Gaming Mojo

SOCOM 4 is a squad-based, realistic, tactical third-person shooter with this installment promising to be far friendlier to new initiates than earlier SOCOM games. Zipper wants to make SOCOM 4 “the pinnacle of tactical shooters” on the PS3, says lead designer Travis Steiner, but it also wants to build a rich narrative around it.

The events take place in Southeast Asia, but Zipper is quick to point out that you’ll see more than jungles and beaches in SOCOM 4. Expect to train your sights on mountains, small towns and massive cityscapes as well. And unlike previous SOCOM games, the single-player mission is designed to be a seamless in-the-field experience. That means there’s no choppering out to a cushy battleship in-between missions to load out your team and regroup. The weapons and supplies you have with you at the beginning of the mission are all you get from HQ. Like a true special forces team cut off from the outside world, you’ll need to requisition supplies in-theater.

The SOCOM 4 single-player campaign is built around 14 missions that unfold over about 12 hours of play time. And although Zipper is trying to make SOCOM 4 more accessible to new audiences, that doesn’t mean it’ll be a cakewalk. The team says they’ve focused intensely on artificial intelligence this time around. Don’t expect dumb enemies to present their heads to you for easy popping. They’re programmed to use suppressing fire, flanking and bounding maneuvers, and cover. Enemy commanders will even call in airstrikes on you (if you leave them alive long enough).

All the commands in SOCOM 4 are given in real-time and are issued based on what your Ops Commander can see – no bringing up full-screen maps and ordering your squad around as little colored squares and triangles. As the Ops Commander, you’ll be able to see points of tactical interest in Command Mode that you might not see in regular mode. Things will slow down slightly, and the screen will go a bit gray as you make your choices, but the bullets will still be flying. Zipper wants to keep you on the field and in the action at all times.

There will be multiplayer in SOCOM 4, but Zipper’s not talking about it yet. All we know is it will be “an all new experience” that supports up to 32 players online.

OCOM 4 is aiming for a Fall 2010 release date, will keep you guys updated.

(IGN.com)

This entry was posted on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 6:14 am and is filed under News, PS3. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.