SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs

"Thumbs up on my first Socom game."

Graphics: 9/10 This is a really hard section to rate, because if you are playing the game, there is little time to sit back and look at the scenery. Anyway, the textures are pretty nice as well as the models. They aren't the best, but the models are smooth enough to keep a steady frame rate while there are many players in the same area blasting semi-automatics at each other.

Controls: 7/10 Like most games, when you start out the controls are a little tricky. However, reading the manual first and after a few playing sessions, the controls become second nature and you won't have to think twice about what button to press.

Sound: 9/10 Bullets flying everywhere. Grenades going off. Vehicles driving past you. Footsteps getting louder. While there's not much music in this game, there are a variety of sounds that immerse you into this game. Whether you are a run and gun type person that loves getting within five feet of someone and shooting them in the back with a silenced pistol. Whether you are a sniper that lays down and picks off people with his back to the rest of the map. This game has sounds that would make this game almost lifelike. If you are picking people off, you might want to listen closely to the sound because depending on the map type you are in, you can hear footsteps. If you are on concrete you can hear someone coming up behind you. If you are in a cave, you can hear the footsteps echo from any direction. If you are in water, you can hear every splash anyone makes while moving

Single Player: 6/10 It's really easy. That's all I can say. If you find a vehicle you can run half of the enemies over which is no fun. The chances of you being hit by the AI while driving is very slim if you swirve. Other than that, it's a great way to practice before you set your sights for online mode. Learn the basic controls playing story mode. You can also make up various basic tactics to use with your team. Personally I used this mode to practice my aiming when I started out.

Online: 10/10 Perfect score. Add in a microphone and this game exceeds a 10. There is one drawback however. The community. There are plenty of good seeds out there that are looking to have good clean fun in this game... And you will have the best online experience with these people. But then there are the people that are there to ruin the game for you. People who have to glitch because they simply have no skill in this game whatsoever. Then there are the campers. Most of the time you can stay away from these types of people by playing in a ranked room (No respawns). But every so often there will be someone who wants to glitch in a ranked game. Well there's no fun in being hit through a wall or through a floor where you have no chance to retaliate. Nevertheless, like I said, if you stay in a ranked room you have a good chance of playing with legit people who are nice :)

Additional note :: Most of the people in this game don't use tactics online, but there are some clans that do use tactics. I haven't been in one, but I would imagine that using tactics would increase your enjoyment of this game.

Replay Value: 10/10 There is always someone better than you. ALWAYS. So if you play this game online, the replay value is through the roof. But if you are talking about single player, well, I would say maybe a 2/10

Overall: 10/10 As my first Socom game, I could say I didn't really enjoy it at first. But once I got online it became one of my regularly played console games. Later I got the microphone and that just made things that much better. If you are into online games where you can communicate with teammates, and you love shooting games. I would recommend this above any other.

Rent or Buy: Buy Buy it. It just went to Greatest Hits, so it's $20. You can most likely buy it used for 14.99 now. There are not many games out there that you can enjoy online without paying a monthly fee, so it is definitely worth the money.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/25/06