now find cover automatically and stack themselves along a wall or next to an open doorway once Specter has stopped moving. The AI has been programmed to try and predict what the player wants to do. This way they follow closely when moving, but as soon as the player stops they will find the safest positions to put themselves in case of a firefight.
Giving the commands has been altered with a one-click method and a new menu system. Both of these are con sensitive and with the one-click that means that when the reticle is on land the command will be a go-to order, when it's on a door it's a breach order, and when it's on a vehicle it's a command to board. As for the menu it will now open up a list of options that are available only if they pertain to the current situation.
All of these new features create a world that is fast, seamless, and fluid experience that is looking to retain the fun of the previous two games and take it all that much further. With some beautifully rendered environments in Morocco, Bangladesh, and Poland this is far and away a title to keep an eye out for in the fall. With six million copies of the franchise already sold it's unthinkable that this will be ignored or even remotely missed, but it's definitely not too soon to start getting excited about what this will turn into.
What we've seen so far is still officially in the pre-alpha phase, but it's already looking better than other titles that are currently sitting in stores. Now consider that we haven't even seen the multiplayer mode which Zipper is claiming to represent a much larger leap forward than was seen between SOCOM and SOCOM II. These two years have served the team well and later this year the result is sure to be good for fans everywhere
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