For a long time now, the Official US Playstation Magazine has been known for its excellent reviews, previews and general content. We cover the content each and every month, with a brief summary of what the issue contains, and why you might enjoy picking up an issue. Well this month, OPM is set to blow all those preconceived notions out the door, by offering a World-Exclusive Hands-On look at perhaps the most anticipated title for the Playstation 2, SOCOM US Navy Seals 2. To give you a better idea of what the upcoming issue of OPM contains, we've decided to give you something above the norm... an enhanced little taste. After all, something as special as the revealing of SOCOM 2 deserves a little something extra than our regular monthly column... wouldn't you agree?
SOCOM US Navy Seals released on the same day that Sony Computer Entertainment America released the PS2 Network Adaptor, August 27, 2002. Since that moment, online gaming has been embraced by the masses unlike ever before. Forget PC, Xbox and Gamecube for online gaming, PS2, or more specifically the PS2-exclusive SOCOM is currently where it's frickin' at. The original SOCOM currently has over 300,000 active login names in its database and sixty thousand people play the game every single day. Realizing how huge this game has truly become, Sony and Zipper Interactive have set out to create THE ULTIMATE ONLINE EXPERIENCE ANYWHERE with SOCOM 2.
To know all of what will be included, the folks over at the Official Playstation Magazine gained entrance into the Zipper Headquarters, and interrogated them for every single nugget of information you could possibly want. I mean, this feature is truly massive. Details ranging from single player additions, to the ever-popular online mode are included, not to mention aspects which didn't even exist in the original game.
Humor us for a moment and try to quickly imagine every single possible aspect of the original Socom you didn't enjoy. Think of all the possible additions you yourself would include to craft the ultimate Socom experience. Since the release of SOCOM, Zipper has been inundated with suggestions like these for a sequel, ranging the entire spectrum of possibilities. Well, great news, because Zipper, has in fact been listening. Almost every single aspect of the game has been upgraded and enhanced in some form or another.
They started off bolstering the offline game with elements from other various titles in the genre including Urban areas teeming with city life which will rely much more on team-based tactics, vastly-improved artificial intelligence and animations, and visuals that make SOCOM 2 look like a completely different (and vastly improved) game. Controller settings have also been modified, so that they are all pressure sensitive rather than the clunky interface that's currently in place and yes, this means the L3/R3 and triangle button problems have been addressed.
Then there's the online mode, which has been absolutely reworked to provide an experience like no other. New, larger levels, manned artillery guns , 2 new game modes, Breach and Escort have been added, a spectator mode so that you can watch your clan battle even if you weren't included in the final roster for that game, as well as voice chat in the lobby of a game. And unbelievably, these are just the beginning of the improvements. True community support is the real focus here, and it's immediately evident by the sight of online ranking ladders, Friends lists' to help find your clanmates instantly and Ignore lists for people you can't stand and security measures to prevent cheating from occurring. One more thing we can confirm however, is that this is all going to be available to you for free. No monthly charges, aren't Sony/Zipper just the best??!!
There's so much more to this article in OPM that it blows our minds how much depth, detail and effort Zipper is adding into this game. But we simply can't talk about it anymore or else both OPM and Sony will have a bounty out on our pretty little heads. Just trust us in the fact, that if you're a fan of videogames at all, then Socom 2, as well as the info contained in this upcoming issue of OPM, will satisfy you on every possible level. And this is coming from people who absolutely adore the original and had extremely high expectations on what to expect from a sequel. Zipper's goal was to blow us all away, on that front, they have succeeded in spades.
SOCOM US Navy Seals released on the same day that Sony Computer Entertainment America released the PS2 Network Adaptor, August 27, 2002. Since that moment, online gaming has been embraced by the masses unlike ever before. Forget PC, Xbox and Gamecube for online gaming, PS2, or more specifically the PS2-exclusive SOCOM is currently where it's frickin' at. The original SOCOM currently has over 300,000 active login names in its database and sixty thousand people play the game every single day. Realizing how huge this game has truly become, Sony and Zipper Interactive have set out to create THE ULTIMATE ONLINE EXPERIENCE ANYWHERE with SOCOM 2.
To know all of what will be included, the folks over at the Official Playstation Magazine gained entrance into the Zipper Headquarters, and interrogated them for every single nugget of information you could possibly want. I mean, this feature is truly massive. Details ranging from single player additions, to the ever-popular online mode are included, not to mention aspects which didn't even exist in the original game.
Humor us for a moment and try to quickly imagine every single possible aspect of the original Socom you didn't enjoy. Think of all the possible additions you yourself would include to craft the ultimate Socom experience. Since the release of SOCOM, Zipper has been inundated with suggestions like these for a sequel, ranging the entire spectrum of possibilities. Well, great news, because Zipper, has in fact been listening. Almost every single aspect of the game has been upgraded and enhanced in some form or another.
They started off bolstering the offline game with elements from other various titles in the genre including Urban areas teeming with city life which will rely much more on team-based tactics, vastly-improved artificial intelligence and animations, and visuals that make SOCOM 2 look like a completely different (and vastly improved) game. Controller settings have also been modified, so that they are all pressure sensitive rather than the clunky interface that's currently in place and yes, this means the L3/R3 and triangle button problems have been addressed.
Then there's the online mode, which has been absolutely reworked to provide an experience like no other. New, larger levels, manned artillery guns , 2 new game modes, Breach and Escort have been added, a spectator mode so that you can watch your clan battle even if you weren't included in the final roster for that game, as well as voice chat in the lobby of a game. And unbelievably, these are just the beginning of the improvements. True community support is the real focus here, and it's immediately evident by the sight of online ranking ladders, Friends lists' to help find your clanmates instantly and Ignore lists for people you can't stand and security measures to prevent cheating from occurring. One more thing we can confirm however, is that this is all going to be available to you for free. No monthly charges, aren't Sony/Zipper just the best??!!
There's so much more to this article in OPM that it blows our minds how much depth, detail and effort Zipper is adding into this game. But we simply can't talk about it anymore or else both OPM and Sony will have a bounty out on our pretty little heads. Just trust us in the fact, that if you're a fan of videogames at all, then Socom 2, as well as the info contained in this upcoming issue of OPM, will satisfy you on every possible level. And this is coming from people who absolutely adore the original and had extremely high expectations on what to expect from a sequel. Zipper's goal was to blow us all away, on that front, they have succeeded in spades.
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