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GamesRelay Score
Good
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Name: SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3
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Since Sony's handheld PlayStation hit gamers hands a few years back we've seen a flurry of games across multiple genres which all stand out on the system, the Fireteam Bravo series is a fine example of what you can get from owning a PSP. The first two Fireteam Bravo games were developed by the much adored Zipper Interactive who also created the SOCOM games across the various PlayStation platforms and more recently MAG on the PS3, yet Zipper Interactive handed over the SOCOM game creation duties to Slant Six Games who previously did SOCOM: Confrontation on the PlayStation 3, it was certainly a good game, but it didn't come without its issues. So has Slant Six Games translated the success of the Fireteam Bravo series into a worthwhile sequel? Let's find out...
The campaign's story starts with a mission for the Navy SEALs in the republic of Koratvia, where you control a SEAL team in a covert operation of national security in which weapons of mass destruction are going to be used, it isn't anything strikingly new, the plot itself is overly used throughout many games, and the characters themselves are a little dull throughout, although the voice acting and cutscenes are particularly good which is a delight. Unfortunately over the course of the campaign the missions don't really draw you in, they vary somewhat in their objectives but overall it boils down to a constant fire fight with a predictable outcome. What was a staple of success in the games predecessors was its grasp on realism, however Slant Six Games have seen fit to give players regenerative health which takes away one of the key elements of any SOCOM game, tactical strategy, no more do you have to worry about your ever decreasing health, stray bullets, or even charging in guns blazing, because the chances of being killed are severely limited to usually one's own mistake. Cover does play an integral part throughout the fire fights you'll come across though, being able to duck behind cover and peer round doorways will bolster your survivability somewhat, even if your health regenerates when not being shot at.
The missions themselves take place over a dull and snowy area of Koratvia, very similar to Russia in a lot of ways and each of the eight missions are based within a large map with plenty of buildings to explore and use for cover. Some of the more enclosed areas of the maps can make for some fairly interesting fire fights, especially down some of the narrow streets you'll come across. Each mission is broken down into your primary objectives, which usually involves killing, and the secondary objectives which usually involves finding a piece of intel. On the odd occasion however you are ordered to use stealth within the mission, this presents a nice change of pace to the run and gun series of objectives since you have to think about your next move while anticipating the enemies. As such, you don't want to be killing enemies here, there, and everywhere, your silenced weapons come into play here as you take down essential targets to get you on your way.
One of the great features about Fireteam Bravo 3 is the armoury. The armoury contains over 60 weapons for you to use, from assault rifles and machines guns, to shotguns and sniper rifles, you also have a selection of explosives to use such as grenades and claymores, these provide a great array to choose from and each can be customised with the use of attachments. The majority of the weapons have up to four attachment slots which can be used, assault rifles for instance could have silencers and scopes attached, or even a nifty grenade launcher should you wish to give any enemies a nice taste of explosive projectiles. Each of the missions allows you to customise yours and your squad mates loadouts before you start, picking the right equipment for the job will make matters much easier throughout the mission, you don't want to be stuck with a shotgun when in a huge open space for example. Thankfully the AI squad mates are fairly competent throughout the game, you do have to babysit them on the odd occasion because if one dies then the mission is over, they do revive each other when incapacitated however. One particular annoyance is that they won't revive you. Oh no, if you get incapacitated then it's game over unfortunately, why the AI can't revive you is anyone's guess.
The strongest part of any SOCOM game is in its online capabilities and Fireteam Bravo 3 certainly doesn't disappoint. The game has support for both cooperative and competitive play, the campaign missions can be played through with up to four players on co-op while the competitive side of the game supports up to 16 players online which can make for some great battles. When playing through the missions with human players they can be extremely easy to beat, so thankfully you can ramp up the difficulty to make things much more challenging, or, if you prefer, you can create a custom mission based around one of the campaign maps with a pre-determined objective. There is a point to playing through these and that is credits, credits you earn can be used towards the purchase of new weaponry for your armoury and unlocking everything will take quite some time. There are also medals to be earned which give bonuses to credits earned or even new unlocks so playing through everything is certainly beneficial in the long haul. The competitive side of things is what SOCOM is all about, there are the same familiar modes from the previous games; free-for-all, team deathmatch, capture and hold, escort, and demolition. There is also a ranking system for the competitive based modes, clan support and voice chat support if you fancy strategizing your next moves with your comrades in arms. Both the co-op and competitive side of the game are fairly lag free even on a basic wireless connection making for some truly spectacular multiplayer matches.
While Fireteam Bravo 3's story isn't particularly engaging, it does provide a somewhat fun experience to battle through, which is only made better once you play with a few other players online. The competitive side really brings the game into a new light and if you're a serious PSP player then a huge amount of enjoyment can be earned battling it out and ranking up online, especially when combined with a group that uses voice chat. The games regenerative health will no doubt disappoint some of the more hardcore SOCOM fans but it isn't something you should really decide the purchase over. If you are a fan of the previous games or are looking for a good tactical shooter for the PSP then this is a worthy purchase.
Comments (2)
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FTB3 has loads of game content like customisable and unlockable gear and weapons which is deff. missing on Confrontation. Also the menu layout has been improved and is very slick looking with nice concept design and illustrations of weapons design. A must have PSP game.
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