SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals

The SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals series, created by Zipper Interactive, was a tactical third-person shooter first created for the PlayStation 2. Two PlayStation 3 titles came along later in the series' life.

I was introduced to the series with SOCOM 2, through my dad's friend. He created a clan named Venom, in order to join, your screen name had to be a type of venomous snake. As our clan grew in size and strength, we also became allies with other clans. I remember playing SOCOM like it was yesterday. That was the beginning of my fixation with team based shooters.

The game had great and varied maps like Frostfire, Desert Glory, Crossroads, and Sujo. Along with the great maps, it had great game variations. Suppression was the basic, kill everyone on the opposing team game mode that every shooter has. Extraction was a game mode in which you had to escort a group of hostages or VIP's to a safe zone. In the Demolition game mode, your team had to pick up an explosive, plant and detonate it at the opposing team's base. There are more game types and many more maps. If you've played the series you should know about them. 

In my opinion, SOCOM was the epitome of a teamwork oriented shooter. The game had varied maps and game types, along with vehicular combat added in SOCOM 3. This amount of variation including the many different types of weapons forces teams to work together. The game rewards those whose value teamwork and communication over the Call of Duty, one man army approach. To reinforce the emphasis on team play, re-spawning was also disabled in all of the ranked playlists/lobbies. These mechanics made SOCOM one of the best shooters to come out on the PlayStation 2. I wish I could say the same for the PlayStation 3 title, which alienated longtime fans who believed the game had changed too much.

I'm not sure why, but shooters these days don't seem to have teamwork, and communication as a defining attribute. It may be the changing preferences of the players due to the immense popularity of the Call of Duty series. I am partial to the Battlefield series, I feel it is the closest to a SOCOM game we can get at the moment; although the camera is from the first person perspective, instead of third person.

SOCOM was a great series that many people loved and still love to this day. The closure of Zipper Interactive in 2012 seems to have marked the end of SOCOM. I hope in the future that we get another game just like it.

Over and out.