PlayStation 2

SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs

Sony has proved it's possible to improve on excellence. Whether or not you've tried your hand at the original SOCOM game, action fans and military buffs alike will undoubtedly find SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs to be one of the most compelling and addictive PlayStation 2 titles to date.

With all the praise I'm heaping upon SOCOM II, you have to wonder if there could possibly be anything wrong with it, right? Well, yes, there is. While SOCOM II is a great game, it feels a lot less like a sequel and a lot more like an expansion pack. If this were a PC title, it would be labeled as an expansion or a huge patch. The graphics for example, are better than the original, but not by a huge margin. And while the overall gameplay is "fixed" with the removal of cheats and the addition of extra modes, it's not any sort of evolution of the original. Thus, I have a bit of heartburn with the $45 price tag, as it should really be more like $25-$30. And for those of us with the original, I'd love to see a rebate of some sort, even one for $10 would make me feel better about recommending you go right out and buy this game at the current price.

Where to start... OK, Socom II came out recently and many "Sony" online gamers could not be happier. The original Socom was so good that it warranted purchasing an above average price tagged game (if you bought the headset pack) and a broadband adapter. Players rallied around the game's user-friendly setup and the fact that you need not pay for a monthly fee to play. Then came the cheaters, players who cracked the games code and made themselves invincible or invisible or ran through walls. It was enough to make legitimate players sick to their stomachs, as a well fought battle was reaching it's final round and a cheater enters the game, killing all players in mere seconds. Frustrating. But then the rumor started flying that SONY too, was sickened by all the cheaters, so they made every effort to make the game cheat-proof. Did it work? Does the game have enough new features to warrant a purchase? Will this review be long? Please read along and find out.

While the original SOCOM remains popular on the PlayStation 2, the U.S. Navy SEALs continue their tour of duty in a successful second invasion.

The game that got you shouting about Bravo and Able is back to make you holler some more. Amping up the group combat action another notch, developer Zipper Interactive, Inc. has brought the bad-ass SEALs back for more in SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs II. The multiplayer's been enhanced and a host of new online maps and single-player missions have been thrown in for good measure. Not quite a complete sequel, SOCOM II plays like an expansion pack, but that's just fine.

Ehrlich gesagt, bin ich etwas enttäuscht. Bis auf neue Levels und einige Verbesserungen ähnelt SOCOM II zu sehr dem Vorgänger. Die KI lässt immer noch zu wünschen übrig und es sind fast noch mehr Bugs vorhanden. Keine Frage, dass auch Teil Zwei jede Menge Spaß macht, aber wo sind die Innovationen? Der Adrenalin-Kick lässt einen diese Tatsachen zum Glück immer wieder vergessen. Wer schon einmal mit klopfendem Herzen durch die virtuellen Büsche gerobbt ist und auf den nächsten menschlichen Gegner gewartet hat, weiß wovon wir sprechen!

When Sony released its network adapter last summer, it did so with a handful of online games to back it up. While most of the early lineup consisted of sports games and sequels, Zipper Interactive's third-person shooter, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs, quickly rose to the top of the pile. Now, a little over a year later, Sony and Zipper have reteamed for a sequel that makes good additions and fixes problems along the way.

It’s hard to believe that a full year has passed since the original SOCOM hit the shelves, effectively ushering in a new era of online console gaming. The game was a runaway hit, partly because it was and until right now, is the only real online military shooter for the biggest system in the world. Though SOCOM had its share of problems, it managed to do enough things right to convince prince and pauper alike to drop the hefty 100 bucks it took to get up and running, network adapter, headset and all.

My framerate gripe with this game, in addition my gripe with the half-good and half-hideously stupid team A.I cannot be overlooked. It really dragged the final score down, when the final score should've been higher than the original's. It's incredibly displeasing to see the game's framerate somehow manage to become so grossly annoying, instead of being perfected - it's a paradox if anything else. The single-player mode needs more bulk added to it, as it can be beaten way too quick. Though, when it comes down to it all, it's all about the game's unrivaled online experience. 16 players, new weapons, new maps, original maps from the first game, and a whole slew of other new features still make Socom II a very worthwhile experience. Just don't expect a lengthy single-player mode and a team of elitists behind you, because what you get is three occasional morons with pretty deadly aim. Weird, eh?

Tactical shooters are quickly becoming a dime a dozen, and the whole stealth/tactical strategy genre is being mercilessly beaten to death as you read this. Fortunately, there is hope for us; some companies out there are still willing to put a little work into these games, making an outstanding product for you and I to enjoy. SOCOM 2 US Navy Seals for the Playstation 2 is one of these games. I am going to go right ahead and say it up front: SOCOM 2 is an outstanding game by all means. It is not without its flaws, but overall, this game simply rocks.

When Sony released the PS2 network adapter last year, there was really only one stand-out title that supported online play. That game, of course, was the original SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs. It received rather excellent reviews despite having a few relatively major flaws, including some poor teammate A.I. and some unimpressive graphics. In addition, the online play was eventually effectively neutered when “game enhancers” such as the Action Replay were released and players were forced to deal with rampant cheating. Even so, SOCOM has quite a loyal following and even went on to become part of the PS2’s “Greatest Hits” line.

Il n'y a pas de mystère, avec un développement qu'on suppute bref, SOCOM 2 n'est pas le jeu qui exploitera à fond le concept de base. Aucun effort pour corriger les divers défauts du premier (l'IA essentiellement) et une campagne solo plus tiède font de SOCOM 2 un titre assez moyen en définitive, même si son mode online est séduisant. Mais quand il s'agit de mettre la main au porte-monnaie, on ne peut s'empêcher de regretter la nonchalance qui a dû prévaloir durant le développement d'un jeu qui aurait mérité d'être plus soigné.

The PS2 was never designed to run giant online multiplayer frag sessions, and it shows: the enjoyment seems to teeter constantly on the edge of slowing down or stalling, although the threat rarely materialises. Players who shelled out for the original game may feel as if they're paying full price for what almost amounts to a bug-fixing and map-enhancing update.