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Pre-E3 2005: SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo First-Look
The SEALs get streamlined for a new adventue on the PSP.
by Ed Lewis
May 13, 2005 - With over 20,000 people playing SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs II simultaneously every single day after a year and a half it's pretty safe to say that the franchise has secrued a rabid interest in its fans. So what's a company to do as a follow-up? Well, beyond the upcoming SOCOM 3, that is. That's right, they're going to let them play anywhere they damn well please with the upcoming SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo for PSP that will be arriving in the fall. To see how the experience translates to a handheld device, Zipper Interactive was kind enough to let us have some hands-on experience with an early build.
In Fireteam Bravo the action is a separate adventure from the console games. It's still in the same universe as the other SOCOM games and three of the areas of operation in the game are similar to the console titles. It will have one new area, though, and that will be taking place in Chile, for a total of four locations. All together, these four spots will be the home of the 14 single-player missions in the game. Just like in SOCOM 3, these missions will have save points spread out through the missions so players don't have to start all over again when they die.
Zipper wants players to go through the missions more than once and so they're including an "Instant Action" option. What this means is that after a level has been completed, players can go back to it and do it again, but with different mission objectives and enemy and object placement. What was once a regular mission can be a hostage mission the second time around or vice versa. Once the level has been opened up it's up to the player how he or she wants to do it again.
In a novel twist, Zipper is also including a "crosstalk" functionality for Fireteam Bravo. If players have both SOCOM 3 and Fireteam Bravo, then they can hook up the PSP to the PS2 with a USB cable and sync up the information. Events that happen in one game will affect the other and in this way the mission structure in both games will be affected. These are the cross-title events and while Zipper is keeping quiet on just what the specifics are and how they will play out we're sure that this summer should reveal some secrets.
Another feature that will be appearing in Fireteam Bravo is the ability to modify weapons and form a new combination. The list of weapons and options may not be as comprehensive as SOCOM 3's list, but with 30 weapons and options the list of possibilities is still impressive. Just like the console version, the goal here is to enable players to custom fit the game to their needs.
Since this is SOCOM that we're talking about it has to have the multiplayer. What would be the point otherwise? It would be criminal to force SOCOM players to just play by themselves and so Fireteam Bravo will be supporting both ad hoc and infrastructure multiplayer modes through a Wi-Fi connection. Unfortunately, Zipper wouldn't tell us just how many people could play in the multiplayer games, but they are saying that players will be able to form clans for some team-based action. Again, expect more details to be forthcoming in the next few months.
These details answered plenty of questions about the items that Fireteam Bravo will be including and provide fans with a reason to look forward to the fall, but there was still one big, fat question: how does it feel? The PSP has one less analog controller and two less shoulder buttons than the console and the console games
Pre-E3 2005: SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo First-Look
The SEALs get streamlined for a new adventue on the PSP.
by Ed Lewis
May 13, 2005 - With over 20,000 people playing SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs II simultaneously every single day after a year and a half it's pretty safe to say that the franchise has secrued a rabid interest in its fans. So what's a company to do as a follow-up? Well, beyond the upcoming SOCOM 3, that is. That's right, they're going to let them play anywhere they damn well please with the upcoming SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo for PSP that will be arriving in the fall. To see how the experience translates to a handheld device, Zipper Interactive was kind enough to let us have some hands-on experience with an early build.
In Fireteam Bravo the action is a separate adventure from the console games. It's still in the same universe as the other SOCOM games and three of the areas of operation in the game are similar to the console titles. It will have one new area, though, and that will be taking place in Chile, for a total of four locations. All together, these four spots will be the home of the 14 single-player missions in the game. Just like in SOCOM 3, these missions will have save points spread out through the missions so players don't have to start all over again when they die.
Zipper wants players to go through the missions more than once and so they're including an "Instant Action" option. What this means is that after a level has been completed, players can go back to it and do it again, but with different mission objectives and enemy and object placement. What was once a regular mission can be a hostage mission the second time around or vice versa. Once the level has been opened up it's up to the player how he or she wants to do it again.
In a novel twist, Zipper is also including a "crosstalk" functionality for Fireteam Bravo. If players have both SOCOM 3 and Fireteam Bravo, then they can hook up the PSP to the PS2 with a USB cable and sync up the information. Events that happen in one game will affect the other and in this way the mission structure in both games will be affected. These are the cross-title events and while Zipper is keeping quiet on just what the specifics are and how they will play out we're sure that this summer should reveal some secrets.
Another feature that will be appearing in Fireteam Bravo is the ability to modify weapons and form a new combination. The list of weapons and options may not be as comprehensive as SOCOM 3's list, but with 30 weapons and options the list of possibilities is still impressive. Just like the console version, the goal here is to enable players to custom fit the game to their needs.
Since this is SOCOM that we're talking about it has to have the multiplayer. What would be the point otherwise? It would be criminal to force SOCOM players to just play by themselves and so Fireteam Bravo will be supporting both ad hoc and infrastructure multiplayer modes through a Wi-Fi connection. Unfortunately, Zipper wouldn't tell us just how many people could play in the multiplayer games, but they are saying that players will be able to form clans for some team-based action. Again, expect more details to be forthcoming in the next few months.
These details answered plenty of questions about the items that Fireteam Bravo will be including and provide fans with a reason to look forward to the fall, but there was still one big, fat question: how does it feel? The PSP has one less analog controller and two less shoulder buttons than the console and the console games
