SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs

"Get this game..... Immediately"

Socom 3 is finally here and after playing it for a few weeks, I can honestly say that Zipper did a fantastic Job with this game. Granted No game is perfect, but they certainly achieved a higher caliber of gaming with their latest addition to the Socom Franchise.

Graphics -

Characters
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The character models aren't as round and smooth as in Socom 1 and 2. They seem to have a "Boxy" look to them. One thing that Zipper did improved on in terms of character models is individuality. Each of the characters seem to have a personality. Their uniforms are similar, however they have customized each character with their own style.

Maps
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One of the major improvements in the game's design was the increase in map size. The maps are utterly huge now. With that said a few things had to be sacrificed such as graphics. Even with the sacrifices that had to be made there are still key elements such as Grass, Bushes, huts, etc which are vital for hiding. The Water looks just as it did in Socom 2, nothing out of the usual. One thing to mention is the explosion. They seem quite detailed and look great.

Vehicles
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Vehicles Look great, however they don't have an insane amount of detail. Its enough to make the vehicle look believable. Vehicles damage is only shown in the form of smoke coming from the engine. Heavy damage will cause the engine to burst into flames, and then eventually explode. After the explosion the change is minor. You'll notice a wheel is missing, and its a darker/burnt color.

Game play -

A.I.
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This game is alot of fun to play especially with the addition of vehicles and larger maps. However one of the things that you will find immediately irritating is the sheer lack of engineering put into the Seals A.I. You will find yourself in a firefight while your teammates just stand there doing absolutely nothing, being on "FIRE AT WILL" mode. When they do fire, their aim is horrible at best. The entire team will be shooting and shooting at 1 target and have no success. On the flip side of this the Enemy A.I. has improved significantly (I guess this is where the trade up is). If you shoot at an enemy he will immediately take cover, or go prone. They dont just stand there any more, they use cover to their advantage, and pop in and out taking shots at you. Also, the enemy is significantly harder to kill now. If will take several shots before they start limping.

Weapons
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Zipper has added a few new weapons to this game including the M8 and the MK.48 just to name a few. Along with the new weapons is the addition of the accessories you can add to your weapon. Items such as suppressors or scopes no longer come with your weapon, you have to equip that item. Keep in mind that with every accessory that you equip you are adding to you "Player Load". This is also a new feature that basically adds to the realism of the game. For ex if you're running around with an HK5 with a low scope and nothing else. Your character will run like the wind. However, if you equip your character with an M60, grenades, AT-4 and a Bi-pod you character will be practically crawling.

Vehicles
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Definitely one of the best new features of Socom 3. Vehicles make it much easier to move around in the vast environments. They handle really well, and dont require you to learn an entire new set of controls. You will quickly find your self trying to catch some air by going of a cliff or, a small hill. The one thing that seems to be a stickler entering the vehicle. You will run to the spot where you have to press X to enter the vehicle, but then the option disappears. It can be annoying, but besides that the vehicles are well balanced.

Difficulty
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The game isnt that difficult compared to its predecessors. With the maps being so large they've included a checkpoint system. When you reach a checkpoint your health is restored (Somewhat) and you are given full ammo. This is the easy part. The hard part is the lack of support from your teammates. You are pretty much a 1 man team with 3 decoys. Also adding to the difficulty is the amount of shots it takes to drop a baddie. It takes quite a bit of effort if your out of scope. However going in and viewing your enemy through the scope increases your chances of killing them quicker.

Music and Sound Effects

The music in this game always seems appropriate which is definitely a good thing. For Socom 3 Zipper hired James Michael Dooley to score the music. The theme is great, and it always kicks in right on time. During Single player the music is timed perfectly based on what you are doing, or what room you may have entered, etc. The character dialog is done very well, with some quality voice acting. Weapon sound effects have changed quite a bit. All weapons sound different than Socom 2. One major change is the sound that a silenced weapons makes. I dont know why, but it sounds awesome. Explosions sound great, along with other weapons.

On line

This of course is where the Socom Franchise has Shined! Socom 3 is no exception. One Huge improvement is the increase in player count. You can now play with a full 16 vs 16 game with practically no Lag. Lag was one of the major complains of Socom 2, however with the new "Streaming" Technology that zipper introduced in this game, lag has pretty much disappeared. Many things have been greatly improved such as balance. Hit detection is still somewhat questionable, but isnt as bad as it was in Socom 2. The massive maps make for very interesting game play, and the ability to customize your maps keeps the maps interesting. Over all the improvements that have been made to the multiplayer mode are quite welcome.

Overall

This game features some significant improvements along with a few things that we could do without (i.e. crappy A.I.). Multiplayer is definitely where this game shine adding multiple new features, and improving on concepts from Socom 2. I would definitely recommend this game fo any Socom vets. If you're new to the Socom world, you'll definitely love this game. There are many games out there that allow for online gameplay, but none like Socom.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/05