SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs

SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs (also known as SOCOM: Special Forces in PAL regions), is a 2011 third-person tactical shooter video game developed by Zipper Interactive and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation 3 and is a sequel to Zipper's SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 2 and SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Combined Assault.
==Plot==
Set at an undisclosed date somewhere in Malaysia, NATO Operations Commander Cullen Gray arrives at a NATO operations command center at the request of Area Commander Gorman. A local group of rebels calling themselves "Naga" have rallied and taken up arms against the country's government, and have hijacked ships belonging to Clawhammer Security, a Private Military Company that was featured in the previous SOCOM title, Fireteam Bravo 2. Weapons and supplies were seized by Naga, and Clawhammer has decided to withdraw from the region before losing any more assets, limiting the capabilities of NATO forces operating in the area. Under constant attack from Naga, Gray is given command of US Navy SEALs (or other NATO special forces team members depending on which version of the game is being played) Eric Schweitzer and Dion Wells and tasked with aiding NATO in seeking out and destroying the insurgent threat by removing their leader.
While patrolling the NATO ops center's perimeter, the command center is attacked and Commander Gorman is killed. Commander Gray leads his men through the city with aid from an off-shore command asset code-named "Oracle", an MI6 liaison and engages Naga forces before fleeing from the city in an attempt to meet up with other NATO forces operating in the region. Gorman had ordered members of the South Korean 707th Special Mission Battalion to conduct recon on a supply point, but their transport aircraft is shot down en route by anti-air guns. OpsCom rescues two survivors, Park Yoon-Hee and Chung Kwan, and continues in his mission to remove the threat from Naga.
Conducting guerrilla warfare actions and covert recon operations against Naga forces, the NATO team destroys Naga assets and hunts down their leader, Razzad. As the team draws closer to locating him, they find Clawhammer secretly moving arms and supplies into the region and establishing command posts - it is also revealed that ten years earlier in the same region, Cullen Gray was assigned to a special forces team tasked with capturing the country's warlord dictator, but executed him instead, causing the destabilization that led to civil war and the eventual formation of the Naga insurgency.
The team locates Razzad and attacks his base of operations and secures him, and upon interrogation, he reveals that it's Clawhammer that was supplying his forces with arms and equipment. The team attempts to flee, but Clawhammer forces ambush the team and Razzad is killed by sniper fire. The team is forced to fight through them, narrowly escaping. Clawhammer begins engaging the remaining Naga forces in the region, and with Naga crippled, the NATO team now focuses on finding out what Clawhammer is up to the region. Lt. Park carries out reconnaissance operations against Clawhammer to learn their motive for treachery and discovers Commander Gorman not only alive but leading the Clawhammer forces. Their plan is to sink a ship, the "Kurtz" in a strait in the region. As the ship is carrying several tons of explosive materials a well placed missile strike would equal a nuclear yield blast without the radioactive fallout. The NATO team battles against Clawhammer and secures the missile. Gray sends his team to secure an evacuation while he disarms the missile but he is mortally wounded by Gorman, who reveals that the operation was meant to be a major economy boost for Clawhammer and the region. Gray manages to stab Gorman in the neck with his pen and Gorman flees. The team checks on Gray but it is too late. Gray passes his command position onto Park and orders her to find and arrest Gorman before dying.
Park leads the remaining members of the NATO forces into the capital and hunts Gorman and his remaining body guards down before they can flee the country. "Oracle" tracks him in a convoy of Clawhammer vehicles heading to a train station used as an evacuation zone. After fighting through the remaining Clawhammer forces, and destroying the convoy, Park tracks down Gorman, cornering him and holding him at gunpoint - the player is given the choice to either execute or spare his life. In choosing the spare Gorman's life, it is implied that he is brought to justice and spends the rest of his life in prison. If you kill Gorman however, Park removes her headset, discards her weapon, and walks away. Either way, the fate and future of the NATO team is left untold.
===Characters===
Cullen Gray (aka NATO Operations Commander) - The game's main playable character and protagonist. His origin is never revealed throughout the game, and the only background information given to the player is that ten years earlier, he was sent on a mission in the same region that the game takes place in and was directly responsible for an incident that resulted in the civil wars and rebel uprising that occur in the present. He is the leader of the game's five-man NATO task force. He is killed by Gorman, but not before he severely wounds Gorman and passes on his title of Operations Commander to Park.
Eric Schweitzer - One of two US Navy SEALs (SAS/Other European special forces operative in the UK/European version) and member of Blue Team. He serves as the team's support gunner. He is also a joker, as he makes numerous sarcastic or humorous remarks throughout the course of the game.
Dion Wells - One of two US Navy SEALs (SAS/Other European special forces operative in the UK/European version) and member of Blue Team. He served with Ops Com on a previous mission, as well as with members of the Korean 707 (none included the two members on Gray's team), though neither missions are elaborated on. He serves as the team's rifleman.
Park Yoon-Hee ("Forty-Five") - A lieutenant in the Korean 707 Special Operations unit and member of Gold Team. She serves as the game's secondary main character and protagonist, and serves as the team's stealth and recon specialist.
Chung Kwan - A corporal in the Korean 707 Special Operations unit and member of Gold Team. He serves as the team's designated marksman.
==Multiplayer==
One of the main features of this game is the ability to play the co-op mode, replacing the AI Special Ops team with players via online play. Players can play instant action missions. Players can also unlock "Character Skins" for online play. SOCOM 4 doesn't have lobbies like previous SOCOMs instead SOCOM 4 has a Quick Match system along with a yet to be implemented Party System to meet up with your friends. The Party System will be implemented in upcoming patch 1.03. SOCOM 4's Online Multiplayer comes in three separate forms; Standard, Classic, and Custom.
Standard Mode:
*Best out of 3 Rounds.
*30 Minute Time Limit for each round.
*Respawn
*Air Strikes
*Blood Splatter
*Regenerative Health
Classic Mode:
*Best out of 11 Rounds.
*5 Minute Time Limit for each Round.
*No Respawn
*No Blood Splatter
*No Regenerative Health
*Faster Movements
Custom Mode:
*Zipper Created Ranked Rooms
*User Created Clan/Friends list only Joinable Unranked Rooms
===Game Modes===
Unlike previous SOCOMs, SOCOM 4 doesn't include the classic; Breach, Demolition, Escort, Extraction, Control, and Convoy game modes. Instead, it features all new game modes.
*Last Defense: An objective based game that requires you to capture all the neutral sectors placed in the middle of the map to find the opposing team’s Head Quarters. It takes 12 seconds to fully capture a sector, and if you die in your attempt, the capture bar will remain at the same point, you will only have to fill from the point where you died. In order to re-capture a captured sector, you will have to fill the capture bar twice. First you will to remove their capture bar and then fill your own.
*Uplink: Uplink is similar to old school capture the flag mode. One team attacks while other defends in this game mode. Attacking team is given the task to steal the defending team’s data by downloading it off random data locations set throughout the map. These data locations are shown on both team’s HUD.
*Suppression: Fight to the death. Suppression is your regular team death match. Find and kill as many enemies you can to win.
*Bomb Squad: Bomb Squad is similar to search and destroy mode but, with more than one bomb sites. One team must protect the bomb sites while other team must disarm them. The team that disarms the random bomb sites need to choose one player as their Bomb Technician. Who will become the bomb technician is random, but the guy is heavily protected and armed with two unique weapons.
*SCRUM (Custom): A Suppression mod that offers a “Classic” rules-inspired list of features that includes no respawn, no Sniper Rifles, no Concussion, Poison Gas, or Frag Grenades, higher damage and faster character movement
*Sniper Alley (Custom): Another 8-vs-8 variation on “Classic” Suppression that boasts higher damage values and weapon restrictions that allow players access to only Smoke and Poison Gas Grenades, Shotguns, and of course, Sniper Rifles
*Last Defense Run ‘n Gun (Custom): Incredibly fast-paced deviation from the Last Defense gametype that includes speedier player movement, reduced weapon damage, and limitations to sub-machine guns and shotguns only
*Community Day Classic (Custom): Suggested by members of Zipper Community Day 2011, Community Day Classic offers a medley of different maps that support 8-vs-8 “Classic” variations on Suppression, Uplink, Last Defense and Bomb Squad with faster movement and no ranged explosives of any kind
==Downloadable Content==
The pre-order bonus for SOCOM 4 includes a shotgun for both the Spec Ops and the Insurgents. Pre-ordering at Gamestop also includes the code to download the classic SOCOM map "Abandoned" from the original SOCOM game. Zipper stated, the SOCOM 4 version of Abandoned will be the day-time version like SOCOM 1 and unlike SOCOM 2's night-time version of Abandoned.
On April 15, 2011, Zipper announced the "SOCOM Pro DLC", April 19, as any player who purchases a new copy of SOCOM 4 receives exclusive access to all “Pro” Custom Game queues. Pro queues will be ranked, and they are also updated regularly. Moreover, the first set of “Pro” Custom Game types will be the same rule sets that the SOCOM fans tested during the SOCOM 4 beta period. Another incentive for SOCOM Pro players is an exclusive pair of weapons. The M16A4 (for Spec-Ops) and the AK-47 (for the Insurgents) assault rifles. Expected to be available within the first 30 days of SOCOM 4’s release. On October 18, the brand new Demolition map pack came out on the PlayStation Store for $9.99. It brings back the demolition game mode which was excluded from the main game. Also in the map pack includes 4 new maps, including Bitter Jungle and Ruins. Also included will be 2 new weapons, the 552 and the HS-C3 as well as six new multiplayer skins. Also on November 1, the Evac Co-op pack will be added to the PlayStation Store for $7.99. It will offer the Evac mode for Co-op as well as 6 new skins and 2 new weapons, the M82A1A and the AM50.
Zipper claimed these additions are just the beginning – Zipper has plenty more planned for SOCOM Pro down the road including access to exclusive multiplayer maps, various co-op additions, dedicated leaderboards, and lots more.
==Reception==
SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALS has received mixed reviews, scoring 67% from Metacritic based on 100 reviews. Although SOCOM 4 was released between April 19 and April 21, the PlayStation Network was offline from April 20 to May 13 due to a security breach.
Most of the complaints stem from the game's vast departure from the series' more realistic-based tactical team-based gameplay for a more streamlined, casual, and over-the-top action-arcade shooting experience. Also notable are missing classic game modes and key features such as lobbies, pistols, and a grenade arc, (which would have shown the general direction of a grenade if it were to be thrown), all which have been in previous Socoms on the PlayStation 2. A 'Party System' had to be added via patch, which contributed to the game's low scores.
===Sales===
As of October 2011, SOCOM 4 has sold 0.5 million copies worldwide.
==Links==
*Official website
*Sony US PlayStation official SOCOM page
Category:2011 video games
Category:Most Wanted Games