Thursday, April 1, 2010

SOCOM Fireteam Bravo three-peats on the PSP

WE GOT GAME!

By James Booth

I've been a fan of the SOCOM franchise ever since I saw the commercial featuring real US Navy SEALS playing online against average gamers, and smoking them. For those unfamiliar with the game, in SOCOM, you play as the commander of a US Special Operation Command SEAL Team; issuing orders, driving vehicles, and generally taking out the bad guys using a variety of real-world military hardware.

Fireteam Bravo 3 is actually the fourth SOCOM appearance on the PSP, but only the third incarnation of the Fireteam series; the other being a more strategy-based offering titled SOCOM Tactical Strike. Bravo 3, shown in Figure A, brings the familiar squad-level shooter action as well as the ad hoc and Internet multiplayer of its predecessors, while adding new features such as co-op mode and custom missions.

FIGURE A

SOCOM Fireteam Bravo 3 on the PSP. (click for larger image)

SOCOM returns

Fireteam Bravo introduces a couple of new faces to the franchise, while keeping some of the familiar ones. Whereas in previous Fireteam games you played as team leader Sandman, with either Lonestar assigned as your teammate, or given the choice of Lonestar, Wraith, or Bronco as a teammate, in Fireteam Bravo 3, Wraith is now the team leader, with Sandman and a couple of new members in supporting roles. Unlike the other Fireteam Bravo games however, you go on missions with the complete four-man Fireteam.

The story is pretty much the same as the other SOCOM games; some terrorist/revolutionary/military coup is threatening some country and the SEALS are sent in to straighten things out. Things aren't quite what they seem, and along the way one team member is taken hostage and has to be rescued with the assistance of Lonestar, now the leader of a paramilitary corporation.

Equipment and weapons caches must be captured or destroyed, persons liberated, etc. and eventually the mission is, of course, a success. New weapons and equipment are unlocked and available for purchase along the way, and there are medals like the one shown in Figure B, to collect for various accomplishments.

FIGURE B

Collect medals for in-game accomplishments. (click for larger image)

Each mission also has secondary objectives to complete, like taking landmark photos and grabbing intel as in Figure C, making for extra points which can be used to purchase new weapons, upgrades, and fulfill medal requirements.

FIGURE C

Fulfill secondary objectives for extra point. (click for larger image)