SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation with Bluetooth Headset - PlayStation 3

Okay well first things first the official Bluetooth headset is head and shoulders better than the warhawk one. It is much closer to talking on a phone rather than the static experience that you get with the old headset. It apparently has two microphones in it which assist with cancelling out background noise. For whatever reason the chatting in the game sounded crystal clear – no background noises nothing – just the people talking. The drawbacks – you need to do an update to your PS3 to take advantage of the new high definition voice chat. Then you have to do a massive 631 mb update to the actual socom game. Then – you try to log into your brand new online only game… and try again and try again. It took me 4 separate tries to just get to the main menu. Then it kept skipping around and flashing error messages. Then it took me literally 40 minutes to even get into a lobby – because every time you got in you would immediately get kicked out.. After about an hour of trying and 4 or 5 controller throws later I managed to get into a game. The map was crossroads and a wave of nostalgia flooded over me. I was in my old favorite game SOCOM II. Sure it looked better sure the characters moved a little better – but it was my old favorite game with lots of people excited to play it. I can not wait to play desert glory again!!!!!!! That said – is this game any better than say CD4 – I don’t know because I got kicked out at the end of the round…..one good hope is all the guys on the microphones were saying that the servers had gone crazy that night. The other thing I noticed most if not all people had mics unlike battlefield and cd4. So there was true coordination like literally someone was like look out dude he is right behind you. – I haven’t had someone do that in a long time. It was really cool to have people be yelling he’s in the bell tower. It makes it more immersive and doesn’t have the disconnect that seems to plague online ps3 games. As far as the ability to shoot through walls and destroy stuff – the jury is out. It definitely isn’t like battlefield though. The leaning in and out of cover with the 6 axis doesn’t work well – no surprise there. Hoping you can switch for the manual ability. Things like trophies, calendars, tournaments and other goodies all promised were noticeably absent. Overall – it has been a disappointment because of the lack of planning and lack of working servers. I honestly think it was released to early – they should have worked out the bugs first. I also noticed zipper doesn’t seem to be involved in the development which may explain the lack of polish. This game wasn’t released to much fanfare like little big planet/metal gear for a reason – there is nothing to get excited about. Unless you need/want the microphone – wait this thing will be in the bargain bin soon and you can get all your nostalgia for $20.

Were you a SOCOM fan when it was on the PS2? Did you play SOCOM online with the PS2, and if so, did you enjoy it? Well if you answered yes to those questions, you're going to like if not love this game. Very much reminiscent of SOCOM 2 and SOCOM 3. Good online component, get to some good matches. I will say that from time to time it can be tough getting into a game, but recently that hasn't been a problem at all. I remember when I played Socom 2 and 3, I never (ok hardly ever) played the offline missions, I predominantly played online only. Some of the fan favorite maps are back in a graphically superior game, Crossroads, Frostfire, Desert Glory, are all back, and graphically superior to prior versions of the game. There are things that will be coming for this game, including tournament calendars, clan calendars, etc.... Was this game released before it was complete, probably, but we needed a SOCOM game on the PS3 and we needed it before now. It's a shame it took this long to get this game to market. Now if you played SOCOM's offline/single player missions in the past and liked those, you may not like this incarnation, as there are no single player/offline modes for you to play this game. You have to be online to play this game. It supports up to 32 players per map, and supports several thousand players online at a given time. It can be difficult to get to a room with a person on your friends list, so that's unfortunate, but it's typical SOCOM menues, etc, feel very familiar. Others have talked about lagging being an issue, and early on with this game, there was a very large problem with lagging, but recently I can say that this game has improved in that area. Does not appear to be nearly as laggy as it was. Unlike games on the Xbox 360, you can play this game with others for free, as long as you're connected to an internet connection with your PS3. The headset that comes with this is a great piece of equipment, much better than the one that came with Warhawk. I've paired it with not only my PS3 which gives some nice features with it, but also my phone so that I can use it with my phone as well. Very good bluetooth headset and if you don't have one working with your PS3, I strongly advise getting this game for the headset alone.

The game does require a small installation, which of course seems to take forever, coupled with the fact that when you go to run the game, you’ll be told your install is out of date, and needs to be updated before you can play. Server problems and new release fever lead to a lengthy download and install time. I encountered some profile corruption and was instructed to delete my socom profile before I could play. Once into the game you’ll be given the ability to customize your avatar. It’s very similar to the load out process from Rainbow 6: Vegas although with fewer options. Heavy, medium or light armor. Pick your weapon, your optics , etc. servers are broken down into categories based on region, and finding a random one nearby isn’t all that difficult. After joining a game there’s lobby screen where the players can change their gear, and chat via mic. There are a number of different game types available although i’ve only had a chance to play a few of them. The realism bar is set somewhere between counter strike and R6:Vegas, so those demanding a simulation style of gameplay like ARMA, or AA may be somewhat disappointed. Movement only effects shot placement marginally and side to side movement seems as fast as forward locomotion, so the old dance of “strafe and spray” tactics seems to be more effective most of the time at least in CQB. Another odd detail is that with the exception of actually shooting (or talking) characters don’t really make much sound while moving. Knife slashes are instant kills and have a good reach, so you can opt to play like a ninja too if you like. The best part of the game though is the community surrounding it. Thus far most of the players i’ve met have been focused on playing the game, and not abusing the microphone. I stopped playing Gears of War (and many other titles) online because i wasn’t thrilled with 6 year olds screaming into my ears. Overall i’d say the game is pretty fun as an online run and gun title, it’s got some flaws, and lacks polish, but the core gameplay is simple enough to be enjoyed, and the community is fairly mature and a good group of gamers… and this being an online only game, is quite possibly the most important aspect of having fun.

The game and headset combination is a great use of your money. The headset comes with the recharge stand, USB cable, and additional earpiece replacement. It has a relatively fast registration to the PS3 system, and is basicly free of all headaches that most other mics came with being their problems of having to speak abnormaly loud or the lack of accepting the voice without it being to close to your mouth. The only downfall of the headset would be its shape, the sharper edges at the back of the device digs into your ear if it isnt adjusted correctly. All in all the Mic was a great investment. Now onto the game, Socom has been a great franchise to me in the past and is still living up to its promise. The controls are easy to learn by either looking through the manual or learning by messing around with the controlls within the first 3hours of gameplay, the 2-3GB instalation takes a surprisingly short time to finish. Gameplay follows the great action it has built-up over the years, and giving you the option to customise your own unique Mercenary and Commando/Seal with a variety of options from the headgear to the color of your armor. From the variety of making your clan from the tags and patches, and the addition of you being able to choose your nation that your clan fights for. They consist of Spain, France, US Navy Seals, Germany, and The UK. It will lead you to try out all of the combinations out there especialy because they come with their own unique weapons. The only downfall of the gameplay I have found is the slow load screens and occasional lag durring games, and the fact that it is only online and has no Solo campaign. But it is well made up by the use of environment to cross from rooftop to rooftop and flank the enemy in a variety of indifferent ways it is definitely worth the extra $10 for the game and mic setup. I say this is to be highly recommended to any who enjoyed the Socom franchise and those of who need a mic to just get the combination of the two for a grand total of $60 especialy when the Mic by itself is $50 and the game is $60 without any addition, so getting both for the total of $60 is well worth the investment.

Socom is an online multiplayer game only. There is no single player campaign in this game. The game itself has great maps that are well designed for multiplayer and are a lot of fun, The game also has some of the best player customization of any game out there. You have tons of choices of how you want to have your player look for the different teams and can save all the different set ups in multiple slots. Also you can edit your set up mid game which is not allowed by a lot of other games. The reason this game was given a 3 out of 5 was because the game was released almost unfinished. The game was endlessly lag filled and the match making process would take forever. Also, you would be dropped out of games for no reason, or after match making forever the server would just drop. I admit there have been frequent updates to this game and the developers have been fixing the issues on an ongoing basis. So the game since release has become much better. As long as they continue with this trend the game could be a 5 out of 5 someday. I just can't give that high a rating to a game that again takes advantage of the fact that you can release a buggy game and just release patches later. I don't think this should be how developers look at how games are made and released. As far as the headset that is included it is a little big and the ear piece is pretty good. You can bend it so that it fits tight to your ear. The fact that it is made for gaming makes it a little more worth while. You have a huge mute button on the side which is useful for gaming. Unlike mobile phone head sets that don't really have this feature. Overall, a good game that continues to get better. If you are a Socom vet you will deal with the flaws and love it. If you are new to the series you may find the flaws i'm talking about a game killer.

This will be in 3 parts(What's great, What's not, And Product price realitivity. Part 1: What's Great. --------------------------- Sub-Part 1 --------------------------- Well I found this game to be well worth playing. It's Challenging, Your heart will race when you play this game, and you will never know where your enemy is till it's to late. Sub-Part 2 -------------------------- The game play is in 3rd person and needs to be in a game where you need to watch 360 all around you. The weapons are great, and the maps are very well detailed. Totally customizable Soldiers, and weapons. Servers are always reliable. The blue tooth communication is the best in game I have ever seen. Part 2: Whats Not So Great. ----------------------------------- Sub-Part 1 ------------ The Radar could be better to find enemies, it only tells you if they shoot or are near. Sub-Part 2 ------------- It's a little more realistic than people can deal with one head shot or 2 chest shots and your down. Sub-Part 3 ------------- Thier are minor glitches that can give someone more advantage, but they are releasing updates to fix this. Part 3: Product Price Realitivity. -------------------------------------- Lets see the game is well worth it, but also try to find the package one with the bluetooth. I have played this game for a week strait. I was going to every store to find Mortal Kombat vs. DC, but instead picked this up for the bluetooth, and to my suprise its amazing and well worth the money you spend. Thank you for reading this. This is an article by JC11

Okay im a die hard SOCOM fan. There are no problems with it. Rumors have it that it lags all the time and blah blah blah. Well no it dosen't accually they fixed that problem 2 weeks into the game. Ive been playing the game sense the day it came out. It did lag the first couple of days it came out but what game dosnt? Call of duty 4 and World at War were the same way because I played both. SOCOM just didn’t know they were going to get that many people on their servers, move on. Now I can understand you don’t like the game because its only multiplayer or its too hard or you don’t like being tactical, I understand, some people aren’t like that. But if your complaining that its not fun, realistic, bad graphics or detail, laggy, too hard to shoot to change grenades you need to accually play the game for atleast a couple hours to get the hang of it because it is hard and its not like call of duty were you just go out there, take bullets in the chest, survive and then pull off a jump shot off a building with a desert eagle? Un realistic and it gets very boring after the first week. Ive had SOCOM the day it comes out and every day ive had the urge to play more and more. And by the way. SOCOM makers are making a mod to fix other delays, some glitches and putting in gear stacking come this in a few days.

First things first: when you get the game run it and DL the new patch, DO NOT INSTALL the "installer" or you will get corrupt data msg. I never played a Socom online before so I cannot compare it to that. This game allows you to create 6 characters per side (good/bad) and has a good selection of weapons. There are attachments of all kinds for the primary/secondary weapons (silencers, scopes, bi-pods, lasers) and you can carry two additional explosives, be it frags, smokes, C4, claymores, or an RPG. I am used to 1st Person Shooters but getting used to this 3rd person shooter was not too difficult. The controls feel right and are very well mapped out but you can change them to your liking. The action can be fast paced BUT teamwork is KEY in this game. The headset is excellent; the audio quality is great and is effective in getting your point across "He's behind you!!!" There are 7 maps with 7 gametypes which make the game very interesting. I have only played about 5 hours worth but have not had much problems with the servers; I've noticed only an occasional .5 second hiccup which is nothing to cry about (maybe I am lucky) IN CONCLUSION, this game is recommended.