I checked out Socom 4: U.S. Navy Seals a little while back at a Sony event, but got my hands on it and decided to spend a little more quality time with it. The game has some great hits and some minor misses. Check the below for the details.

Likes:

In-Game Gun Customization

After missions, the game allows you to make customizations to weapons you have earned. This way, you can get to know your weapon more…intimately. This also helps taking out the enemy easier. In many shooters, I don’t really get the ability to customize until you get online so this is a welcome characteristic

Always Knowing Where to Go

So there is this diamond that is always onscreen. Its main purpose is to point you to areas of interest. Since the game is pretty linear, you end up following it to the end of the mission. Stay sharp though because it doesn’t alert you to ambushes.

In Depth Team Commands

As a guy who likes to play war-strategy games on the pc, I really liked the ability to command your fellow comrads. Socom 4: U.S. Navy Seals takes it a little further by giving you a little more than many other games in the same genre. You can delay attacks to coordinate kills as well as set way points so you can be a little bit more strategic with the way you play the game. Two thumbs up for tactics!

Dislikes:

Too Linear

As I mentioned before, the game is linear, and this can get to be a little annoying at times. You find yourself in one of two situations. Either being lulled into a pattern of game-play then someone suddenly shoots you or you being frustrated by not getting to explore and finish the level in your own way. It’s not very “sandboxy” so you pretty much have to do what the designers had in mind.

Environment Interaction Very Low

very little environment interaction. I took away from being brought into the Socom universe. The shrubbery doesn’t move when you’re hiding in it. You kind of phase right through the leaves. It’s small, but I thought that was a detail that adds to the ambiance of the the game as a whole. Also, you don’t seem to get burned by fire when its smoldering on the ground, and you can’t do a ton of exploring even though you can do some. Also on one of the early stealth missions, silent kills weren’t so stealthy but none of the guards seemed to notice the guy yelling or the splattered blood on the ground. Again, not a huge deal, but it detracts from the believability of the game scenarios.

Controls can be complicated

This is something that most will probably get over with trial and error. But if your new to the franchise get ready for a big learning curve. zooming in to kill the enemy literally takes three button presses and keeping track of your gear is simple but time consuming when in battle. Switching between first and third person views can be disconcerting as well. It’s doable ofcourse but very tough at first.

 

Wrapup:

Very good, but I’ve played better.  Got to say that the command system was one of the best I’ve played with so far. I’m a big fan of war strategy games and this power is definitely for those who like to control the action at a micro level. However, so many controls felt cumbersome at times especially when in the middle of a large fire fight. Oftentimes I had to die a couple times just trying to get my controls down. That said, it was quite enjoyable taking baddies down with precision and control and it’s definitely worth checking out and adding to the collection if you like shooters.