This was NOT written by me. I found it on a random forum.
Quote:
Recently I was invited into the Socom Private Beta and wanted to give you my impressions of it. This wasnt through Qore, or the preorder program. This was just a limited number (about 100, though originally much less) chosen to test the game a few weeks prior to the open beta.
This post is mostly for those who have played Socom in the past. If you're a new player a lot of this wont make much sense to you.
If you're a hardcore Socom fan, you no doubt have some concerns over the new game, and are probably hoping the series returns to its roots. *Spoiler alert* it doesnt =(
To start, the beta is only crossroads, big and small. On both versions all the game modes are available (Suppression, Elimination [S2 Suppression], Demolition, Escort, Extraction, Control Points, and Breach). I really am not a fan of having every game mode available per map. Some modes just dont feel right. Surprizingly, breach is actually fairly balanced and enjoyable, save for the god-awful spawn points (which I am assured will be fixed). The Seals-err, "Commandos"-start on the outside of the map, and have to make their way into the courtyard. The goal is to plant the bomb at the gazeebo in the center of the courtyard. Every entrance into the courtyard is a breach point- all alleys, doorways, the bridges, stairways, etc are all breach points. This is what helps make the map balanced. The Seals can come from anywhere, so its harder to defend as a terrorist. Since breach is inherently terrorist sided, this works out quite well for an overall balanced game.
Unfortuneately the other map modes arent nearly as enjoyable. The Seals really got shafted. On escort, the only way the Seals win is if they extract. They no longer win when time runs out. On extraction, its the same. And of course on breach, they have to plant the bomb. As a terrorist, these modes are a camper's wet dream.
The large maps arent too much larger. The two roads on the side of the original xroads are just expanded and now lead to a building. The Seals have the building with that large Lion statue that you've probably seen pictures of. The terrorists have a palace with a tower on top of it. The palace connects directly to where the seals had to plant the bomb in original xroads, while the lion building connects directly to where the terrorists had to plant the bomb in the original. This is smaller than I expected, but its still just too big. You have to move slowly to be careful, and if the game is one of the camping modes I mentioned above, you better be willing to commit 45 minutes to a single game. Sometimes it will go even longer.
The aiming system was another concern I had. In S3 the guns pretty much sprayed all over the damn place and you had to be lucky if you wanted kills. In Confrontation, there is a completely new system. The new gun mechanics cause there to be a LOT of recoil. The recoil is controllable though, so I really dont mind it. It will take some getting used to, but it is definitely something you can master. The problem, however, is the spray. If you are standing still, the spray while holding the trigger isnt bad. But if you're moving-dear God, it can get pretty awful. For the first 10-15 rounds the bullets will go somewhere close to where you are aiming, but after that its anyone's guess. if you let go of the trigger for a moment, and then start firing again, it helps. But its still pretty bad. And to make matters worse, there still is some spray while bursting, even when you are standing still. This makes any gunfight where you and your opponent are more than 25 meters away from eachother not so much a battle of skill, but rather a virtual coin toss. Many people are complaining about this, so I hope they tweak it a bit before the final release.
The graphics are pretty good. I am liking them better and better as time goes on. Not that it can save the game, but its still pretty pleasant to look at. Its very Assassin's Creed-esque, except without that awful color filter. Theres a lot of shadows, and debris, and dust.
The sound is also pretty good. It is true surround sound, unlike socom3. There is the proximity chat, where if you are near an enemy or teamate who talks you can hear it. It actually comes in through your stereo speakers. This is good and bad. Good, because its also in surround sound, but bad if you have any small children in the room. See, after you are dead, proximity chat still works. so when you kill someone, you can say anything and it will come out through the dead guys speakers. This really is kind of cool, but you'll be hearing a lot of "GOT YOU ************!" which is probably something you dont want to share with everyone in the family room.
Theres really not much else to say. Character movement is fast as long as you arent wearing a ton of armor. The sprint button also helps. you'll be using it a lot.
Any questions?
Edit: On a final note Im still optimistic about the game. As long as the other small maps are done well, and the spray is tweaked, it will be fine. But right now, as a socom veteran, I am disappointed
Even with this, I'm still excited to get my own experience and my own impressions.
Wow, he sure didn't have much good to say huh? I am still very excited but he did put some worry in me. I don't understand why they just didn't make it the way everyone wanted it and make an updated version of Socom 1 & 2.
I am sure i will still play it as i stuck around through socom 3 and ca which i hated. Hopefully these problems will be fixed by sept. 1st.
As a suggestion to all SOCOM fans, just treat this game like it is a new experience, cuz i know i am. ALOT of people will be dissapointed if they expect somthing SOCOM II - ish. Take it for what it is, and hopefully everyone will have a positive experience.
______________________
this went through perfectly! didn't think it would happen.
As a suggestion to all SOCOM fans, just treat this game like it is a new experience, cuz i know i am. ALOT of people will be dissapointed if they expect somthing SOCOM II - ish. Take it for what it is, and hopefully everyone will have a positive experience.
My thoughts exactly. I never viewed this game as a "Socom 2 2008 edition" type thing. The only s2 about it as far as I can tell is, are the three or four maps on it. In my opinion, this game looks better than S2, while S2 is the best out of the series to date. Maybe this one will take that role, maybe It wont. Just enjoy it the best you can, and don't have a lot of S2 type of expectations for it either.
No Grenades in the Demo ? Especially, with the new roll-a-nade feature. You'd think he would've commented on it. I don't expect this game to be smooth as butter but if I remember right the guns sprayed a good amount in past Socoms. I would never expect this game to be as awe inspiring as Socom II.
I do like the fact that Crossroads is the Demo map . A familiar scene with new territory to get used to a new gaming experience.
Man, not happy about the speaker-chat. I hate those games. I always gotta turn my system way up just so I can understand what people are saying, and that's not an option when my highschool teacher wife goes to bed at 9:30.
The spray is good. If you were to pick up an assault rifle (or any automatic weapon for that matter) right now and just held down the trigger, would you expect it to have low recoil and little spray? I wouldn't (I might with an SMG though). I think that it would be stupid for a gun to be able to shoot with at least 80% accuracy while holding down the trigger and running around (at least, stupid in a game).
As for the maps, well, hopefully not every match type will be available on all the maps. I understand putting all of them in the beta. You want people to see what all the game types are (at least, the initial game types). Hopefully, the maps will have multiple game types available, but not every single one. Suppression should be available on every map, and after that it's whatever fits the map best.
The Rainbow Six Vegas games were excellent training for realistic recoil-heavy assualt rifles. If Confrontation is very similar to that it should be a good thing, and I'll probably lean more towards the SMGs.
He never said there wasn't any grenades in the beta. He just failed to mention the mechanics and physics of throwing of rolling grenades in his review.
He never said there wasn't any grenades in the beta. He just failed to mention the mechanics and physics of throwing of rolling grenades in his review.
Yeah. And from the details S6 has given us it seems the beta is pretty much the full game, but with one map. Two if you want to be technical.
My thoughts exactly. I never viewed this game as a "Socom 2 2008 edition" type thing. The only s2 about it as far as I can tell is, are the three or four maps on it. In my opinion, this game looks better than S2, while S2 is the best out of the series to date. Maybe this one will take that role, maybe It wont. Just enjoy it the best you can, and don't have a lot of S2 type of expectations for it either. 
