Customer Reviews

SOCOM II U.S. Navy Seals

5 star:		(181)
4 star:		(49)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

So i put socom I away about 4 months ago- got tired of the cheating, the lagging, the booting. Even still i ran out to buy Socom II- and it was worth the wait.
I jumped on immediatly to online play- never liked the one player game.
Let me just tell you something- the graphics on this game blow away the first- they are insane! There are more new guns too. Which rock. The RPG's for the terrorists make the game that much better. Now your ducking from RPG blasts!
The levels- they are even more insane! Im not to sure about all the names- but here is a breakdown of some of the levels:
First off, all the old favorites are back- with some minor to major improvments.
Blood Lake
Pretty much the same except the graphics are way better and their are turrets now.
Desert Glory
Is back with better graphics and now you can blow up the wall where the terroists are.
Frostfire
is the same- except now all the tunnels connect- cool!
Abanodoned.
This level is messed up now! Its in total darkness! Holy cow this one is fun!
Night Stalker
is now in the day- which has mixed reviews
Rat's Nest
is pretty much the same- but darker.
Death Trap- pretty much the same

OK- now to the new levels. Let me just tell you- these new levels just rock! Some of the names i dont remember or might screw up but here we go:
Requiem
Right off the bat, requiem shows you how awesome Socom II is. The graphics on this level are so tight its incredible. And the level is HUGE. This one is a lot of peoples favorite level right now. Imagine Blizzard in a big town. Did i mention it was in the snow?
Sand Storm
Wow. Is all i have to say about this level. Great fun. Seals try to penetrate the Terroists base- must breach the wall, and blow up their building- but watch out for the air strikes best part of the game!
Shadow Falls
This one shows the imagination of the creators. A huge swamp level in complete darkness. And i mean darkness. The level is so messed up its cool to play- but very hard.
Fox Hunt
Probably my favorite new level. Its an escort level- but takes place in a huge field with grass up to your stomach. One side has a river bed, the other a mountain. You try leading hostages through this without getting em killed! The best is lying in the high grass and picking people off with your M4A1SD.
Crossroads
I beleive thats what it calls- another favorite. Takes place in a town, its a demolition level. Grab the bomb and head for the terroists. The level is huge with many hiding places and houses/stores/restaurants to sneak around in- plus roofs and awnings.
There's another town one- Vigalence- but it has to big the biggest map. Has a weird french/dutch feel to it- but the map is great.
Fish Hook
Fun little level- not that big of a deal.

And theres more and more- but i havent gotten to em all yet.

This game rocks- if you like the first one- get this one- you wont be disappointed...

Okay, you can read about why this game is so great from everyone else. The graphics are great, yadda yadda yadda. But here's what no one seems to be mentioning. Team AI is ridiculous. The people you're sent out to do a mission with aren't smart enough to tie their own shoes, and spend most of their time catching bullets, or shooting you in the back if you're unlucky enough to be stuck in close quarters with them. More than a few times I've lost all patience with my team blowing the mission right at the critical moment and shot them in the face. Of course they eventually catch on and kill you right back.

Here are a few examples of the laughs I've had: "Bravo, clear room", Bravo opens door, stands in front of open door and proceeds to get shredded without even raising weapon to defend self; "Bravo, stealth to crosshairs", Bravo stands there looking stupid; "Bravo, regroup", one member shows up, the other has somehow gotten stuck to a handrail, and cannot move. I don't know about you, but one thing I cannot stand is having to baby-sit a team of imbeciles. The team play in the Ghost Recon series is so much better than this game. For one thing, you can switch control of players within your team at the push of a button. This effectively gives you access to every weapon in the inventory. Say you need to do some skull work on a distant guard... esta bien. Switch to your sniper, sit real quiet, pull trigger, move on. But in SOCOM II, if their not an easy target, forget it. And god forbid one of your team decides to shoot, and misses, because this causes them to lose their minds and keep shooting, even if they keep hitting the same patch of dirt 3 meters from their muzzle.

Oh, and the crap shoot that is the head shot in this game, wow. I find that shooting someone in their nugget only seems to drop them outright about half the time. If you shoot anyone in the head or face with a .223 within the ranges that are prevalent throughout this game, they're either going to die instantly, or be put out of action indefinitely. I've heard stories from Rangers bitching how they couldn't drop Taliban troops after plugging them three and four times with their M4's because the round's too small, but I guarantee you, if you shoot someone in their head, that's pretty much the end of their story.

Another thing I love is spending 20 or 30 minutes getting through a level, and then getting waxed for some ridiculous reason, and having to start all over again because some mouth breather on my team decided he should shoot through me to hit a target. This game would be sweet if I could play alone, or with one other cat that's smarter than the leather my boots are made out of. But that's not the case, and I'm left on struggle because of bad code writing, bad logic, and bad game play.

This game pales in comparison to either the Splinter Cell, or Ghost Reason regimes. Aspects of this game are truly great, no doubt, but coupled with the problems I've had, it's simply sub par compared to what else is out there, and I'm glad I got the Greatest Hit's copy, because if I'd paid full price for this, I'd likely be even more displeased.
Carry on.

Socom2 is a tactical shooter ps2 game. In single player mode you will play a US Navy Seal completing missions around the world to eliminate terrorist threat. In the online mode you can either play a Seal or a Terrorist and compete against other players from around the world. Between the single and online player modes this game offers an inifinte replay value. With new weapons like Shotguns, RPG's, Rocket Launchers, Land Mines etc. veteran players will have some new toys to play with and new players will have a large variety of things to learn. The single player mode has 12 missions and the online mode has 22 maps including 10 from the first Socom game. The online portion will no longer accept cheaters into the game so everyone can expect a fair and level playing ground. If you are looking for a challenging, fun and detailed game then this game is perfect for you. Overall this game is crisp, fast, intense and interesting. Enjoy!
e seals member name: magnum
email: rydr2102@msn.com

Overall, I recommend the SOCOM games. They are very well done. But when I read a review, I like to see the criticisms so I know what may make me decide weather or not to make the purchase. A few levels into this game and I am realizing I'm just not enjoying it the way I thoroughly enjoyed SOCOM I. I think these are great games but there are definitely some changes in II that are not for the better.
cons:
1. overuse of foliage on many levels:
Apparently some people are raving about the realistic leaves and foliage but it is so obstructive at times that game play becomes frustrating and annoying rather than it's main goal of being enjoyable. Sometimes I can't tell a plant from a team mate or an enemy. sometimes nothing can be seen but leaves making it impossible to spot enemies. They brush directly over the camera at times making it impossible to see ANYTHING. I believe the game should be realistic to a point, but this crosses the line and interferes with game play at times.
2. Team mates talking too much:
suddenly your team mates are a bunch of jokers. commenting on certain people or areas of the game. When walking though a swamp one team member jokes about not bringing his bathing suit. Another makes jokes about a prostitute. Seems unprofessional and when using stealth to look out for terrorists, I don't want to hear jokes in my earpiece as I do it. And when they spot an enemy, they yell in your earpiece "WE'VE GOT COMPANY UP THERE ON THE BRIDGE!!!!" Yea, thanks for startling me.
3. NVG:
the night vision goggles are absolutely horrible in SOCOM II. it's like watching a fuzzy, grainy TV station. In SOCOM I they were very clear, helpful and comfortable to use.
4. Targeting:
unless you're very close to an enemy, your crosshairs will not turn red to indicate you have a good shot. in SOCOM I, you could spot an enemy very far away and target him easily.
5. Team mates shooting everything:
sometimes you want to scope the area, or you're trying to lay low and just observe an enemy's movement and the team starts firing away. It seems team mates are just firing at anything that comes within sight even if the enemy hasn't spotted you and is not moving in for the kill.
6. Game difficulty:
In the beginning of the game it allows you to chose difficulty settings. I chose the easiest one since I had never played it before. Well, after 3 incredibly easy and short levels, I wanted to change the difficulty to make it more challenging. Only to find I couldn't do so once I started.
7. Lack of specific line of travel:
Some levels don't give you a line of travel to follow when looking at your map. Leaving you to decide which direction to go in to reach the next destination. If you veer slightly off course, the game warns you and most times immediately fails the mission within seconds. Not giving you enough time to realize your mistake and get back on course.
8. As always, bad AI.
Team members seem to be day dreaming when terrorists are creeping up on you. At times I have led the entire way clearing the path of all enemies, only to have my team mates fail the mission because they failed to cover me, or got taken out by approaching terrorists. In some missions you lead a specialist with you to gather intel. After I cautiously open a door and am about to clear the room of terrorists, this fool decides to run right into the room ahead of me ( when he is ordered to FOLLOW ) and gets wasted. blowing the mission. The game can become tedious when having to reply an entire mission due to team mates blowing it over and over again.
9. Enemies take multiple gunshot wounds without flinching. I've hit terrorists with 5-7 bullets only to have them keep moving and firing.

I'm 54 and I love this game. Being a veteran I have found this game to be very realistic in graphics and sound quality. Nice to be able to try out some of the new weaponry. Good flow, fast loading. Can only play the game for 6 hours then the PS2 gets too heated and my gun's jam

If you have a broadband connection and like shooting or military games, this is the one for you. Socom II offers a wide range of guns to choose from and an awesome online experience. If your thinking it's like a Halo game when it takes 60 bullets to kill someone, you're wrong. Socom II has a more realistic gameplay and it takes about 1-5 bullets to kill someone that if you actually hit them. Don't get the game unless you have a broadband connection because the single player experience is alright, but the multiplayer is what makes the game have any value. You can play up to 16 people online. 8 players per team. SEALs vs Terrorist in about 22 levels. I have to warn you about glitchers or so called "noobs" and "scrubs." There are many glitches in the game, but most of the time people don't glitch. There are rooms called "GNK" (Glitch No Kill) where people practice glitching. And the people that call people "noobs" and "scrubs" are just whinning because they suck and can't get a kill. The noob/scrub guns are the IW-80-A2 and the M14. I'll break down the game.

Graphics: 4.5/5 The graphics are pretty well done with the shadow effects and the rain falling in the water. The cinimatics are nicely put together.

Controls: 5/5 This is pretty much the only third-person shooter I've played, and by far the best of them. The controls are easy to get use to and you can toggle different controls on and off.

Sound: 4.5/5 The sound is very excellent in this game. The effects of gernades blowing up in your face and the explosions of the bridges are absolutely fabulous.

Fun: 5/5 Socom II is fun right when you enter a game, but when you first play it, its a little hard, but you'll get use to it. The game has a very high replay value along with the nice ranking system. But I have to say that some people rank up. One thing though. You must get the Sony Headset for the game. This gives you the full experience of the game.

One good thing about Socm 2 US Navy Seals is that it is hard to beat all the levels it took me at least a week to beat the 4th level and the graphics are better a than almost any other game.The gameplay is also so realistec because of association with the Naval Special Warfare Deparment and with the Navy Seals

This sequeal to SOCOM: US Navy SEALs, which >was< the first and best online game for the PS2 featuring voice chat, online gameplay for up to 16 players, and single player campaign featuring voice ativated teammates. Now SOCOM II come to take takeover as the PS2's top online multiplayer game with all the features above... but more.
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THE GAMEPLAY
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During online play, you get all the original SOCOM I maps improved and glitchless. All new weapons arsenal includes two types of rocket lauchers, several new shotguns, new primary and secondary weapons and sniper rifles, and grenade launchers. Also landmines were added. Though the game still is a realistic and fun shooter.
New features in online gameplay include the ability to man turrets and the change stance button has a pressure sensativity button for instant ducking. Chatting inside game lobbies was added also. Many other new features and improvements I have not mentioned.
The music in the game has also been improved... a bit more dramatic. And here's a list of more stuff I cannot mention in paragraphs (1000 character limit)
-original extraction, demolition, suppression plus brand new online modes: escort, and breach.
-12 new missions takes you to Albania, Russia, Brazil and more.
-works with original SOCOM headset or Sony's PS2 Headset (sold seperately)
-online game room restrictions such as: pistols only, snipers only, or shotguns only.
-new and improved ranking system online

-new buddy list feature online
-new player statistics feature online
-12 new SOCOM II maps plus 10 original SOCOM I maps equals 22 maps in all... wow!
-voice chat in game and in game lobby.
-and many more... in fact, why not buy the game and see for yourself, remember to buy the Network Adaptor for PS2 (sold seperately) for the real fun online.

www.socomeseals.com- official SOCOM I and II online gaming site.

-Chris C.
SOCOM Online name and E-Seals name: Arrow
Clan: SOCOM ELITE

Well we waited and here it is. Socom II has been released and the hype has been satisfied. Now, I'm not into stealth combat games so I cannot review the single player campaign as I have yet to even begin it, but we all know that this game is about the multi-player aspect.

If you played the first game online, you are familiar with the excitement of seeking out and killing either terrorists or SEALs depending on the side you've chosen. Now the exact same thing has been recreated, and vastly improved upon.

The new maps are phenomenally detailed. They are larger and have a ton of new features. Fortresses that need to be breached via c4 explosives, gun turrets to take out enemies, thermal sites in the maps that are dark and so forth. The new maps are plainly HUGE. I've noticed a lot more draws on the new maps, as there are just so many places to hide. If you don't believe me, spend a set of rounds on "Shadow Falls". The new maps feature tons of ground foliage to hide in, abandoned buildings, the new turrets. All of this hiding leads to a heart pounding time as you lie in wait, praying that your enemy will show up and get his chest blown up. The old maps have been upgraded as well, and whereas I haven't yet played them all on II, I've seen enough to know that they look good and have some new changes, such as all the tunnels being connected on "Frostfire" and "Rat's Nest" being changed to a nighttime map, which makes it look much cooler.

Speaking of the enemy, it does take a bit more to kill them. In SOCOM I a simple 2-4 shots would leave a dead body before you, whereas now it takes 4-6 shots to down the opposition. This is a double edged sword. You take more hits so you can survive a bit longer, but so does your opponent, so make sure you have red crosshairs for quite a few seconds, or you're cycling through teammates for the next 4 minutes.

The online menu has been expanded as well. A friends list makes it so easy to find the people you love to play with, just check your list and find the room they're in. If theres a slot, jump in. If not, join as a spectator and wait for one to open. The rankings have also undergon a dramatic change. No longer do you guess how you did and who is the MVP. The game keeps a score for everything done. 6 points for surviving a winning round, 5 if you died but your team won the round. 5 points for being the player whom plants the bomb or frees the hostage, 2 points for a kill and -2 for suicides.....so dont fall of cliffs or throw grenades into the wall that land at your feet. Of course, I do it all the time. All of this score keeping determines the MVP of the round. Very simply, most points equals MVP. It also cuts down on the MVP coming from the losing team as they dont get the same points for winning rounds.

Speaking of cutting down on things, the cheater factor is supposedly eliminated. I have logged approximately 8 hours online, and have yet to see anything constituted as cheating, and after playing SOCOM one for 8 months, one can tell what that consists of. We'll see how it unfold as more and more people purchase the game in the coming weeks.

Overall, I love this game. I loved the first one, and the improvements are top notch. It truly seems that Zipper was listening when fans requested things to be done right.

SOCOM is now by far the best true-to-life military game you can find (and the funest). SOCOM 2 will be next. Everything that was bad in SOCOM will be changed in SOCOM 2. There will be many aditions in addition to the changes. Zipper Interactive has been listening to calls,reading e-mails, and hunting down message boards to make their game better. Now i don't want to act nerdy or boring or too in for mative so heres the facts.
BOTH SINGLE AND MULTIPLAYER
* The issue with the firing mode changing when you push L3 is going to be changed to a double tap or something.
* And the stance control issue where you run into a wall in crouched position and you stand up will be changed.
SINGLE-PLAYER
* Levels will take place in: Albania,Brazil, Algeria, and Russia. Some will also take place in towns as well.
* The HUD will be different.
* Enemies will be smarter. The team used online play as a tool.
* Your teammates will also be smarter. And Bommer is no longer you partner, Jester is(don't ask me who takes his place, I don't know).
* Loosened controls so you can walk up to 30ft. away from your partner insted of him being right next to you getting shot.
* New weapones including, shotguns, rocket launchers, and turrets. Turrets and rocket launchers will also be able to be used in multiplayer.
MULTIPLAYER
* The best thing changed in multiplayer will be NO CHEATERS! If a cheater tries to join a game, he will have his ISP revoked and not be able to use that screen name!
* There will be a new spectator mode.
* There will be a friends list so you can see what game your buddies are in. There will also be an ignore list.
* There will be chat improvements like showing who is talking, chating in the lobby, and you will be able to mute obnoxious players.
* The ladder rankings will be improved so you can't join a game if your ranking is different from that game. Example: if you rank Ensign, then you can only join Ensign ranked games.
* There will be 2 NEW modes, Breach and Escort, in ADDITION to the 3 old one's. That's 5 total.
* There will be 12 NEW levels in ADDITION to the 10 old one's. 22 TOTAL!
* There will also be Air Strikes that you can call in. And different character looks also.