[masterdxl]

The once bustling marketplace was now an empty shell of its former self. Where a kindly old man once sold fruit was an overturned table riddled haphazardly with bullets that burned through the wood. Shells could be seen scattered throughout and the walls surrounding the market are crumbling from a firefight that took place not too long ago. The echo of gunfire in the distance can be heard as a group of U.S. Navy SEALs scramble into place, knowing full well that the marketplace definitely does not provide a lot of cover.

Since the Public Beta introduced the first map - a massive environment that includes the Arabic marketplace that should be familiar to SOCOM fans as the Crossroads map - SOCOM: Confrontation for the PlayStation 3 gave fans of the series a generous peek at just a few of the features we can come to expect from this online multiplayer shooter. Even as a Beta, the online multiplayer features show off many of the options multiplayer fans will experience when the game is released in October. That includes leader boards, clan features and the ability to customize your character whether it is a U.S. Navy SEAL or a mercenary.
Sony Computer Entertainment and Slant Six Games has been releasing patches throughout the Public Beta to address many of the issues that players have been experiencing such as extremely lengthy load times, framerate problems and a few bugs that result in some hilarious yet unrealistic situations. When the matches do work well, they reveal the true potential of what is sure to be a great multiplayer experience SOCOM fans have been use to since SOCOM 2 was released. In other words, be prepared for one of the best online multiplayer games you’ll find on the PlayStation 3.
The Public Beta does give players plenty of options when it comes to your multiplayer game persona so you can tweak a few options such as a character’s face, outfit and gear. The options aren’t deep but it’s enough to create a persona that’s a tad different from those you’ll be playing with or against during a match. You can also create your own clan that will set your team apart from others and earn a name for yourselves during ranked Tournament games. There’s also an encumbrance feature that, depending on your load out equipment (armor type and heavy weapons) can either slow you down or make you move faster.

Gamers can also customize their own matches so you can have a 4 versus 4 match, an 8 versus 8 match or a 16 versus 16 match. The Public Beta didn’t feature all the maps, of course, but the Crossroads map (making its return) and Fallen (which takes place in North Africa) are downright huge. Luckily, the massive number of weapons was available from Day One. That means you can try out everything from assault rifles, shotguns, pistols, explosive weapons and even a knife for stealth kills. This is very good news seeing as this time around your chosen weapons will play a part in the role you will assume during matches. Like real military life, a squad benefits from having a sniper or an explosive expert with a rocket launcher as a member of the team.
While the Crossroads map was heavily featured (in its Large and regular version) during the course of the Public Beta but in the final days of September we’ve been treated to Fallen - a map featuring the remains of a Roman temple in Northern Africa. While Crossroad’s open market is a fantastic place from a Suppression match, Fallen’s open spaces and ruins will surely make this a fan favorite. Playing through the various game match types, Fallen seems to accommodate each game mode nicely.
Speaking of game match types, Confrontation has some great ones whether you’re tasked with clearing a map of an opposing team or Demolition where your mission is to take a satchel charge and place it in a certain spot in enemy territory. Making a return is Team Suppression and Breach and we have yet to see Escort and Control. You can even set up a game that includes all of the game match types and remove any you don’t like.

During the course of the Public Beta, I was invited to one of the weekly Beta Battles, which shows up in the events Calendar that will remind you of any event you just so happen to be invited to by friends or fellow clan members. Major events are planned for when the full version is released so you can expect player participation with or without a clan. While the Beta Battle I participated in featured only the available Crossroads map, competitions (ranked or unranked) can feature every map available when the game’s retail version is released.
While there were a few voice chat issues that are still being worked out, headset communication is a necessity (the game is best played with the Official Bluetooth Headset for the PS3 is coming soon but other headsets work just fine). Teamwork plays a huge role in successfully completing a match type objective whether it’s wiping out every member of the opposing team or completing a specific match objective. In the marketplace scenario, for instance, the team leader announced he was going to blow a bridge between buildings and a player who didn’t have a headset didn’t hear the order and crossed it was immediately killed. You can also perform Assists, which involves two or more players working together to kill an opponent or two. For example, one player can toss a grenade in a location where an enemy might be hiding to flush him out while the other player snipes the enemy when he does run out of his or her hiding place. The player that tossed the grenade is awarded an Assist while the player that killed the enemy gets a Kill.
Unfortunately, even after the 1.40 patch, the match results weren’t very accurate and awarded me a kill when I performed an Assist. Another player’s kill wasn’t even counted and there are days when no results show up at all but hopefully this will be fixed when the retail version becomes available. During the course of the Public Beta, certain bugs have been improved such as grenades that should have gone off instead of bouncing on a character’s head. At one point, a sniper shot intended on hitting an opponent in the chest ended up in said opponent’s head instead. Again, these issues don’t pop up as often now and it’s good too see that they are being addressed. For example, you can run while firing your weapon more accurately.

Control-wise, the game takes advantage of the SIXAXIS tilt controls and this is evident in how you toss a grenade or lean from left to right as well as crouch. The tilt control allows you to toss a grenade underhand or overhand depending on how you tilt the controller forward or back. Your soldier can also jump and, when near a ledge, perform a quick leap for when you need to get out of a hotspot right away. Visually speaking, Confrontation clearly looks better than the PS2 SOCOM offerings. So far, it’s not a huge next-gen leap that takes advantage of the PS3’s graphics capabilities but there are some gorgeous explosions effects, bullets kick up dust when they hit the ground and blood spurts out when players get shot to ribbons.
SOCOM: Confrontation’s many online multiplayer features will certainly be one of the game’s biggest highlights and - from the looks of it - this will make it a thoroughly enjoyable multiplayer experience that PlayStation 3 owners will be playing for a long time. The taste of things to come (such as playing as the German KSK Special Forces and numerous new maps) is certainly enticing but we can expect the full course meal to be positively scrumptious.
SOCOM: Confrontation for the PlayStation 3 releases on October 14, 2008. It’ll be available in three different versions such as the Bundle Version (that includes the new Bluetooth headset), a Stand Alone Version (no headset) or downloaded via the PlayStation Network.