The original SOCOM U.S. Navy Seals : Fireteam Bravo (catchy title), was released on the Sony PSP last year to various amounts of critical acclaim; and although the similar version of Syphon Filter still holds up as probably the best portable shooter, a rich blend of tactical action and technical advancements made the Zipper Interactive effort stand out in an otherwise populated field. Fireteam Bravo 2 manages to tread delicately with an unchanged formula, and a number of small tweaks make for a few good advancements in all the right areas.
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| Terrorists always hang out in murky locations |
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Aiming is fairly well implemented for a portable shooter |
FB2 once again casts the player in the shoes of a US Navy Seal, this time relocating the action to the fictional middle-east country of Adjikistan. Although purely referential, the number of inferences to real-life American 'peace keeping' operations are numerous, and leaves no doubt as to the fairly obvious real-world connection. As you would expect, enemy forces are beset by terrorism, gun-running and drug production, and it's up to you and your small squad of allies to help turn the tide. With force.
Missions are undertaken in a roundly similar fashion to the original game, with the single-player campaign offering up around 14 different stages in total. Operational locations can be selected from an overview map, with each section offering up a reward based on your performance in a number of key areas. Command Equity (CE) and Local Influence (LI) are the primary measurements of success, judging accomplishments in both technical proficiency and a lack of civilian casualties along the way. Each category offers up incentives for playing the game thoroughly, with new weapons, parts and intel up for grabs after each successful foray into enemy territory.
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| You have some basic command over your squad members |
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Factories, deserts, it's all here |
Although incentivising the mission structure with the small rewards above may sound like a bland idea, in practice the system works extremely well and encourages replayability to get the highest CE and LI ratings possible. The array of weaponry and add-ons are vast, and the desire to earn your way to the next major upgrade is tantalizing. Firearm fetishists will be in for a treat, that's for sure.
Of course none of the above would be worth a damn if FB2 didn't play as well as it does. For a game with lofty ambitions and a complex set of controls, Zipper seems to have hit the correct balance between approachability and complexity, with a solid learning curve that rewards practice. Issuing commands to comrades becomes second nature after a few missions, and although the graphical engine occasionally chops up and sports some shoddy texturing, draw distance is excellent and the animation system looks the part. The lack of a second analogue stick rears its head as always on the PSP; but once the strafing controls are mastered it becomes a non-issue, with some elegant and precise movement available for those with the patience to experiment.
That isn't to say that this iteration is perfect however. The sheer number of controls will certainly be an issue for some, with button presses mapped to every available input on the PSP and numerous modifiers available (and necessary) on the triggers and simply by holding buttons down for a longer period. Whilst this lends the game a sophisticated and deep control set, it tends to run against the grain for a portable title, and re-learning the interface after a break from playing for a few days can become an annoying thing to have to do; especially considering the limited amount of time that portable players generally have.
Enemy AI is also a little sketchy in places, with the opposition frequently getting stuck behind obstacles, or locked into an animation sequence that can only be broken with firepower. It also doesn't help that apparently every soldier in Adjikistan has been eating a healthy dose of carrots every day, with the ability to spot even the best hidden Seals from a hundred yards. This undermines the tactical elements somewhat, but certainly not enough to deter from the overall experience.
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| Online options are comprehensive and satisfying |
That said, FB2 is without a doubt one of the premier contenders for the best shooter on the PSP. With a varied and deep campaign, and full support for both local and 16-player internet multiplayer action, this a deep package that will last any tactical shooter fan a long, long time. Whilst the popularity of the franchise may hamper sales on this side of the continent, anybody starved for a new PSP game or even just a decent shooter could certainly do worse then to give SOCOM a try.
Top Game Moment: Nailing a group of enemies with a well-placed grenade. Satisfying as ever.
