SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs

"The Best Online Experience the PS@ Has to Offer"

(Quick first note, this is my first review ever written) Here we are at the third installment of the game Socom, and I must say that this is easily the best, and what Socom II should have been. Multiple new additions have been made, such as vehicles, and overall, the game is just good. Let's get on to the review, shall we?

Single Player-6/10-This is the story mode, where you lead a four man team through three areas of operations with fifteen overall missions. This however, is not where Socom fans spend most of their time. It gets boring after a while, and the A.I. is just horrible. Your team helps you none, and the terrorists don't do much except unload rounds. If you want most of the extra items, such as the IW and the characters, you must play single player. It is much easier now, with checkpoints that give you health, ammo, and a place to start at if you die. It is however, much better than the previous Socom single players, but not the best part of the game.

Online-10/10-Wow. Just wow. That's all Socom online is. It has undergone a major overhaul, for the better. Now, with 32 people in a room, and many new online features, it's awesome. For those of you who don't know what this online experience is, I'll break it down. Basically, you join a game, pick a team, pick your weapons, then go at it with the other team. But unlike Socom II, which was all grenade throwing and gun dancing, you now must use strategy! The maps are three times as big as before, meaning one grenade usually won't kill three people. Also snipers now play important roles. Because of map size, you usually have to lay down and take pot shots at people. Vehicles online are awesome. I have found nothing more fun than running down people in a hummer. For those of you worried about cheating, it has been slowed down a lot. Glitches are near impossible to find. And then we have verification. You can play Socom online, as long as you have the proper equipment. But to experience the true fun of the game, you must have a valid credit card number. Basically, you give them your credit card number, and it becomes attached to your ID online. There's only one account per credit card. If you cheat, team kill, ect., your card number will be banned. So you can cheat, but only until you run out of cards. Bonuses with verifying your account include rank, and access to the Socom community. Online is where the game is at.

Graphics-8/10-The graphics for this game are pretty good. They're not God of War graphics, but they're good. The movement of people is very smooth, and there is little lag between images. The vehicles are detailed well, but like I said, not perfect. Perfect graphics however would mean lessened gameplay, and a good seal should not be concerned with how his boots look.

Features-9/10-Socom 3 has brought us many new things. Vehicles have been added, such as Hummers and boats. Multiple people can be on one vehicle, allowing for quicker movement, and more killing, either by running people over, or using the vehicle mounted guns. New guns have been added, like the x8. On the guns, you can now equip attachments like scopes, grenade launchers, and silencers. The water is now accessible, allowing you to swim through it, but you cannot shoot while swimming. Weight is another big factor of the game now. You can't hold all kinds of heavy guns, or you lose speed, much like Metal Gear Solid 3.

Replayability-7/10-The only reason this category a lower score, is because of the one player. I don't find this game worth buying just for one player. Now online, you should definitely buy it for. After years of Socom II, I was never bored with it, and I don't plan to be bored with this game anytime soon. No two games online are ever the same.

Overall-9/10-This game is awesome. If you have access to the PS2 online, buy it. If you don't, you can still buy it, but I don't find it as fun in single player. This game no matter what though, is amazing.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/05