After several releases from secondary developer Slant Six Games, the SOCOM franchise has finally gotten another numbered release from series creator Zipper Interactive. Since SOCOM 4 is the first numbered game (excluding the PSP spinoffs) since 2005, fans naturally have high expectations for the title. Since this was my first excursion into the franchise, it is impossible for me to accurately determine whether or not Zipper hit the mark in that regard. What I can tell you is that SOCOM 4 is an enjoyable but flawed experience with a multiplayer component that is unlikely to draw PS3 owners away from other heavy-hitter shooters on the market.
I wouldn’t go so far as to describe the online play as “bad”. In fact, it was actually quite entertaining at first. The more time I put into it though the more evident it was that Zipper didn’t throw in enough good ideas of its own to warrant putting aside your favorite shooter and adopting SOCOM 4 for the long haul. All of the military shooter staples are present and they work well enough. The problem is that matches unfold like less compelling versions of the popular Call of Duty multiplayer mode variants.
As much as I dislike simplifying things down to a comparison to CoD, the similarities are just too many to ignore. If you pulled that franchise back to a third person perspective, I imagine it would play out like a more polished version of SOCOM 4. Air strikes, customizable load outs, upgradeable weapons, a rigid matchmaking service and even the text updates on kills in the lower corner along with the tools of destruction feel lifted out of Activision’s FPS. The idea of a tactical modern shooter was pretty fresh back when the series launched on the PS2. Many days have passed since then though and a plethora of titles have explored these concepts far more extensively than Zipper Interactive has with its newest title. Today’s shooters need to offer something unique or at least relatively fresh to differentiate themselves for the crowded pack and SOCOM 4 just doesn’t have it.
Adding to SOCOM’s woes is a collection of smaller problems that can really put a damper on things. Little things such as messy post-game match statistics that aren’t organized by kill-to-death ratios. Why? This makes it difficult to find what you’re looking for considering that nearly every other shooter on the planet has conformed to listing players by kills. Following that messy trend are the chaotic lobbies in which players jump from team to team and two button presses plus navigating another menu is required in order to mute individuals. That latter point can make for some serious frustrations when the start timer is running down and other players are yelling or singing obnoxiously.
While playing online I heard plenty of complaints from series veterans regarding how the game has strayed too far from the traditional SOCOM formula. As previously mentioned I can’t speak to their complaints, but it’s something to be mindful of if you’re a long-time fan. You’ll be happy to know, however, that Zipper has included classic playlists for each of the game types. The modes include “suppression,” which is your basic deathmatch; “uplink,” in which you must secure enemy intel; and “bomb squad,” during which one team must protect a bomb tech who is charged with disarming explosives around the map. Compared to the rest of the available modes, bomb squad feels pretty fresh and requires real teamwork in order to be complete objectives.
The game also has some control issues that cause headaches across all of its multiplayer modes. If you’re going to release a game in which taking cover is essential to staying alive, it’s crucial that developers nail down the controls for “sticking” to the environment. SOCOM 4 is plagued with difficulties in this domain. During my multiplayer excursions with the game, there were constantly moments where the game’s unresponsive controls made it difficult to attach myself to the cover. Indeed of allowing me to seek shelter from a hail of bullets, the game decided my attempts to stick to the side of a building meant “stand there like a jerk and get torn to shreds.” Sometimes it seemed like I had slipped into cover only to discover I was still left wide open to attack a moment later. You also can’t melee attack while in cover, which can lead to some easy kills for your opposition during competitive play. My special operations character can’t handle ducking into cover or fending off close quarters combat? Please.
