MastaKilla
Member
Well, in my previous thread about still being madly in love with this 12 year old game, many of you asked for more info about playing through Xlink Kai and how it was. So I thought I'd give those of you interested a bit of an overview my experience coming back to the SoCrack universe after being away for a few years.
First, If you just want to try it yourself, here's a tutorial link so you can set it up and give it a go:
http://community.therealsocom.com/threads/complete-socom-xlink-configuration-guide.4253/
Now, the actual game. Again, i came back to this game not as a former fan, but a former addict. I loved this game more than any other and when I got this to work i felt like what I imagine a drug addict must feel when they hit the needle for the first time in a loooooong time... But I was sober I swear!
Now bare with me, I will get to the gameplay but first, I think there's a great discussion to be had about the features that such an old game offered that make me cringe about today's games.
Oddly enough, even more than a decade later and after all the advances we've seen in online gaming, Socom 2's online infrastructure is still king when it comes to features on console. Dedicated servers, lobby system, match making if you want, completely customizable rooms, private or public rooms, clan support, friends lists, messaging, it goes on and on and on. Obviously it was early back then in console online gaming, so the network itself struggled to keep us online. Everybody remembers getting kicked in the middle of a clan war and rushing madly to get back on! Oddly, even though it's not Sony's servers anymore, there is still a lot of getting kicked. I'm guessing it's just the games code itself but I don't know. But man, network issues aside, it's really amazing how much depth this 12 year old game has when it comes to online community features. I've been playing BF4 and it just doesn't come close.
DLC: Remember the original playstation DLC? They were Socom maps that came on discs that came with OPM. You downloaded them onto the hard drive and went along your way. But here's the amazing thing to me: Socom 2 already has 22 maps without those discs. It's crazy coming back to a game like this because you can sit for hours online and literally not have experienced every map yet. I think BF4 has maybe 4 or 5 Maps before you had to buy DLC for more? What a crazy world we live in!!
Now the actual gameplay: I admit it is a bit strange. It's a lot like the zombie apocalypse, because you don't get to choose who you want to play with. Instead you're stuck with the 50 or so people who still go through all this effort to play the game. That said, this game is difficult. I don't think I did anything but die a lot when I played the first few times. The controls do feel a little bit clunky at times. One thing I love, is the pace of the game and character movement. If you played Confrontation, you'll immediately realize that's what they got wrong. The camera view is more zoomed out than I remember and the graphics are as dated as you would expect. But importantly, the maps and gameplay don't feel very dated all that much. I still love the guns. They feel good when you're shooting them, and there is no aim assist like you see in shooters today. You feel a sense of accomplishment when you kill somebody.
The maps seriously should be celebrated. That many good maps in one game is just amazing. You go from the socom 1 classics like DG, FF, Blizzard to XR, Fish hook, fox hunt... It goes on and on and on. If you can get by the outdated graphics, the game is still extremely fun. Unfortunately, as I mentioned it's sort of a zombie apocalypse universe. Only the most dedicated have survived and they all know each other and are pretty dam good. So you will die a lot. A whole lot.
Dying a whole lot: it is very interesting to go back to dying and spectating after the years and years we've had of respawn gameplay. Aside from the major and obvious impact this has on gameplay (more strategy, teamwork, patience), it also forces a community to form. Nobody really sits there quietly while they're dead. You end up all talking and watching together. But would something like this even work anymore with today's party chat systems? It's very interesting nonetheless.
Overall: the game looks old, very old. Initially, it controls a little clunky. But if you re-adjust to it, a lot of the magic is still there. Unfortunately however, only a few of Wizards remain. But you will find full rooms to play with nightly and if you need any help everybody is nice about helping with Xlink.
Well, that's my quick take on returning to the SoCrack party house. I know it's our only chance to play Socom 2 online these days, so I hope those of you who are interested in doing so give it a shot!
First, If you just want to try it yourself, here's a tutorial link so you can set it up and give it a go:
http://community.therealsocom.com/threads/complete-socom-xlink-configuration-guide.4253/
Now, the actual game. Again, i came back to this game not as a former fan, but a former addict. I loved this game more than any other and when I got this to work i felt like what I imagine a drug addict must feel when they hit the needle for the first time in a loooooong time... But I was sober I swear!
Now bare with me, I will get to the gameplay but first, I think there's a great discussion to be had about the features that such an old game offered that make me cringe about today's games.
Oddly enough, even more than a decade later and after all the advances we've seen in online gaming, Socom 2's online infrastructure is still king when it comes to features on console. Dedicated servers, lobby system, match making if you want, completely customizable rooms, private or public rooms, clan support, friends lists, messaging, it goes on and on and on. Obviously it was early back then in console online gaming, so the network itself struggled to keep us online. Everybody remembers getting kicked in the middle of a clan war and rushing madly to get back on! Oddly, even though it's not Sony's servers anymore, there is still a lot of getting kicked. I'm guessing it's just the games code itself but I don't know. But man, network issues aside, it's really amazing how much depth this 12 year old game has when it comes to online community features. I've been playing BF4 and it just doesn't come close.
DLC: Remember the original playstation DLC? They were Socom maps that came on discs that came with OPM. You downloaded them onto the hard drive and went along your way. But here's the amazing thing to me: Socom 2 already has 22 maps without those discs. It's crazy coming back to a game like this because you can sit for hours online and literally not have experienced every map yet. I think BF4 has maybe 4 or 5 Maps before you had to buy DLC for more? What a crazy world we live in!!
Now the actual gameplay: I admit it is a bit strange. It's a lot like the zombie apocalypse, because you don't get to choose who you want to play with. Instead you're stuck with the 50 or so people who still go through all this effort to play the game. That said, this game is difficult. I don't think I did anything but die a lot when I played the first few times. The controls do feel a little bit clunky at times. One thing I love, is the pace of the game and character movement. If you played Confrontation, you'll immediately realize that's what they got wrong. The camera view is more zoomed out than I remember and the graphics are as dated as you would expect. But importantly, the maps and gameplay don't feel very dated all that much. I still love the guns. They feel good when you're shooting them, and there is no aim assist like you see in shooters today. You feel a sense of accomplishment when you kill somebody.
The maps seriously should be celebrated. That many good maps in one game is just amazing. You go from the socom 1 classics like DG, FF, Blizzard to XR, Fish hook, fox hunt... It goes on and on and on. If you can get by the outdated graphics, the game is still extremely fun. Unfortunately, as I mentioned it's sort of a zombie apocalypse universe. Only the most dedicated have survived and they all know each other and are pretty dam good. So you will die a lot. A whole lot.
Dying a whole lot: it is very interesting to go back to dying and spectating after the years and years we've had of respawn gameplay. Aside from the major and obvious impact this has on gameplay (more strategy, teamwork, patience), it also forces a community to form. Nobody really sits there quietly while they're dead. You end up all talking and watching together. But would something like this even work anymore with today's party chat systems? It's very interesting nonetheless.
Overall: the game looks old, very old. Initially, it controls a little clunky. But if you re-adjust to it, a lot of the magic is still there. Unfortunately however, only a few of Wizards remain. But you will find full rooms to play with nightly and if you need any help everybody is nice about helping with Xlink.
Well, that's my quick take on returning to the SoCrack party house. I know it's our only chance to play Socom 2 online these days, so I hope those of you who are interested in doing so give it a shot!