SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs

"One Of Those Rare Must-Have Titles"

When I first bought my PSX, I asked a friend of mine which game I should buy first. He named a few games that he liked, but he told me that I HAD to buy Tekken 3. It was just one of those games that you have to get. I took his advice, and realized since then that it's a very rare thing to come across a game that has virtually unlimited replay potential. Me and about 4 of my buds spent hours passing the controllers back and forth (winner stays on), talking trash and kicking each others ass... and we STILL play it on my PS2 today... it's just one of those games that you never really get tired of.

Socom II US Navy Seals is one of those games that you HAVE to have. Don't ask questions, don't doubt me on this one... just go out and buy it - especially if you're online with your PS2. This game was made for online play, and the network adapter was made for this game.

In the first Socom, you really got the feeling that the guys at Zipper Interactive skimped a little (okay... a lot) on the single-player mode of the game. Your sidekick, Boomer, was a moron who often got himself killed, and made sneaking up on enemies almost impossible. This highly improved version eliminates almost all of the problems which bugged so many people out there who WANTED to love the game, but just couldn't get past some obvious flaws. You may find some mixed reviews of the first installment of Socom, but you won't find many negative comments about this one. I promise.

Boomer's not even around anymore (and thankfully so... what a dorky name for a Seal anyway) and the single player mode is deeper, bigger, and obviously more thought out. You're range of voice commands is vastly increased, including the ever practical ''get down!'' command for when bullets start flying your way, and a snipe command which enables you to direct your long distance shooters to take aim. The graphics are tweaked up, providing you with more real-looking foliage to hide in, and better looking uniforms and characters. The AI is vastly improved as well, giving you smarter enemies and teammates with common sense. You've got RPG's now, and that in itself makes the single player mode about a hundred times better than it's predecessor.

But just as with Tekken 3, the real attraction to this game is not in its single player action, but the fun you and a group of friends will have for months, maybe even years to come. Seriously, there's no comparing playing against a computer to playing against other real people. You'll lose yourself for hours in 5 different game modes, over 20 huge maps, and thousands of potential teammates and competitors. The scope of this game is limitless. You can strategize with members of your clan, and work on your ranking, or just tap in to a game and strut your stuff for a while. You'll never master online gameplay because you can't ever predict what other real people are going to do. This is the stuff that legendary games are made of, and this year, nobody's going to be surprised when Socom II US Navy Seals walks away with Game Of The Year honors.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 11/14/03