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SOCOM 4
Platform: PlayStation 3
78

SOCOM 4 Review

A capable third person shooter that doesn't quite live up to potential, but may still surprise you

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This presents a fairly limited tactical ability to your squad – sure, you can chain actions together by continually issuing commands in a certain order. Your teammates’ AI will blindly follow them – even if it means trying to “sneak” from cover to cover in plain sight of the enemy. The allies are also not very balanced in their ability – if not given specific orders, they will open fire in the enemy’s general direction and will be marginally successful in getting things done. However, should the player specify a target – the squad will perform some great shots and often take out the enemy in an instant. The enemy AI functions at a similar level – enemies will often do a good job of finding cover and flaking, while other times will run out in the open trying to get to another piece of cover.
 
There are also a couple of missions in the game where players assume control of FortyFive, who is a stealth operative. Consequently, her missions are all night-time stealth recons into the enemy territory. During these missions, a stealth meter indicator is added and becomes a crucial part of the gameplay. Though these levels are full of enemies, the progression is still often linear as there are only a few paths that won’t alert the guards. Taking out enemies is both risky and often unnecessary, unless the game specifically points out targets to eliminate in order to progress. The stealth missions are fairly easy and don’t require much thinking, only a little patience, and do well to break up the usually action-packed story.
 
SOCOM 4
 
The game also features a customizable mission mode, where players can play offline or in online co-op. There are 6 maps to choose from, and two different objectives to be set. Things like difficulty and number of enemies can also be tweaked, but that’s about it. Though this means that the experience can be made unique enough each mission, enemies will continue to spawn in the same locations and most firefights will play out the same way, when the settings remain unchanged. Still, given the amount of variations that can be had with the online coop, it’s likely the best multiplayer-type mode that the game offers – classic, strategic gameplay that brings the ultimate satisfaction when the team succeeds against all odds.
 
Competitive multiplayer, on the other hand, is a bit of a different beast. What the campaign and coop teaches players about strategic maneuvering and slow paced combat, online multiplayer throws out the window. It is a run-and-gun grenade spam fest out there. Everything unlocked during the single player is also for naught, as you’ll have to start leveling up your weapons from scratch. Developers Zipper Interactive included a few variations that apply to multiplayer modes, such as Classic and Standard modes. These are meant to appeal to classic SOCOM fans, who wish to have no respawn, faster movements and other elements from the previous games in the series. While it’s a nice touch, it remains to be seen which settings the community will prefer.

Comments
SOCOM 4
SOCOM 4 box art Platform:
PlayStation 3
Our Review of SOCOM 4
78%
Good
The Verdict:
Game Ranking
SOCOM 4 is ranked #599 out of 1957 total reviewed games. It is ranked #62 out of 103 games reviewed in 2011.
598. Prototype 2
Xbox 360
599. SOCOM 4
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Platform: PlayStation 3
Released: January 2010
Developer: Zipper Interactive
Screenshots

SOCOM 4
22 images added Mar 28, 2011 23:46
Videos
SOCOM 4 - Gameplay Reveal
Posted: Feb 1, 2011 22:52
SOCOM 4 - Solo Campaign Trailer
Posted: Apr 11, 2011 12:41
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