Sadly, just like last year, E3 was out of my reach. For some reason, my college finals land on the same day as E3 every year. It sucks really, but today made me feel like I was a part of the action and I\'ll tell you why, and yes, eventually I will talk all about SOCOM and its ways.
For the fourth time in the past week or so, I went to see Episode II, however, the three previous times were on a mundane standard projection with subpar sound and abysmal seating arrangements. This time, Digital Projection would be the medium, and the Sony Metreon would be the destination. As me and my girlfriend arrived at the Playstation store in the Metreon, neither of us knew what to expect. Generally, we don\'t venture inside mainly because I know what\'s out and I know what\'s in there, but just out of morbid curiosity, especially since there was so many SOCOM posters all over the place, we finally decided to take a stroll down washout lane.
http://www.scea.com/e3/socom/movies/socomtrailer-hi.wmv (Direct Feed Socom Trailer)
Much to my surprise, SOCOM was the big thing on display on four of the flat panel monitor\\PS2 units there. Additionaly, not only were these units networked together via the BB connection and the Metreon\'s custom T1 line, these units were connected with those at the E3 Expo and the journalists were the enemies of those playing at the Metreon! Hungry journalists were ravaging the the kiosks on the show floor, and suddenly, without even setting foot out of the Bay Area, I was a part of it all. Now, read on for full impressions.
The way SOCOM is controlled is a bit like Halo using both analog sticks on the PS2 controller, the left stick for strafing left and right respectively, the right stick for looking up, down, and turning right or left respectively. R1 is used to fire and that\'s pretty much all you needed for this demo, especially since the game was fairly fast paced already. I wish I could spend more time with it testing out all the buttons, but that was pretty much all I needed. The camera is placed a little bit above and behind your player with a rather large crosshair in front of him. In fact, it looks a little bit like the third person spectator mode in Counter-Strike and Soldier of Fortune II, only completely playable. There was a jump button, a reload button, and secondary weapon buttons, but I didn\'t have a chance to explore the controller for them. I\'m also sure there\'s a prone button, but just as above, I didn\'t have time to look around for them.
The main level I played was one in the jungle full of lush trees and what looks like ruins from some ancient civilization. Each team starts off on opposite ends of the maps and the maps are big enough not to place the two teams too close together, but also small enough to make sure the teams do run into eachother fairly quickly. The jungle itself was quite nice showcasing a level that definitely takes advantage of the camoflauge gear the Seal team (E3 attendees) was equiped with. The other level was a loading dock at night time full of large crates and plenty of places to hide. While the forest level felt far more open, the dock level felt very claustrophobic and the terrorists and seals were dressed appropriately for night time combat with black fatigues.
Although I the aspects of gameplay for Socom aren\'t too different from those present in most other FPS and TPS games on the market, it\'s great to be able to play online. For the first time since Sega Net, I got to reach out and frag someone by popping them in the head with my M4A1 rifle and my desert eagle secure from any cheating, living only by my wits. The gun sounds are wonderful, but that\'s all i could really hear over the roar of the crowds when kills were achieved. I left the game with a 4-0 record after 2 rounds, but it was plenty enough to get a feel for the game and how great it will be online.
If Socom offers a wide variety of missions, a great assortment of levels, and flawless broadband connectivity I experienced today, then the game should be wonderful when it\'s released this August. I personally can\'t wait for it. This is the game the online community here at Central was truly meant for. My hats off to Sony for introducing this online only game as a testament to the greatness of your network. It will truly be great come August, sign me up!
