In Depth: SOCOM Fireteam Bravo
We visit with Lead Programmer Ed Byra about the upcoming PSP title.
Tags: SOCOM Fireteam Bravo Categories: PSP Previews, Previews
Posted by David Hinkle on May 25th, 2005
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The SOCOM franchise has been one of Sony’s flagship online games, offering up a stellar single player experience as well. Controlling a group of Navy SEALs, you do everything from rescuing hostages to killing insurgents abroad. Online, the game’s supported up to 16 players in various modes of play. Now, developer Zipper Interactive is looking to transition this experience over to the PSP, and it is looking promising.
Fireteam Bravo wasn’t quite at the stage where we could be shown any of the multiplayer gametypes, so most of what we saw was single player. Still, it looked and moved very much like the console SOCOM. The only differences were the wider display and a tighter camera.
SOCOM Navy SEALS Fireteam Bravo is currently planned to 14 missions, some of which coincide with the upcoming Socom 3. This is guaranteed to be a brand new game, not a port or hack job of any existing SOCOM title.
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What we saw was a level based around a shipping dock, and only one AI-controlled teammate (as opposed to the three in the console versions). Having less comrades ups the ante in the difficulty department, but it shouldn’t be a radical change from what players of the previous titles are used to. Of course you’ll still be able to give out orders to your teammate, which follow in the same vein as past SOCOM titles. Fire At Will, Regroup, Stealth To, and Cover Target are just some of the commands you’ll be issuing throughout the single player campaign.
Stealth will be easier to read now thanks to Fireteam Bravo’s more accesible HUD (head’s up display) design. An icon in the lower corner will let you know whether you’re completely hidden or as clear as daylight, making a stealthier approach to each level more negotiable. Of course the weaponset you go into the field with will also play into this, but we weren’t exactly shown any specifics. It is confirmed, however, that each weapon will have its own strengths and weaknesses based on each approach to the game.
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Control-wise, Socom Fireteam Bravo had to take a different path than its console cousin, given the PSP’s lack of dual anaolg control. So what Zipper Interactive has done here is integrated a version of autotargeting and locked the camera in tight over the player’s shoulder. The autotargeting didn’t appear to be totally accurate with every shot fired, instead relying on what each individual weapon’s statistics are. As for the camera, it didn’t once interfere with play or spaz out. Sadly, much couldn’t be discussed pertaining to multiplayer and how these would integrate into that. We do know that the game will support ad hoc and infrastructure play, however.
Another tidbit of interesting info comes in the form of what Zipper is calling cross-talk. Cross-talk will be the connection between Fireteam Bravo and SOCOM 3, with certain objectives in one game having an impact on the other’s. When asked to go a bit more in depth, Zipper Interactive wasn’t able to reveal much other than some hypothetical situations. One of which was explained as both game’s having a mission in the same area, and given in one game the player disposed of every enemy on the level, it may reduce the amount of enemies in the area for the other game. It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the final versions of both games.
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As for the graphics, the title looked to reflect its alpha stage of development. The HUD and menus looked polished, and the Socom duo animated comparably to the console game. The maps looked undefined, with some really low resolution textures and some aliasing issues. Compounded on this was the sluggish framerate the game suffered from, but all this shouldn’t be taken as a sign the final product will resemble it. The game is still at early stages, and with the generic ‘Fall 2005′ release date, it’s safe to assume ZIpper Interactive has a long way to go before gamers can get their hands on it.
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Tags: SOCOM Fireteam Bravo
Posted by David Hinkle on May 25th, 2005 and is filed under PSP Previews, Previews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
