My problem with Socom is...

ben.steele · 02-23-2007

I have to say that I love to play Socom online. I never played the original game, but have been playing online since early in Socom 2.

The creators of Socom made one huge mistake when they released Socom 3 and now Socom Combined Assault. They should have never given us the option to choose the type of gameplay for each map. It seems like a great idea, but it has never and will never work.

Everyone wants to know why Socom is not as addictive as it was back in Socom 2. The reason is because everyone chooses to play all the maps as suppression or demolition. There is no variety in gameplay. Playing as suppression puts more emphasis on individual play and statistics rather than teamwork and strategy. Playing as demolition is similar in that everyone plays as suppression until there are only a few guys left and then they will try to plant the bomb.

Rarely can I log on Socom Combined Assault and find a game that has a variety of game types in it. Everytime an extraction or escort game comes up people start crying about how "I'm not gonna play this" and the room empties almost immediately.

In Socom 2, the game wasn't played that way. Think about the classic maps of Socom 2.

Crossroads was demolition, but think about all the times that your whole team rushed the bomb, took it straight down the middle and won the round with a quick plant while the other squad was spread out across the map. Nightstalker and Blizzard? Great maps to play as demo.

Desert Glory was one of the most loved maps of all time. What gametype was it? Extraction. Who didn't love the fact that you knew you had to get into the prisoners room and take the hostages out to win. Fish Hook was another well loved map that was extraction. We used to get in rooms that were just Desert Glory over and over again for hours.

How about breach? Sandstorm was great. Who didn't love the challenge of breaching those walls and knowing you had to watch for mines on your way into the plant building. Same for Sujo and Enowapi.

What about escort? Foxhunt was always well played and fairly even unless the team with the hostages was dumb enough to shoot a couple of them so they only had to worry about protecting one.

The maps that were rarely played were the suppression maps like vigilance and shadow falls. Nobody wanted to play those maps consistently. I believe that it wasn't the map design that created great maps. It was playing the maps as they were designed to be played that created great maps on Socom 2.

If only we could get people to quit playing everything on S:CA as suppression, there really are some great maps to be played.

Sorry for the long post, but I had to get this off of my chest.

ben.steele

FragginHoes · 02-23-2007

AMEN BROTHER!!! I loved Fish Hook for that reason. As a seal you knew the strategy, call the hostages through the window if they were left there, run them over mines, creep up the tunnel, breach the left side, whatever!

As a terrorist take the hostages upstairs, plant mines, snipe the tunnel, lob nades through the breach. It was fantastic!

That is why it was addictive because people knew the maps and the objective it wasn't a carousel of gameplay. I agree, bring back the old Socom style and pair it with the new tweaks and it will rise back to the top of the gaming world.

Go Pre · 02-23-2007

I have half a mind to sticky this because it explains exactly how a lot of us feel. SOCOM II was, and always will be in my opinion, the greatest game ever made. The close knit community, the clans, the friends you made...nothing compares to it. I played that game like an addict for close to three years for a reason. I loved being able to control a game, play and talk with friends, etc.

Great post.

Edit: Sorry FragginHoes, the game will never rise to the top of the gaming world ever again. The dedicated players and fans of the style described above have been completely turned off to the series because of Combined Assault. Socom 3 wasn't terrible...I didn't like the style that was instituted because I was a close quarters run and gun type of guy, but it wasn't terrible. To get back on track here...those that have been turned off won't play it ever again.

EAsTon · 02-23-2007

S2 was great. It was so simple but yet is was so dang fun! S3 is fun but it just gets boring. You can't stay up all night playing S3 like you did S2.

I have to disagree with you guys tho. I think the main cause of S3 going down the drain was the weapons. In S2 the weapons were what they were. There was no crap you could put on them. In S3 about 75% of guns can have a surrpressor and a scope that can see almost all the way acrossed a small map. So I think someone realized some day that OMG SCOPE AND SURRPREZZOR I can kill these guys proning while sniping(in other words camping) with my silent gun and then gun them down if I need to! The maps in S3 are also so un-even it's not even funny. I.E. if you lose on tidal fury with nades on as a Seal then you shouldn't even play. The S2 maps were fun, even, and had lots of action.

ben.steele · 02-23-2007

The fact that you said the maps are uneven goes directly back to the point of my post. Everyone plays them as suppression, when they are actually designed for other types of gameplay. The new maps are great if you can play them the right way. For example, everyone knows that boneyard is a great breach map. It is hard as a seal, but very rewarding if you can play it right and win.

madgza420 · 02-23-2007

I agree that S2 was great, I too wish that people would mix it up a bit. I like every kind of game and I like to play with strategy not just "kill everyone=we win" The bummer is that not enough people play like this, if you look at the posts in VGF most people are very specific about what kind of game and weapon restrictions they will play. This sucks, alot of my clan is the same way they only want demo blah, blah. I always make rooms with a little bit of everything. If you guys want to bring back the good old days through variety i am all for it we should have a perpetual VGF room up 24 hrs a day with a good mix of everything. Also I disagree with Easton, the customization is just going to come with the territory and the next gen socom(hopefully) will have even more weapons, skins and gear to choose from. Its ironic how more is less with this game. Zipper has given us a shitload of options and everyone wants to play demo and supp with no rifles, grenades ect. People want to play the same maps over and over too. I say stop worrying about your stats and get back to what made this game fun.

discombobulate · 02-23-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by ben.steele

Crossroads was demolition, but think about all the times that your whole team rushed the bomb, took it straight down the middle and won the round with a quick plant while the other squad was spread out across the map. Nightstalker and Blizzard? Great maps to play as demo.

Quick plants rounds 3, 6, and 9 in wars for [S-2]/[S3] when a war made it to third map.

Classy post, very well done Ben.

Like Pre said, Socom 2, in my opinion, was the single greatest game ever made. I don't see anything ever topping it. The game was perfect in so many ways. Even the problems were perfect, the lag, you could learn to read it and it wouldn't matter. The sponging, it made you angry, got you more into the game. It was perfect.

G3RMAN · 02-23-2007

I think its how you start out. Let me explain:

I started playing Socom series when Socom 3 came out and got very good at it after awhile. I played only Sup and Demo, and got bored so I tried to play Socom 2. Never again.

The weapons were ugly looking like poorly drawn, the maps felt like cardboard boxes...I mean all the maps to me felt tighter then small Antenora. People cheated like crazy in almost EVERY map I went to, no challenge in the ranking system. I think most people who love Socom 2 so much played it so much that they hate change at all. I even love to play the CA maps becauses its a nice change and even bigger in size for the most part.

Kobes-Accuser · 02-23-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by G3RMAN

I think its how you start out. Let me explain:

I started playing Socom series when Socom 3 came out and got very good at it after awhile. I played only Sup and Demo, and got bored so I tried to play Socom 2. Never again.

The weapons were ugly looking like poorly drawn, the maps felt like cardboard boxes...I mean all the maps to me felt tighter then small Antenora. People cheated like crazy in almost EVERY map I went to, no challenge in the ranking system. I think most people who love Socom 2 so much played it so much that they hate change at all. I even love to play the CA maps becauses its a nice change and even bigger in size for the most part.

I see your point how you started with S3 and went to S2 for your first time, alot of us started with S2 and how Ben explained it in his post there will never be a better game in the series than S2!

HIGH_LIFE · 02-23-2007

I also agree with S2 being the best. I do have to add, that Socom1 is when I started and there is nothing better than a Bitter Jungle or a Ruins rushing for the bomb. I could play S1 and S2 for 15-20 hours straight(weekends only of course).