- Publisher: SCEA
- Release Date: Aug 27, 2002
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Official U.S. Playstation MagazineI love this game, and I don't see myself playing anything else at home for a good three or four months. [Sept 2002, p.11]
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One shot, one kill—this unforgiving, ultrarealistic console shooter is unlike any other.
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GameNowFor weeks, it's been the only game I've really wanted to play...The play experience is slow-paced, methodical and insanely tense. [Sept 2002, p.28]
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Game InformerThen there's the online mode which I have to say is quite luscious. [Sept 2002, p.76]
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There are a number of new and unique concepts demonstrated in SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs, but it's the execution -- which is nearly flawless -- that makes them stand out from the crowd.
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Electronic Gaming MonthlyThe realistic weapons and possibility of one-shot deaths give it a visceral excitement other shooters lack. [Oct 2002, p.186]
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There’s a lot of attention to detail in the levels and environments, from weather effects to volumetric lighting. It all makes up for the simple character models and sometimes less than spectacular visuals.
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Its gameplay has evolved to a funfactor of hell yes!
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While the graphics engine may have a few rough edges, they don't detract from the great stealth action. If you can forgive the spotty AI, you will enjoy the challenge the game provides.
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SOCOM has one of the nicest interfaces I’ve ever seen. Easy to use and very simple.
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GMR MagazinePossibly the best reason to own a PS2 network adapter. The team-based miliary tactics work better online than off. [Feb 2003, p.93]
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With brisk, action-packed deathmatches online, easily controlled game hosting and clan setup, SOCOM is one of those games that the online experience was tailor-made for.
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Overall, SOCOM is definitely at the top-tier of PS2 games in terms of sound, and can hold its own in graphics.
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The headset does a great job to add a lot of realism to the game online and offline.
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The real area where SOCOM shines is in the player models and animations -- where everything from a simple reload to the way a seal crawls across a muddy riverbank to the way a freshly-capped enemy lurches forward and back, then topples over silently -- drips with an astonishing amount of detail.
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An online game that is surprisingly deep but extremely easy to get into, making it an excellent game regardless of whether you've played other multiplayer shooters before.
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The game fails a bit in single player mode, but more than makes up for it in multiplayer.
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netjakAfter playing online, say goodbye to your social life, and also the 12 mission single-player attempt.
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As great and good and wonderful and new as SOCOM is, the game has a MOAB-sized room for improvement and before we go deeper into the communal experience of multiplayer combat we should cover a few points that prove that we’re not going to be fully-fledged cyber soldiers just yet.
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PlayboyThe splendid visuals, reliance on real world hardware, and sound strategic system underlying each of many riveting rumbles in the jungle, frozen tundra and barren desert provide for a wonderful gaming experience. [4 Sept 2002]
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It’s easily said that SOCOM is the best console based tactical shooter ever, and it wins that throne quite handedly.
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PSM MagazineOne 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]
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Proves to be very addicting for someone looking for a thinking man's (or woman's) shooter both offline and on.
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There is a sense of teamwork involved in the multiplayer competition that makes the action far more rewarding than if it were merely a straightforward deathmatch against everyone else.
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The only downer to this great game, however, is that you’re allowed to leave a dead SEAL behind, which in real life would never happen.
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It's not a standard first-person shooter, and it can't be played as one; trying to do so will lead to failure and frustration. SOCOM is a game of patience, planning and wits.
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The game is also annoyingly dark during night missions. Even with the brightness cranked, it was pretty hard to see.
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The game manages to blend accessibility with depth perfectly, whilst the level of immersion brought about by using the headset is at times unbelievable.
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SOCOM is filled with all kinds of brilliant attention to detail in its presentation, animation, level design, and many other areas, but those don't serve to fill the holes in its artificial intelligence and basic controls.
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If you after the game for its online mode, you’ll find that you’ll never play the same game twice and wonder what you had been doing for the past 5 years. If you after a ground breaking shooter, you won’t find it here.
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The headset works well, the gameplay is fairly solid and the online teamwork can be addicting. Just make sure your wallet can absorb the punishment, recruit.
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SOCOM: US Navy SEALs isn't quite PS2's online killer app, but it's a worthy beginning.
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The clan managing system for contact between you and your friends is a new and very innovative feature that I can see a lot of online team based games incorporating in the future.
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Cheat Code CentralDespite a good selection of campaigns, the single-player mode feels like a prelude to the real thing. It's like having to sit in the lounge of a popular club and have a drink while waiting to gain admission to the main room.
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Play MagazineA more serious issue is the amount of times I was disconnected or suffering through some lag. [Nov 2002, p.86]
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Technically the game gets many things right, besides the faulty AI. The graphics overall may be subpar, but the animations are done well.
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An adequate introduction to online gaming for console players, but it’s definitely not the killer app Sony wanted the world to believe it was; it’s just a slightly above-average first/third-person shooter with an online component.
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A game that manages to deliver an online experience which completely overwhelms the single-player mode.
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I can’t emphasize enough how imperative it is for this game to be played with fellow human beings, since the boring layout of its virtual land and questionable (i.e. retarded at times) artificial intelligence work against the replayability of its single-player modes.
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The animations are disappointing. Shooting someone should offer some satisfaction, but in SOCOM the dead man just slumps over.
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If you're adept with the Medal of Honor/Halo style control scheme then by all means prove us wrong and shake your weary fists at us in combat, but if you're uncertain then we recommend you try it out before committing, or simply wait for SOCOM 2.
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The frustration factor, however, runs needlessly high in SOCOM as a one-player adventure.
Awards & Rankings
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38
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6
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#6 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2002
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30
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#30 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2002
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User score distribution:
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Positive: 71 out of 95
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Mixed: 11 out of 95
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Negative: 13 out of 95
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May 2, 2011
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May 6, 2018
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Apr 18, 2013