Co-operation is seldom found in heaps when playing online with random people. Individual players often wish to pull off Commando-style hit-n’-runs, assaulting the enemy base all by their lonesome. Of course such plans can be effective, but more often than not they end badly for the solo assassin, when faced with a team who thinks tactically, rather than “everybody rush ‘em on the left side”.
Nowhere is the importance of working as a team more apparent then when playing SOCOM. Spearheading PlayStation 2’s online charge, the series rallied quite the following over its four title stint by original developer, Zipper Interactive. With the series creators current working on MAG, Sony have tasked new studio, Slant Six Games, with bring their popular tactical shooter to the PlayStation 3. Like Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Warhawk before it, SOCOM: Confrontation can be downloaded direct from the PSN store or bought in-store, albeit with an additional official headset. However, unlike Warhawk, which had offline multiplayer and LAN support, Confrontation is online multiplayer only - something they should probably have rethought, as the game is libel to stun itself mid-battle, as I will soon highlight.
Once you’ve installed the core game data and logged into the servers (and likely downloaded another time-consuming patch) you’ll be greeted by the main menu, which gives you access to many multiplayer customisation options and leaderboard support many online players will be familiar with. Being purely an online game, clans and basic community options are present. Quick match takes you to a ranked match against other players of similar skill level, while custom leaves you to navigate through the reams of jerky channel menus.
Given the nature of the game itself it is pleasing to see such a large volume of players using headsets, as communication and having at least one buddy with you are vital for survival. In Confrontation, get killed and it’s game over - there are no respawns unless specifically chosen by the host. Cautiously peeking round corners, flanking the enemy and sniping a rival sniper from afar becomes quite rewarding after adjusting to the controls and spend some hours learning from your fatal mistakes. The seven game modes reflect typical military operations, such as capturing an enemy stronghold, defusing a bomb and eliminating all hostiles.
In a ranked match you play half the rounds as the commandos before becoming the mercenaries for the finally half. Breach, Demolition and Extraction - infiltrating the merc base, planting or defusing explosives and rescuing CPU hostages - turned out to be my favourites, often leading to some surprising strategies on the game’s maps. Level designs are varied, huge, and foster teamplay well. The graphics let the game down in places with texture pop and rough character models - case in point, why do all the mercs have such gangly bodies? Fortunately the sound effects produce startlingly loud explosions that ring in your ears, making you want to turn and run for the hills the moment your buddies are ambushed.
Alas, for all of Confrontation’s good points, this is still a game that is yet to be fixed. When it was first released in the US, back in October last year, it was plagued by server errors, glitches and disconnecting games. Assuming we’ve had to wait all this time to get our hands on it you would expect many, if not all, of these major issues to have been rooted out. Much to my dismay and many of the SOCOM players I teamed with, the errors still remain, despite all of the patches. I experienced total game freezes forcing me to reset my system and a number of strange glitches. In one extraction match the game ended, declaring my team the winners, seconds after it began. And in another demolition game, the rival team’s bomb failed to explode once the countdown expired. Since this is an online only game these errors are often crippling.
SOCOM: Confrontation is a passable experience. While it remains an exciting tactical shooter, it often requires more patience than many are likely to give it. The retail bundle’s headset is leagues ahead of many others on the market however. Unless you’re gagging for some SOCOM fragging, this is one package you should leave behind.
Format: PS3 Dev: Slant Six Games Pub: Sony Out: 13/03/09 Players: 2-32 online
