Hands On: SOCOM: Confrontation

You’ve seen our deeper SOCOM preview, but here at E3 we got a little more insight on the headset and voice options. Players can engage in proximity chat or radio chat, but need to watch out as enemies can listen in tactics as the open radio is loud enough to be heard by those nearby. Also cool is that it will incorporate the acoustics of the environment. If you’re talking on the other side of a wall, you’ll be muffled, versus shouting in an open environment where sound may carry a bit to unwanted ears. In some situations, it might be better to whisper… though we suspect that also might be creepy. We’re not sure how many folks will be sneaking around behind people long enough to listen to their conversations, but it will be an option.

Player loadouts were talked about a little more, and would-be soldiers will be able to tailor the type of armor they wear on specific body parts. So you can don heavy armor on the torso, but keep it light on your legs so you’re not encumbered and move slower. There will be different camo options as well so that you can really customize your player’s look.

As a Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare fan, I don’t really get SOCOM. I dig the cover system, but think the Sixaxis controls are a little wonky (I need more time to tune them before I give a final verdict), and the lack of experience and character customization make me just want to play Counter-Strike Source on the PC, but maybe I’m a dinosaur. If it were a PSN title with a PSN price-point, I’d be more forgiving but as a retail/PSN full price release, I’m a little disappointed. The jury will stay out until its release in September.

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