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SOCOM: Tactical Strike
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Graphics & Sound:
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike is a familiar, yet completely different take on the SOCOM franchise. Though the setting and most of the players involved feel similar, the play mechanic is completely different. In some respects, change is a good thing, though at the same time, the experiment isn't a complete success and is plagued by small problems that end up holding the experience back.
Tactical Strike certainly looks the part of a SOCOM game. Soldiers are pretty detailed and have their own little design quirks to set them apart from each other. This is true about every unit you come across in the game. The same goes for environments, which are varied enough that you never get completely bored, but look enough alike that they go together. The game's biggest visual problem is its camera. Rather than giving you full freedom to position the camera where you want, you can only see what each soldier "sees." In open areas this isn't a problem; however, it does make navigating cluttered areas and indoor environments a pain.
One neat aspect about Tactical Strike is how it treats language options. At the beginning of the game, you can choose from a number of special forces units from around the world. Not only does this give you a different unit to look at, but the unit's dialogue is in their native language. So, if you decide to play as the German special forces, you'll hear dialogue play out in German. It doesn't alter gameplay in any significant way, but it is still nice to see.
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Gameplay:
Unlike past games, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike is a tactical action game rather than a 3rd-person, squad-based shooter. The easiest parallel is Full Spectrum Warrior since both share similar mechanics. At the same time, Tactical Strike could be considered a more "arcade" version of that game; the interface and "tactics" are streamlined, placing more emphasis on action than Full Spectrum's military simulation.
The story behind Tactical Strike is a bit confusing and not that compelling. The general setup -- which involves a group of insurgents kidnapping a Panamanian ambassador -- is good, though it isn't told very well. Most of the narrative is told though exchanges between mission ops and your team of SEALs, making it really hard to follow at times. In truth, I ended up completely ignoring it about four missions in and it didn't hurt the experience one bit. The only major downside is that you never get a feel, or any real attachment, to your team. Yes, its all about gameplay, but if you look at games like Ghost Recon or even Republic Commando, the player/ team attachment made the experience even better. You weren't putting polygonal mass in harm's way, but a polygonal mass that felt like a part of the team. But, enough with the philosophy.
Tactical Strike is a fairly straightforward experience. The main campaign follows your group of SEALs through short missions that eventually make up a much larger mission. Each mission comes with a short briefing and usually involves a number of primary and secondary missions. Primary missions must be completed before your squad can be extracted, leaving secondary missions as something else to do - adding to the game's replay value. A set of Instant Action missions also give you something additional to do after completing the Campaign.
Online gameplay has long been the franchise's most popular element, so it shouldn't be that much of a surprise that Tactical Strike features a rather robust online mode. Up to four players can play through a number of matches, including team-based deathmatches and objective-based scenarios. Each player controls their own team, though tactics didn't play that big of a role in most matches I played. In most cases, players would just group up their team and have a big firefight in the middle of the map. Tactics didn't come into play until a team had been whittled down, at which point it really just became a cat and mouse game. It's nothing that can be laid at the feet of the developers, though it is still noteworthy. It is also advisable that you pick up a headset if you plan on playing online. Being able to talk to your ally is invaluable. |
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Difficulty:
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike isn't overly difficulty, at least if you think through your moves and don't just rush into situations. However, the A.I. - both of your team and enemies - is pretty bad. There are times where you have to keep constant tabs on members of your team; otherwise they'll do stupid things like standing up from behind cover or, worse yet, trying to shoot through their own cover. On rare occasions, I would give an order and my soldier would completely disregard it. For example, I ordered a squad to not engage enemies and they did so once someone came into view.
Tactical Strike runs into a problem that is common among PSP titles; it isn't very portable friendly. Missions are long, sometimes taking up to an hour to complete. On a console or PC, this wouldn't be an issue at all, though for a portable game this does pose a problem. However, length isn't Tactical Strike's biggest problem in this regard; it's the lack of a Quick Save option. Checkpoints are scattered throughout the each mission, but it can sometimes take 15 - 20 minutes before reaching one. Unless you're lucky and hit a checkpoint before you have to stop playing, you'll end up replaying several missions and basically wasting your time. Really, it is an unnecessary frustration. You know Sony has to have some kind of document saying what a PSP title must include, and a Quick Save or something similar should be one.
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Game Mechanics:
Selecting units and moving them around the operations area is handled well. It is apparent that a lot of thought went into the interface since everything makes logical sense and never becomes unwieldy. Your four-man team can be divided into two, two-man squads: Able and Bravo. Pressing (R) cycles between the two groups or selects the entire group. Once a team or squad is selected, commands are issued by pressing one of the four face buttons. Pressing (X) brings up a group of attack commands, while (O) brings up movement. Commands are organized in a small menu that is navigated by with the D-pad.
Tapping (L) allows you to cycle through different perspectives and, if you hold down (L), you can select individual squad members for specialized strategies. While they add another bit of height to the game's learning curve, specialized strategies can add even more depth to the game. Using the same command trees used for basic maneuvers, you can queue up commands and execute them with single button press. Again, it takes a lot of forethought to plan out a complex strategy that works, but when it does, it makes for a great experience.
Although the interface and command structure is easy to understand, the system does have a few problems. The main problem is the movement pointer, which can become unwieldy in some situations. This is especially true when trying to navigate a complex area, especially those with multiple levels. As with the camera system, everything is seen from the perspective of one of your team members, so if he isn't in the right spot you'll have use a combination of guesses and the mini-map to make sure you move your guys into position. It doesn't break the game and works a majority of the time; but the few times it doesn't you'll think it is the most broken thing on the planet.
Although Tactical Strike is playable and enjoyable most of the time, it is still discouraging when you look at the number of minor flaws. It's a bit like playing a game of basketball with friends on cracked pavement with a bent hoop. Although they are little things and don't disrupt an otherwise fun game, the amount of frustration some add to the experience is enough to make you want to quit. Still, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Tactical Strike is an okay experience for anyone interested in tactical strategy or die-hard SOCOM fans. |
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-Starscream, GameVortex Communications AKA Ricky Tucker |
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