SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs

 

SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs
Developer(s)	Zipper Interactive
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Series	SOCOM
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	NA October 11, 2005 (original); August 4, 2006 (Greatest Hits) EU April 21, 2006 (original and deluxe versions)
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer (also supports LAN play)
Rating(s)	ESRB: M
Media/distribution	DVD

SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALS, is a third person tactical shooter video game for PlayStation 2 and the sequel to SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs. The game was developed by Zipper Interactive in collaboration with the Naval Special Warfare Command and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. SOCOM 3 was released on October 11, 2005, and was added to the list of Sony Greatest Hits games on August 4, 2006.

The South Asia area of operation was originally specified as Bangladesh, but was changed after a complaint from the Bangladeshi government.

The online servers of this game, along with the other SOCOMs, are set to shut down on August 31st, 2012

Gameplay

SOCOM 3 is a third-person tactical shooter. There are 14 different single-player missions.

Plot

In the North Africa campaign, the player's (Specter) fireteam consists "Jester" as well as SEALS "Killjoy" and "Simple". Specter's SEAL team battles the North African Patriotic Front (NAPF), the renamed Algerian Patriotic Front from SOCOM II, led by the megalomaniac General Heydar Mahmood and Colonel Sarwat, his second-in-command. Mahmood had gained control of Algeria via a coup during the previous game, and now the NAPF has just launched an offensive into an unnamed country, probably Morocco, while the SEAL team is enlisted to support local forces trying to repel the NAPF. Upon arriving, Specter rendezvous with local forces, and proceeds to ambush an NAPF convoy, secure a NAPF sanctuary, and demolishes a communications tower. After meeting up with the local fighter leader, the "Sand Lion", Specter's team assists the locals in attacking an NAPF weapons depot. They cut off the NAPF reinforcement route by demolishing a bridge, and unexpectedly encounters an enemy T-72.En-route to the weapons depot, the SEALs find dozens of civilians killed by the NAPF. After destroying the depot, the SEALs are redeployed following the Coalition for Humanitarian Aid's (CHA) approval of a military intervention in the area. Via the Strait of Gibraltar, the CHA invades only to be fired upon by NAPF Chinese-made HY-2 cruise missiles. The SEALs rush to deactivate the missile launch sites before the CHA calls off the invasion. The CHA successfully lands, while the SEALs are called to hold off a NAPF preemptive strike against leading CHA forces. Repelling waves of infantry and tanks, reinforcements finally arrive and a counter attack is launched against the NAPF in the ruins of an old fort where troops are amassing. Subsequently, the SEALs enter Mahmood's Field HQ to capture him and Colonel Sarwat, but were delayed due to Marcy Raines, a personnel working for the State Department (from SOCOM II), who was stranded and required extraction. Mahmood takes advantage of the delay, and flees in an Mi-24 helicopter leaving Sarwat for the SEALS. Later, the SEALs search for Mahmood whose helicopter was shot down. After fighting two NAPF tanks, Specter search several villages for him, and finally collects enough data to pinpoint his location at a mountain villa. Mahmood is captured and the African Campaign ends.

In the South Asian missions "Killjoy" and "Simple" are replaced by British Special Boat Service operatives "Flash" and "Chopper". In these missions the player battles a piracy organization called "The Fist and Fire". In the missions' plot the Fist and Fire have been wreaking havoc on local shipping and recently captured the freighter "Breackneck", which was loaded with missiles and small arms, in the Bay of Bengal and steered her back to Bangladesh. In the first mission the player assaults a remote Fist and Fire (Often referred to as Raiders by your fireteam)outpost along a river. Once there the team searches for the Breakneck and it's cargo of missiles. The player finds the freighter but the cargo was moved to a second, larger outpost. When the player checks a warehouse a cut-scene plays and the missiles are being loaded onto a small boat that soon leaves it's dock. In the second mission the player meets a local informant "Magpie" who assists him in searching two villages for a "Mole" who had been leaking information to the Raiders and talking to villagers. After the villages have been searched the team dismantles Raider operations in the villages and their surroundings. En-route to the extraction a man runs toward the informant warning him that his village is being looted and burnt by the Raiders. The player and his fireteam then stops the massacre and moves on to complete the final objective. In the last mission, the team enters the Raiders' headquarter on an island in search of their leader, Hari Raman, the Captain and the first mate of the Breakneak who are being held hostage, and the missiles. After securing the beachhead the team finds a small cave system, in these caves and their direct vicinity you locate Raman, the hostages and the missiles.

The last missions take place in Poland where the SEALS battle a well funded, communist terror organization called the New Slavic Order (NSO). In these missions "Flash" and "Chopper" are replaced by GROM operatives "Deadpan" and "Coldkill". In the first mission the team performs reconnaissance on an NSO controlled house which is the residence of a local cell leader, Bogdan Kurasz codenamed FATCAT, and bug a laptop and a phone for gathering intel for future operations. The second mission begins when the First Lady of Poland, Ludmila Zarobska, is at a boat christening ceremony in the port city of Gdansk when chemical weapon canisters explode and several NSO terrorists move in to kidnap her. Their plan was to take her hostage and use her as a bargaining chip to force the government to agree to their demands. Unable to contact the First Lady's security detail, the fireteam is sent in to rescue and extract her. After a boatchase through the city's canals and a long firefight, the team secures her and proceeds to extract. On the way the team encounters brutal NSO resistance as they have taken control of the city. Once the team has secured the extraction, an Mi-24 comes to extract the first lady. After the player kills some terrorists that were fleeing from Polish Forces, the mission ends. The third mission takes place where the player's team returns to the site of the first mission to eliminate the NSO presence and capture the cell leader, FATCAT. After an extensive search of the surrounding area and buildings, the team find a cave system underneath a barn. The team continues through the caves and out into a forest where they eventually find and apprehend FATCAT. The fourth mission takes place in the city of Wroclaw near the Polish border with the Czech Republic. The NSO is preparing to flee Poland, because of their recent setbacks, and plan to set up operations elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Fortunately, a storm moved into the region and flooded the city, enabling the team to infiltrate, recon, and pinpoint the creator of the NSO's chemical weapon arsenal, Dr. Mironova, and the NSO's leader, Kryzstof Gryc. Once they're located the team extracts from the area. In the last mission of the game the team goes back to the city to capture or kill all the remaining NSO terrorists as well as Mironova and Gryc, and secure their chemical weapons. The team first clears a safehouse with moderate resistance and then moves on to clear a courtyard where a heavy but brief firefight ensues. The team finally reaches a brewery where the weapons and Mironoava are. Once she is neutralized, H.Q. warns the team that Gryc has led a suicide assault on the brewery to set off the weapons. Once the team mows down waves of NSO assaults and defends the brewery, Gryc leads a small team himself, once he and his team are killed, the mission is complete.

SOCOM 3 is playable on five difficulty levels. At the start, the player can only choose from three of these. If the player completes the game on Commander, they can unlock the Captain difficulty level (which unlocks the Admiral difficulty level upon successful completion).

Every mission has primary, secondary, bonus, and crosstalk objectives - which are compatible with the Sony PSP game SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo.

Multiplayer

Game modes

• Breach: SEALs attempt to destroy Terrorist strongholds. Terrorists use their fortifications to prevent the SEAL incursion, as SEALs break through barriers and destroy key targets. A team may also win by eliminating the opposition.

• Demolition: Find the bomb and blow up the opposition headquarters. The bomb is placed on a neutral point in the map, easily accessible from both oppositions. Each team prevents the opposing team's demolition of their base. For example, if the terrorists have the bomb, the SEALs are on the defensive, and must ensure their stronghold remains safe. A team may also win by eliminating the opposition.

• Suppression: Fight to the death. This team deathmatch ends when one side loses all of their players, or when the timer expires. The team with the most living players wins at the end of the round.

• Escort: Depending on the map either the SEALs or the Terrorists attempt to move key personnel to a secure location. The Offensive team must get at least 2 out of the 3 VIPs to the extraction zone; while the Defensive team must kill at least two VIPs, or run the clock out. A team may also win by eliminating the opposition.

• Extraction: Depending on the map either the SEALs or the Terrorists attempt to rescue and extract hostages. The Offensive team wins by escorting at least two hostages into the extraction zone, and the Defensive team wins by preventing extraction in the allotted time. If Offense kills a hostage, a minute is deducted from the mission timer. If the Defense kills a hostage, the Offense is credited as if they rescued the hostage. If the Offense kills too many hostages, they will lose. A team may also win by eliminating the opposition.

• Control: Place beacons at all control points. The SEALs/Terrorists must plant five beacons on a map. Once a beacon is planted, the enemy can't take it away, but they can plant a beacon at that control point. The team who has all of the control points covered first, wins. If the round ends, the team with the most beacons placed win. Control points consist of Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, and Juliet. A team may also win by eliminating the opposition.

• Convoy: Terrorists guide a convoy to a loading zone and guide it back to a drop zone. The Terrorist team must successfully breach a series of blockades to reach a cargo loading zone. They will have to pick up cargo and continue through another set of blockades to a drop zone. The SEAL's objective is to stop the convoy. If both cargo trucks are destroyed, or if the time runs out, the SEAL team wins. If at least one loaded cargo truck makes it to a drop zone, the terrorists win. A team may also win by eliminating the opposition.

Online account verification

Zipper Interactive decided to require SOCOM 3 players to verify their identities by using a credit card, debit cards, or VISA gift cards. If the players do not verify themselves, they will not be granted ranks, allowed to join friends' lists, ranked games or clans. The PAL version of SOCOM 3 did not need to be verified for online play.

The SOCOM blog, set up by the Sony PlayStation team to give players a look at the making of the game, stated that this was meant to keep SOCOM cheaters away from the game,

Downloadable content

• The first Map Pack was released for a free two week trial on June 27, 2006. After the two week trial, players had the opportunity to purchase the map pack through the SOCOM Store in the SOCOM community section. Two more map packs were released containning maps from SOCOM 1 and SOCOM 2

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	82/100
Review scores
Publication	Score
1UP.com	B-
Eurogamer	6/10
GameSpot	8.9
IGN	9/10
VideoGamer.com	7/10

References

• Roper, Chris. "IGN: SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs Review." IGN. October 7, 2005. Accessed November 3, 2005.
• Zipper Interactive, Inc. "SOCOM 3 Surpasses 48,000 simultaneous users in first 2 Days!!!". SOCOMBLOG. October 13, 2005. Accessed November 11, 2005.
• Zipper Interactive, Inc. "SOCOM 3 Weekly Update". SOCOMBLOG. December 22, 2005. Accessed February 18, 2006.
• Haynes, Jeff. "Finally! SOCOM 3 Map Update." IGN. June 26, 2006. Accessed June 29, 2006.
• Socom Guide Staff. "SOCOM 3 - Rank / Stat Guide." Socom Guide. March 5, 2006. Accessed July 6, 2008.

External links

• www.SOCOM.com