Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

by Chuck Greer

When I was first asked to review SOCOM: Tactical Strike I was excited. I had read and heard good things about the previous SOCOM games and not yet having a chance to try one I figured now was an excellent opportunity. And boy was I surprised. This is a strategy game! And if not for a game killer and a couple problems, a great strategy game it might have been.

I really liked the graphics in SOCOM, both cut-scene and in-game. The cut scenes are nicely rendered and look very good on the small screen. The in game areas are a tad bit pixilated but nothing any PSP gamer will dislike. The environments look very cool, although they seemed devoid of life. I mean any third world town will have innocents right? Another area this game shines is the sounds. The voice acting is top notch for a portable game, and throughout the game your soldiers confirm commands and generally sound like a team talking to each other. Also the weapon effects are good (bullets firing, grenades, etc). In game music is minimal but when used is done well. Look down at the PSP. Every button you see is going to be used during the course of game play. I found myself so utterly confused at times trying to remember which button is for what that it turns into a detriment to game play until I got used to it You cycle in between your two companies with the R button or select both by holding it down, or switch between individual soldiers with the left button. The O button is your movement button. Hold it down and get a submenu with different movement options. The X button is the fire command, just like movements hold it down to get a submenu. Square button, you get grenades. Hold it down, yada yada. Joy pad is a pointer to where you want to go, fire, or throw said grenades. And while confusing, you start to get used to it and it isn’t a bad system when it’s all said and done.

This game has lots of potential. When I started playing I felt like I was playing a 3d Jagged Alliance which is certainly a good thing. You start off listening to a back story, something generic about a politician getting kidnapped, then picking what country to play, choosing/meeting (or later leveling up) your squad members. Then you outfit the troops and check out your mission briefing. And starting off, the game looks very promising with an excellent in game tutorial. But that is where the shortcomings start to rear their ugly head. The one thing that truly ruined this game and granted it may just be me, is the camera. Why can’t I look around the battlefield? You will find yourself more often or not sending your squad members around blind corners into the unknown. And to a point I can understand their decision here – can you see around corners in real life? Can you see the floor under you? But this decision to me takes so much from the strategy of the game.

The other thing that bothered me was the repetition of the game. It seems like all you do is move to point a, decide how to kill bad guys/ open doors, move to point b, kill bad guys/open doors. I felt that I was doing the same thing over and over. And yes there are multiple ways to kill people and/or open doors but soon it just becomes which is your favorite. This I could live with though as the different locales somewhat made up for it.

One of your guys falls in battle? Heal them up. Not a problem until all your guys die and its back to the start of the level with you! Another of my pet peeves is the non existent save system, especially when levels can take upwards of an hour to complete. Add that with the camera flaws and it can become a frustrating experience. I will give SOCOM this though, it is anything but linear. While your objectives are located on the mini map, how you get to them is up to you and helps even up the shortcomings this game has. (I had no way to test the multiplayer in SOCOM but from what I have read that lag and lack of player is a problem at this time).

With three difficulty levels and nine countries to play (which each follow their own story lines and speak their native languages!), along with the open game play this PSP game has some serious legs. And if more people were available and the alleged lag issues were corrected you could be playing this game a very long time.

As mentioned above this game had a lot of potential and if you can overlook the shortcomings, this game can keep you entertained for months on end. In the end I think this is a good game that just missed the mark of being a truly great game. Is it worth a look? If you like strategy games I would have to say yes. If you are new to strategy this game will probably not sell you on the genre.

Gaming Trend Score

75

1. Graphics: 80
2. Audio: 80
3. Controls: 70
4. Gameplay: 70
5. Value/Replay: 80
6. OVERALL:75