SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs

 PlayStation 2
  • Publisher: SCEA
  • Release Date: Aug 27, 2002
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 97 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 73 out of 97
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 97
  3. Negative: 13 out of 97
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  1. MetalInc.
    Oct 18, 2002
    2
    Sucks. Sucks sucks. Sure the graphics are nice, the gameplay is ok...but all of this is shunned due to horrible AI. You can walk up behing two guys.....shoot one in the head, and his partner won't even turn around. HORRIBLE AI. I think the only reason to play this game is the online options...other wise you might as well go buy a copy of bubble bobble for NES.
  2. JhonS.
    Jun 3, 2003
    1
    This game is a loss and nearly worthy of a 1 its lacks soooo much and has almost no originality for example, In the interest of spicing up the first-person shooter landscape for the PlayStation2, Sony releases "SOCOM: US Navy (fair enough) in hopes to get the support of Sony's growing online community, it was meant to thrill as both a one-player experience and an online shoot This game is a loss and nearly worthy of a 1 its lacks soooo much and has almost no originality for example, In the interest of spicing up the first-person shooter landscape for the PlayStation2, Sony releases "SOCOM: US Navy (fair enough) in hopes to get the support of Sony's growing online community, it was meant to thrill as both a one-player experience and an online shoot 'em up but sadly it failed, "SOCOM" adds a few tiny enhancements to the genre. But where "SOCOM"(and to be fair) manages to get a few things right, it also manages to fall on its face many times. Navy SEALS are arguably among the best and most versatile combat soldiers this country has. As such their exploits make for exciting videogame.. Or so you would think. "SOCOM" attempts to capture the real-world stress and consequences that might trouble the SEALS during any given workday and again does it to well. The villains in "SOCOM" are terrorist factions operating here in the United States and abroad. Their villainous antics bring players to locations ranging from the jungles of Thailand to the frozen north of Alaska, with several stops in between but the IA intelligence makes them more like girl scouts than terrorist factions. You play as the field commander for an elite group of three other Seal?s. Your task is to undo or prevent terrorist mayhem. Helping you along is the latest in Special Operations Command, a k a SOCOM. You're wired to teammates and central command via headsets and can adjust strategies in the field to accommodate new intelligence. You can give direct orders to other Seal?s and they can respond. Sony sets a precedent by including a headset to communicate in game, a feature that does well to add to the overall experience of any game. Stealth first, ferocity second Missions in "SOCOM" require pre-launch preparation. Before going into the various threatening environments, players must review available Intel and update the team's assorted weaponry and gear. Once on location, how boring Players can pick up and drop gear as necessary, as well as lug the occasional corpse into the shadows. Intelligence on location is limited to a map interface and the comments garnered through the SOCOM. For example, the map will show the locations of suspected sentries, waypoints, buildings, or bombs. But it's the communications through your SOCOM that reveal mission-critical updates from HQ or status reports from your teammates. So when creeping along to diffuse a bomb, for example, teammates in the rear may ask the player to identify possible snipers. Identifying snipers results in new orders from HQ to eliminate the threat. Once that side mission is accomplished, it's back to the shadows and continuing the original task. "SOCOM" allows a player to order troops. Teams are made up of two factions and can work together on anything from breaching and clearing a building to setting up an ambush. Teammates can also be split into groups where one-soldier covers your flank as the others waits at the helicopter landing zone protecting an extracted informant. The possibilities seem endless, almost. Artificial stupidity The attention to detail in the CPU troops' artificial intelligence and the incorporation of SOCOM Intel is ambitious, however this is also the game's biggest downfall. Players will often find their team behaving somewhat silly. It's frustrating to have cleared a building of enemies before moving on to a primary objective, only to have to return and clear the now-empty building again because SOCOM HQ didn't register your improvisational attack. And your cup team, for example, frequently blows your cover at inopportune moments. This may be frustrating for players who try for a perfect rating during end-of-level debriefings. The AI constraints also means more than a few midlevel resets while you try and grind through objectives without straying much from the suggested path. Ho hum. Saving grace? Luckily, "SOCOM" encourages multiplier games online. Once logged onto SOCOM Online, players will then have an opportunity to join up as either Terrorists or Seal?s for an all-out deathmatch, Extraction game (liberate hostages), or a Demolition match (plant a bomb in enemy camp). The included headset allows players to talk radio-style to teammates in the field, and you can converse with the dearly departed once they've been defeated in combat. Being able to communicate with team members during online action brings some much-needed depth to the multiplier component. Hopefully other titles take note and embrace the technology. Something about saying "enemy sighted" to the solider covering your rear just feels right. Unfortunately with the new freedom of speech aspect comes the occasional freedom to annoy everybody with juvenile shenanigans. But you can always ignore the headset or join another game. In all "SOCOM" is defiant no-buy. The addition of the headset to a first-person shooter helps promote what is coolest about the Internet -- the ability to communicate and participate with people from all over. And that's the only appeal. The frustration factor runs needlessly high in "SOCOM" due to very, very VERY boring gameplay..... Online better but still boring and if you want to play waiting is your only option and if your connection isn?t broadband forget it you can still play but your just someone else?s slow moving slow shooting, easy, lagging target. … Expand
  3. JonG.
    Oct 13, 2005
    1
    I can't believe they took away sur shot setting. Trying to learn new controls after a year of using socom 2 isn't fair. If they don't patch that up I'm returning the game. What was the reasoning behind leaving it out.
  4. TimS.
    Mar 25, 2003
    1
    This game sucks! when you go online the other players are like drunk ducks trying to ice skate!!!i would rather play with me sisters dolls!!!!!!
  5. TheQuietGamer
    Jun 8, 2011
    4
    This might have been fun when it came out do to the multiplayer, but now days it sucks, the campaign's story sucked, that is if it even had a story I honestly can't remember if it had one, it had the ability to be a great 3rd person run and gun shooter, but instead they made it a crappy stealth game where the A.I. is either completely oblivious to the fact that your there, or areThis might have been fun when it came out do to the multiplayer, but now days it sucks, the campaign's story sucked, that is if it even had a story I honestly can't remember if it had one, it had the ability to be a great 3rd person run and gun shooter, but instead they made it a crappy stealth game where the A.I. is either completely oblivious to the fact that your there, or are instantly alerted the second when you make a move, the multiplayer was fun, but it's dead now, I honestly can't recommend this game to anyone at all, skip at all costs.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

38
#38 Best PS2 Game of 2002
7
#7 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2002
30
#30 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2002

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 42 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 42
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 42
  3. Negative: 0 out of 42
  1. GamerWeb Sony
    85
    It’s easily said that SOCOM is the best console based tactical shooter ever, and it wins that throne quite handedly.
    Read full review
  2. netjak
    87
    After playing online, say goodbye to your social life, and also the 12 mission single-player attempt.
  3. PSM Magazine
    80
    One of the greatest features of this game, by far, the headset lets you tell your computer-controlled teammates exactly what to do...makes SOCOM such an innovative title. [Oct 2002, p.28]
See all critic reviews »