SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike

"A far better game than the reviews have led us to believe"

OK, SOCOM Tactical Strike is different from the previous two games on the PSP. A lot of people have complained about this change but I think sometimes a change can be good and in the case of Tactical Strike if you stay with it you will not be disappointed. I think this is a case of there is room for both a tactical socom and a shooter style socom.

I think what has put a lot of people off this game are the controls. They certainly take some getting used to but don't let this put you off. If you run through the first level a few times they become really intuitive and you quickly realise a lot of thought has been put into this game. Playing from a tactical standpoint really does give you a different angle on the SOCOM franchise. Rather than just go in all guns blazing this time round you really need to plan, evaluate and give a lot of thought about how you are going to go about a mission. This side of things are further enhanced by the fact that depending on how you approach a mission you will be rewarded accordingly with new weapons etc.,

The game is spread out over 9 levels with additional insertion points available in the mission redeploy section. So you have the campaign mode but if you feel you'd like to increase your score rating, or go back and complete some of the objectives you missed first time around you can do so by redeploying. There are four difficulty levels, three which are available from the start and one which can be unlocked.

With regards to the different levels, unlike other games the two most difficult levels happen to be in the middle of the game. One level called 'devil's due' is particularly frustrating due to a minor bug (the only one in the game I've came across). But if you bear in mind that after a cut scene you need to reissue any orders you gave prior to said cut scene you will not have any problems. The other difficult level is called 'diplomacy' which really separates the men out from the boys since by the time you reach the end you'll really be on your last legs regarding health packs and sniper ammo.

I did read in a number of reviews that members of your SOCOM team sometimes didn't follow your orders. Now I really don't know where they got this from since not once did I have any problems. On the contrary the AI of your team is pretty good and they will react positively. With regards to enenmy AI, this can appear to be a bit silly at times but when you think about it it isn't. For instance you take out an enemy with a sniper shot and one of the enemy will run and stand next to the guy you've just shot, allowing you to take him out as well. If you think about it, this is probably what would happen. A guy gets shot so one of his mates is going to run and see if he's OK.

As I said above this game allows you to tackle a level in a variety of different ways. The most satisfying method is to try and achieve a 100% stealth rating but you can to a degree go for a more agressive approach.

Another thing I really liked about this game is that you can choose which special forces team you want to play with. This element links up with your spoken language. For instance if you play with the Franch Gendarmerie team then you team will talk to each other in french. I thought this was a nice touch.

The graphics are another positive. This can be seen when you are about to take out a guy with a sniper shot since you get to see a really good close up as you zoom in. Background graphics are also very good. If you take the time you'll see little touches like a calendar on the wall with a picture and stuff like that. It is a bit like in the Wallace and Gromit films. If you look carefuly you'll see a whole lot of nice little touches.

To conclude I'd have to say this game is probably one of the best on the PSP. I'd put it right up there with Jeanne d'arc and Sid Meiers Pirates as far a replayability and up there with Syphon Filter as far as graphics go.

Don't be put off by the reviews this is a must have game on the PSP.

Enjoy

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/22/08

Game Release: SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike (EU, 12/07/07)