SOCOM 3 U.S. Navy SEALs

SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs
SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs
Developer(s)	Zipper Interactive
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release	October 11, 2005
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

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SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs, released on October 11, 2005 (- in North America) for the PlayStation 2 gaming console, is the sequel to the prior games SOCOM and SOCOM II. IGN called it "the best online PlayStation 2 game yet" in their review^[1]. The game has lots of changes over the two previous titles. While some players of the previous games have expressed their disapproval, SOCOM 3 has attracted over forty thousand simultaneous players.^[2]

New and changed features

SOCOM 3's online and single player modes have new interfaces.
Accessories, including scopes, grenade launchers and rifle lasers, can be added to weapons.
Players can swim and operate vehicles; including trucks, M1025s (as suggested on the game's cover art), dune buggies, technicals, Bradley armored personel-carriers and tanks.
Its single player mode is much larger than those of the previous SOCOM games.
Online multiplayer can now be played on any map.
Certain weapons including the assault rifles, the IW-80-A2 and the STG77, as well as the ranged explosive, ZX7-Airburst attachment must be earned for online use by completing the single player portion of the game at a certain difficulty. The front grip (or pistol grip) and the medium scope (capable of 3x and 8x magnification) are attachments that also fall under this category.

Single player

Reaction

The results were somewhat mixed. The game would be considered as a combination of the bad side of SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs and the good side of SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs. The bad side is that the outfits for a majority of the levels were unlikable. The good sides are the additional gameplay elements such as the large maps, the vehicles, and the weapon modifications. Some fans felt that single player was largely sacrificed in favor of online play.

Online account verification

In the US version of the game, Zipper Interactive decided to require SOCOM 3 players to verify their identities by using a credit card. If the players do not verify themselves, they will neither be granted ranks, nor allowed to join friends' lists, ranked games or even clans. It was a controversial decision; many players have responded with ire on the game's official message boards, and several have formed online petitions to protest the change.

In the European/Australian version of the game, this verification is not needed for online play.

The SOCOM Blog, set up by the Sony Playstation team to give players a look at the making of the game^[3], stated that this was meant to keep SOCOM cheaters away from the game^[4], but it has not stopped cheaters. The cheaters can also use credit cards to log on and freely exploit game glitches, since no one monitors matches. Zipper, however, does encourage using the ingame exploit forums to report cheaters. As of February 2006, bans have been made, indicating that Zipper's credit card verification system has been at least marginally effective.

Ranking system

The SOCOM 3 ranking system uses many more naval ranks than the previous versions, including most of the enlisted and officer naval ranks. The requirements for attaining higher rank when you start as an enlisted Seaman is different from the system used by the officers. Advancement in the enlisted ranks is attained by playing in full games, regardless of the outcome.^[5]

Enlisted Ranks^[4]
Rank	Number of games played
Seaman Apprentice	5-14
Seaman	15-24
Petty Officer Third Class	25-39
Petty Officer Second Class	40-54
Petty Officer First Class	55-74
Chief Petty Officer	75-100

After completing 75 games and having 50 wins, the player is moved to the officer rankings, where rank is determined by the player's place in the game ladder. For example, the lowest rank of Ensign is assigned to the lowest 19%.^[4]

Officer Ranks^[4]
Grades	Rank	Distance from top of Officer Ladder
Junior Grades	Ensign	81-100%
	Lieutenant Junior Grade	66-80%
	Lieutenant	51-65%
Mid Grades	Lieutenant Commander	41-50%
	Commander	31-40%
	Captain	21-30%
Flag Grades	Rear Admiral Lower Half	11-20%
	Rear Admiral Upper Half	6-10%
	Vice Admiral	2-5%
	Admiral	0-1%
	Fleet Admiral	Top 10 players

However, the ranking system has encountered a few problems.

Weapons

There are many different weapons for each side. There are also a lot of different ways to customize what you carry. You can add pistol grips, silencers, scopes etc. The guns are specific to each side however if you manage to kill an enemy you have the option to swap your weapons for his. A list of the side specific weapons are as follows;

SEALS:

TERRORISTS:

Bugs

Some unfixed bugs are still left in the game.

As of May 2006

Ranking system

Some players' stats are unrecorded for various reasons.

Headshots

A player is not classed as "killed" until their death animation is over. This can result in the game tallying up more headshots than kills if the player's head is shot during this animation. In most war themed games a single headshot equals a straight kill. There have been reported cases of 25 headshots for 5 kills and suchlike.

Boundary Exploitation

It is possible to get to certain locations outside the "edge" of the map. This may be done by drifting the vehicle towards the location you wish to get to, in addition to other means.
Players are able to go inside boxes, and similar objects that have no obvious entrance.
Through a glitch, players are able walk in the sky above other players. However, these "skywalkers" are easy to kill as they move very slowly and cannot use their scopes.

Sounds

Single shots are played sounding like multiple shots. (This doesn't occur when using the single-shot firemode.)

Weapons

If the game host leaves the room before the game begins, some players may be forced to use a weapon set for the entire game and not be able to change it. This weapon set is usually that of the first character in their line-up.
Sometimes when using a silenced weapon, the gun emits no noise at all when fired.

Player Outfits ("Skin Glitch")

A Seal may have the weapons and outfits of a Terrorist, or vice-versa. This glitch may be either achieved intentionally or unintentionally, but some players have learned to exploit this.

Current bugs

Under Map

Some players have managed to get under the specified map and cannot be killed by the normal player.These players once under the map can kill any player on the map if they are visible. The glitch user must go back under the map every new round or game (they dont stay under the map forever). The player once under the map may not get out unless the round or game ends. This has been seen on "Small Maps" game of FAULT.
Other players can also sky walk. A sky walk is when a player can walk above all the other players in the sky.

Downloadable Maps

Zipper has recently announced that new downloadable maps will be available in March to coincide with the new downloadable patch. The maps are said to be upgraded versions of the maps Last Bastion, After Hours, and Liberation, all of which were only previously playable in SOCOM II if they were downloaded from demo discs from a game magazine and put onto the PS2 HDD. Since the HDD has ceased to be supported by Sony, Zipper has said that the new downloadable maps will be available only through SOCOM 3 Online and can be saved onto an external USB flash drive (Or the PSP), though the Internal Hard Drive will remain an option for those who have already purchased it.

Zipper released a statement saying that the map packs were delayed until the "SOCOM Commerce" mechanism could be brought online. The statement said that fans could expect the map packs in mid May 2006. As a "thank you" for waiting, Zipper said the the first map pack would be free for use for the first two weeks after release. As of 27 May 2006 the map packs have not been released.