SOCOM 4 Review
A capable third person shooter that doesn't quite live up to potential, but may still surprise you
There is a wide variety of weaponry in the game, and a unique system to obtain them. Some of the weapons come standard, so they are always available to loadout with, but others require the player to find them in-game and have them at the end of the level. Once unlocked, the weapons can be used in later missions. It may seem like an unrealistic mechanic (NATO doesn’t have prototypes to provide these rifles before you find them?) but it actually works quite well and makes for a unique unlock system. There are five categories, from shotguns to machine guns, each offering between 2 and 10 individual rifles. The guns in different categories handle accordingly, but you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between those in the same category. The shooting itself is often satisfying and pulling off headshots is a great, if a little too easy.
All of the weapons have various stats, from accuracy to magazine capacity. In order to upgrade the stats on a weapon and unlock various attachments, the player must simply use this particular gun to kill as many enemies as possible. All weapons have 5 tiers of progression, each providing a stat bonus that can be used. The stats don’t cross-transfer in any way – having fully unlocked one machine gun, all other weapons are not affected, even those in the same category. This means that it could take a while to unlock all upgrades for every weapon - however there isn’t enough difference between guns in the same category, so having one fully unlocked rifle in each class is enough.
To protect the player from the gunfire, the game includes a cover system that allows you to stick to any object. Most of the cover is destructible, which adds up to some dynamic firefight as you scramble to find new cover. However – even solid cover seems to have a nasty knack of letting bullets fly through it. For things like concrete blocks and buildings, enemies often find a way to sneak in shots at your character from rather steep angles. As the top of a concrete road barrier deteriorates for example, your character begins taking significant damage even though he is fully concealed in cover. This leads to many frustrating in-cover deaths, as you’re shot from odd angles with bullets that seem to just pass right through you cover. Having said that, the players’ inability to blind-fire from cover will also prove to be a constant annoyance.
To assist in combat, players can utilize their team of operatives. As mentioned earlier, Ops Commander has control of two tactical teams, with two members each. As the SOCOM series has always claimed to be a tactical shooter, the interactions with your squad are rather limited. When compared with Ubisoft’s GRAW series or SWAT 4, SOCOM 4 is more about action than tactical combat. The player can order his teams to regroup, move to a specific area or attack a particular target.
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