SOCOM 4 announced!

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Read up! I'll be coming at you with some of my own commentary and possibly a podcast? We'll see soon.

SOCOM 4 Rumors and Hints

Courtesy of iplaystation.blogspot.com. The most interesting one being that SOCOM 4 is now in GameCrazy's database, available for pre-order.

FTB3 Impressions

Finally got to play some SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3 online last night as the the Japan server had about 250 people online. Have to say I'm very impressed, and like any good online game I kept telling myself "just one more game before bed". The controls still aren't ideal but that has more to do with the PSP itself rather than the game.

A couple weeks ago when my review copy first arrived I put some time into single player which so far I find to be very straight-forward and simple yet oddly still enjoyable. Its pretty much a "get from point A to point B" affair, but it manages to do it in a way that's still engaging. You have control over your squad mates with simple commands like "fire at will" and the system is very intuitive when it comes to ordering your squad mates where to go as very rarely do I have to re-issue the command because they walked to the wrong place.

I have yet to try online co-op but I hope to at some point as with any online co-op mode I imagine it makes the single player a much more social and thus a more enjoyable experience.

If there is anything particular that you'd like to know about the game before it's release on Tuesday feel free to ask me in the comments section and I'll be happy to respond.

Fireteam Bravo 3 releasing Feb 16th. Excited?

For the past few months everything has been pretty quiet in regards to PSP releases. I've had a PSP now for about 4 years, where the majority of my time spent playing it was in the first year I had it. I do own Fireteam Bravo 2, and while I enjoyed what I played of it, I never really got addicted to the online as I did with SOCOM on the consoles.

The fact that Fireteam Bravo 3 is being handled by Slant Six as opposed to Zipper has me more interested than I would have been normally. Nothing against Zipper, but I think getting a fresh pair of eyes on a series can often be a great thing.

Now as anyone who reads the blog or listened to podcasts I've done with Hellman from the past, you know my interest in SOCOM derives from the console releases. But regardless, I will be checking out and doing a review of SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3 in time for it's February 16th release. And if I have some time you might even get a treat for your ears in the form of a review-podcast.

Check back sometime between Feb 9th and the 16th for my full review of the game.

Cold Front DLC is out! No I'm not dead

Hey guys,

Ya it's been a while since I made a post. Been busy and SOCOM fandom was at an all time low but now with Cold Front finally hitting, I'm back.

So, like all of you probably did, I purchased the Cold Front DLC on Thursday while it's still $9.99 (price goes up this weekend to $14.99, which is way too much btw), and though I've only played Vigilance and Night Stalker so far, I'm loving it.

As I expected, it's seem to have split the community with tons of Cold Front map-only games and not a lot of mix yet between the regular maps the CF maps. This is the nature of DLC now and there really isn't a way around it sadly. Once paid-only DLC is introduced there is always going to be the haves and have nots.

What I'm hoping is for a re-issue of SOCOM Confrontation, that comes with the 1.6 patch and Cold Front DLC on it, for a Greatest Hits price of $29.99. Since Confrontation released on the wrong foot, this would be a great way to bring in more players, exposing them to a polished and full-featured version of the game. It's been done with other games (See LittleBigPlanet GotY Edition, Oblivion GotY Edition, Call of Duty 4 GotY Edition, and many others), and for Confrontation it makes the most sense as the game has evolved so much since it's initial release.

Anyways, hope you're all enjoying the Cold Front DLC. I just had a 5 kills round on Night Stalker so I'm going to get back to playing now.

1.6 out and DLC release date announced

Finally...

SOCOM: Confrontation Patch 1.60 Available Now for Download
Posted by Mark Rogers

We have some great news for SOCOM: Confrontation fans. We’re excited to announce that the 1.60 patch is now available for download. Patch 1.60 contains a massive amount of new content and features entirely free to all players.

New Special Forces – The Dutch KCT and Italian COMSUBIN Special Forces teams are featured in this update. Each Force is provided with two new heads, a new voice and light, medium and heavy variants of their own torsos and legs (each with a unique camouflage pattern).

New Weapons – Two new primary weapons will be immediately accessible to players who select to play as the new Special Forces. The Dutch KCT will have access to the 417 assault rifle, while the Italian COMSUBIN Special Forces will receive the SPAS 15 shotgun.

Additionally, four new weapons will be made available to players regardless of assigned Special Force. New weapons include the 9mm Sub Machine Gun, M82A1A, AK-74 and SR-25.Weapon Updates – A number of weapon updates and adjustments to existing weapons have been included in the patch.

Below is an overview of the updates and adjustments that have been made:

M87ELR is given .50 cal rounds to balance it against the Mercenaries’ M82A1A.

Shotguns are balanced to do less damage at long range but more damage at close range.

Grenade launchers and rocket launchers have less delay in between shots.

Front End weapons values are updated to reflect the new Cold War DLC Pack weapons.

In addition to the new characters and weapons, the team has also added 100% Random Medleys to the patch update.

We also have some big news on the SOCOM Confrontation ‘Cold Front’ DLC Pack. To begin with, we now have an official release date: December 17th on the PlayStation Network. We want to make sure that you’re able to spend the holiday break playing ‘Cold Front’. In addition, the special $9.99 pricing will now be available from launch through Sunday, December 20.

You can comment on this post here.

God of War 1&2 hitting PS3 in bluray re-release. Can SOCOM 2 do it?

So if you haven't heard the big God of War news recently, essentially Sony is going to re-release God of War 1&2 on a PS3 blu-ray disc. It'll be in 720p, 60fps, AND have their own set of trophies. Even though I've already played and beaten both games, it has shot up to the top of my most-wanted list. It also got me thinking, is this setting a precedent for the future?

If Sony can do this with God of War 1&2, who says they won't do it for other popular franchises too? Clearly they wouldn't want to make this a huge thing as they have plenty of new software coming down the line, but why not bring back some more huge PS3 classics. Say...SOCOM II?

Just imagine. At E3 Sony announces SOCOM 4 developed by Zipper. Since it's still quite a way off, to compensate Sony plans to re-release the most popular game in the franchise [SOCOM II] onto a set of reliable servers, in 720p and 60fps. Oh ya, and they also fix all the bugs and hit detection issues that were prevalent in that game. Undoubtedly sales for the PS3 and the re-released SOCOM II would explode, and it would generate hype for the upcoming SOCOM 4. It's a license to print money.

Chance of this happening? Personally, I think it's highly unlikely simply because Sony doesn't want to take support away from SOCOM Confrontation and it's DLC which is sure to come. For God of War it kind of makes sense because the God of War 3 doesn't hit till next year and God of War 1&2 don't rely on a set of servers run. But if it were to happen, the one thing that it may do is bring those last few stragglers that are still playing PS2 online, over to the PS3 and onto the PSN.

Regardless, I have no doubt in my mind that a SOCOM II re-release would sell a million copies, and barely cost anything to make with the game already being done. But the politics of it might be too much for Sony to make it happen.