SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs Combined Assault review

Zipper Interactive has made a very respectable living off creating games based on one of the world's keenest covert fighting forces; the U.S. Navy SEALs. The SOCOM series has a heck of a prestige behind it for providing a sharp tactical online shooter experience, and it's easy to see why Sony Computer Entertainment America has entered the breech once more with Zipper's latest offering; even if it's at the tail-end of a fading generation.

In fact, while it's fair to say Combined Assault is somewhat of an expansion pack for the PlayStation 2 franchise, the large user-base on Sony's aged console makes it an irresistible temptation, even if fans are champing at the bit for a PS3 shot. So while that shot remains in the dark, it falls upon this effort to satisfy gamers' itchy trigger fingers...

Cock the hammer it's time for action

Zipper's experience in creating software of this genre shows in spades from the moment you boot up the game, greeting you with a bombastic score worthy of action movie composer heavyweights, Hans Zimmer and Harry (Metal Gear Solid) Gregson-Williams. It fits in perfectly with the rest of the polished presentation, which initially appears overwhelming in its depth, but is surprisingly accessible. Comprehensive and well-devised training modes ease you into the wealth of controls and commands at your hands -even if you're a total SOCOM rookie- while the decently voice-acted mission briefs, FMV and cut scenes offer a strong sense of immersion.

Of course, this is nothing surprising if you're well versed in the world of SOCOM. Which is probably where the worries lie. The title's familiarity is both its greatest strength and weakness, as would be for any series four games deep. What Combined Assault aims to provide that its predecessors haven’t is a large and challenging single-player campaign to team with its already acclaimed online multiplayer experience, which can also be played co-operatively.

It's a gamble that pays off on a few levels, only really stymied by… well, I'll get to that in due course. After all, patience is an essential virtue for any Navy SEAL.

Set in the fictional country of Adjikistan, Combined Assault travels 18 missions around a number of varied locations that the imaginary environment can afford. Caves blend with cities, mountains and industrial sites, all conveniently allowing for a semi-realistic range of objectives a typical SEAL would have to endure. Reconnaissance, target capture, object/structure demolition, enemy neutralisation and more await, each shedding light on a rather safely predictable plot as you progress.

It makes for some rather large and complex levels as you're given the freedom to accomplish your tasks in various ways, some objectives emerging as consequence of the completion of others. There's enough to offer the illusion of choice, given you have to go through all the missions at some point.

But it almost goes without saying that no matter how you decide to approach your aims, storming into action is not a sensible option. True to life, SEAL ops depend on secrecy and stealth, open warfare often being the quickest way to a slab send-off. So it’s all about a slow and steady style of gameplay, something SOCOM excels in. Although sadly, in this case, there's a few problems that prevent slow and steady from occasionally turning into profanity laden chicken runs.

Fighting in unnecessary darkness

At its core, Combined Assault is fine game. Using your Commander and a team of three men, the gameplay is usually smooth and engaging thanks to some responsive and well thought-out controls. However, certain issues raise their ugly head, symptomatic of a game not only on old hardware, but also that of pre-new generation jitters.

The well animated visuals suffer from muddy textures and slightly indistinct definition, which can make terrain decidedly difficult to negotiate as you work out what's traversable and what's not. Alone that wouldn’t be too much of a bugbear, but seeing as movement and accuracy are matters of life and death, things can get very sticky indeed. Worse, the collision detection can be patchy, making you hit foreground objects you thought you were clear of by a few important pixels. As stealth and hit-rate are important, it's all too easy to find yourself under fire by enemies who have an uncanny knack of knowing where you are, yet your cover position doesn’t allow retaliation because the game can't tell you're a couple centimetres wide of a wooden fence.

Underlining this are artificial intelligence lapses that affect both your team and your foes. Allies' path-finding abilities are uneven, their combat effectiveness is sometimes stunted by sheer stupidity (getting in each other's way, grouping too tightly etc) and they'll sometimes be far too willing as sitting ducks. While the bad guys have a tendency not to mind too much if they're fired upon, watching team-mates fall over from a fresh head-wound and then going back to their post as if nothing has happened. In a game that prides itself on realism, where lovely little features -like ear-ringing effects when you're too close to an explosion or the joypad rumbling like a heart-beat when you go into your sniper scope- add extra immersion, all these foibles can drag you out of the game's tense reality like an errant dawn raid.

Only just over half a clip

When these factors aren’t punching you in the gut, Combined Assault is a large amount of fun, especially when playing with human players who can override some of the above concerns. Even with the single-player segment expanded, the online co-operative and competitive modes (the latter up to 32 players) remain the large selling points that make SOCOM's faults more excusable. Although it must be noted, if you already own SOCOM 3 the value of Combined Assault drops dramatically due to the large lack of differences between the two when it comes to online features – a handful of new maps (including three downloadable ones) and that's pretty much your lot.

But for those looking to dip into the series for the first time, Combined Assault is a worthy admission. Especially when you consider the compatibly with PlayStation Portable sister title, Fireteam Bravo 2, which allows you to synch data to affect missions; so success in one makes that same area easier -or at least helps you out- in the other; a nice little touch that expands the title's sense of reality and adds a fair bit of replay value.

If you're new to the franchise, SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs Combined Assault is a good buy, with plenty of finely honed action and depth to keep you going, especially if you can get online where it truly shines. For long time fans, though, it's something of a mixed blessing. The single-player is decent, but relies on its co-op functionality to pull you out of its twitchy gameplay troubles. If you can get around that, Combined Assault is worth sticking your head out in the firing line for.