SOCOM 3 U.S. Navy SEALs

SOCOM 3 U.S. Navy SEALs is a tactical shooter video game developed by Zipper Interactive and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for PlayStation 2. It's the sequel to SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs.

SOCOM 3 U.S. Navy SEALs
Developer(s)Zipper Interactive
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Director(s)Hardy F. LeBel Sr.
Designer(s)Travis Steiner\
Artist(s)Russell Phillips
Dan Henley
Composer(s)James Dooley
SeriesSOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
  • NA: October 11, 2005
  • EU: April 21, 2006
  • AU: April 26, 2006
Genre(s)Tactical shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The online servers for this game, along with other PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable SOCOM titles, were shut down on August 31, 2012.[1] Players could still do online play by using the LAN option and by the use of LAN tunnel application however.

Gameplay

SOCOM 3 U.S. Navy SEALs is a third-person tactical shooter. There are 14 different single-player missions.

Plot

In the North African campaign, the player's (Specter) fireteam consists "Jester" as well as SEALs "Killjoy" and "Simple". Specter's SEAL team battles the North African Patriotic Front (NAPF), the renamed Algerian Patriotic Front from SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs, led by the megalomaniac General Heydar Mahmood and Colonel Sarwat, his second-in-command. Mahmood had gained control of Algeria via a coup d'etat during the previous game, and now the NAPF has just launched an offensive into a neighboring unnamed country, implied to be Morocco, while the SEAL team is enlisted to support local forces trying to repel the NAPF. Upon arriving, Specter rendezvous with local forces, and proceeds to ambush an NAPF convoy, secure a NAPF sanctuary, and demolishes a communications tower. After meeting up with the local fighter leader, the "Sand Lion", Specter's team assists the locals in attacking an NAPF weapons depot. They cut off the NAPF reinforcement route by demolishing a bridge, and unexpectedly encounters an enemy T-72. En route to the weapons depot, the SEALs find dozens of civilians killed by the NAPF. After destroying the depot, the SEALs are redeployed following the Coalition for Humanitarian Aid's (CHA) approval of a military intervention in the area. Via the Strait of Gibraltar, the CHA invades only to be fired upon by NAPF Chinese-made HY-2 cruise missiles. The SEALs rush to deactivate the missile launch sites before the CHA calls off the invasion. The CHA successfully lands, while the SEALs are called to hold off a NAPF preemptive strike against leading CHA forces. Repelling waves of infantry and tanks, reinforcements finally arrive and a counterattack is launched against the NAPF in the ruins of an old fort where troops are amassing. Subsequently, the SEALs enter Mahmood's Field HQ to capture him and Colonel Sarwat, but were delayed due to Marcy Raines, a personnel working for the State Department (from SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs), who was stranded and required extraction. Mahmood takes advantage of the delay, and flees in an Mi-24 helicopter leaving Sarwat for the SEALs. Later, the SEALs search for Mahmood whose helicopter was shot down. After fighting two NAPF tanks, Specter search several villages for him, and finally collects enough data to pinpoint his location at a mountain villa. Mahmood is captured and the African Campaign ends.

In the South Asian missions "Killjoy" and "Simple" are replaced by British Special Boat Service operatives "Flash" and "Chopper". In these missions the player battles a piracy organization called "The Fist and Fire". In the missions' plot the Fist and Fire have been wreaking havoc on local shipping and recently captured the freighter "Breackneck", which was loaded with missiles and small arms, in the Bay of Bengal and steered her back to Bangladesh. In the first mission the player assaults a remote Fist and Fire (Often referred to as Raiders by your fireteam) outpost along a river. Once there the team searches for the Breakneck and its cargo of missiles. The player finds the freighter but the cargo was moved to a second, larger outpost. When the player checks a warehouse a cut-scene plays and the missiles are being loaded onto a small boat that soon leaves its dock. In the second mission the player meets a local informant "Magpie" who assists him in searching two villages for a "Mole" who had been leaking information to the Raiders and talking to villagers. After the villages have been searched the team dismantles Raider operations in the villages and their surroundings. En route to the extraction a man runs toward the informant warning him that his village is being looted and burnt by the Raiders. The player and his fireteam then stops the massacre and moves on to complete the final objective. In the last mission, the team enters the Raiders' headquarter on an island in search of their leader, Hari Raman, the Captain and the first mate of the Breakneak who are being held hostage, and the missiles. After securing the beachhead the team finds a small cave system, in these caves and their direct vicinity you locate Raman, the hostages and the missiles.

The last missions take place in Poland where the SEALs battle a well funded, ultra-nationalist terrorist organization called the New Slavic Order (NSO). In these missions "Flash" and "Chopper" are replaced by GROM operatives "Deadpan" and "Coldkill". In the first mission the team performs reconnaissance on an NSO controlled house which is the residence of a local cell leader, Bogdan Kurasz codenamed FATCAT, and bug a laptop and a phone for gathering intel for future operations. The second mission begins when the First Lady of Poland, Ludmila Zarobska, is at a boat christening ceremony in the port city of Gdańsk when chemical weapon canisters explode and several NSO terrorists move in to kidnap her. Their plan was to take her hostage and use her as a bargaining chip to force the government to agree to their demands. Unable to contact the First Lady's security detail, the fireteam is sent in to rescue and extract her. After a boat chase through the city's canals and a long firefight, the team secures her and proceeds to extract. On the way the team encounters brutal NSO resistance as they have taken control of the city. Once the team has secured the extraction, an Mi-24 comes to extract the first lady. After the player kills some terrorists that were fleeing from Polish Forces, the mission ends. The third mission takes place where the player's team returns to the site of the first mission to eliminate the NSO presence and capture the cell leader, FATCAT. After an extensive search of the surrounding area and buildings, the team find a cave system underneath a barn. The team continues through the caves and out into a forest where they eventually find and apprehend FATCAT. The fourth mission takes place in the city of Wroclaw near the Polish border with the Czech Republic. The NSO is preparing to flee Poland, because of their recent setbacks, and plan to set up operations elsewhere in Eastern Europe. Fortunately, a storm moved into the region and flooded the city, enabling the team to infiltrate, recon, and pinpoint the creator of the NSO's chemical weapon arsenal, Dr. Mironova, and the NSO's leader, Kryzstof Gryc. Once they're located the team extracts from the area. In the last mission of the game the team goes back to the city to kill all the remaining NSO terrorists as well as Mironova and Gryc, and secure their chemical weapons. The team first clears a safehouse with moderate resistance and then moves on to clear a courtyard where a heavy but brief firefight ensues. The team finally reaches a brewery where the weapons and Mironoava are. Once she is killed, H.Q. warns the team that Gryc has led a suicide assault on the brewery to set off the weapons. Once the team mows down waves of NSO assaults and defends the brewery, Gryc leads a small team himself, once he and his team are killed, the mission is complete.

SOCOM 3 U.S. Navy SEALs is playable on five difficulty levels. At the start, the player can only choose from three of these. If the player completes the game on Commander, they can unlock the Captain difficulty level (which unlocks the Admiral difficulty level upon successful completion).

Every mission has primary, secondary, bonus, and crosstalk objectives - which are compatible with the Sony PSP game SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo.

Development

Zipper Interactive decided to require SOCOM 3 U.S. Navy SEALs players to verify their identities by using a credit card, debit cards, or VISA gift cards. If the players do not verify themselves, they will not be granted ranks, allowed to join friends' lists, ranked games or clans. The PAL version of SOCOM 3 U.S. Navy SEALs did not need to be verified for online play. The SOCOM blog, set up by the Sony PlayStation team to give players a look at the making of the game,[2] stated that this was meant to keep SOCOM cheaters away from the game.[3]

The game is situated in Poland, South Asia and North Africa. The South Asia area of operation was originally specified as Bangladesh, but was changed after a complaint from the Bangladeshi government.[4]

The first Map Pack was released for a free two-week trial on June 27, 2006. After the two-week trial, players had the opportunity to purchase the map pack through the SOCOM Store in the SOCOM community section. Two more map packs were released containing maps from SOCOM and SOCOM 2.

Reception

SOCOM 3 U.S. Navy SEALs received "generally positive" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[5]

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-06-01. Retrieved 2012-05-30.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Zipper Interactive, Inc. (July 19, 2005). "Welcome to the SOCOM Blog!!!". Archived from the original on 2006-06-29. Retrieved February 18, 2006.
  3. Zipper Interactive, Inc. (October 20, 2005). "SOCOM 3 - No cheaters allowed". SOCOMBLOG. Archived from the original on 2006-06-29. Retrieved November 7, 2005.
  4. "Sony takes scalpel to SOCOM 3". Gamespot. April 22, 2005. Archived from the original on 2011-05-25. Retrieved August 8, 2006.
  5. "SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2020-07-02. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
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