We must state right here and now that at the time of writing there are no firm details of a local network service and the hardware required doesn't even have a confirmed release date in NZ. Gameplanet will of course keep you posted as soon as news comes to hand (and we're expecting something before too long) but for now it means this review can only be confined to the single-player game in SOCOM. That's not such a bad thing though as it is probably good enough we think as a stand-alone game to at least tide you over until we get a local network service up and running (or if you're impatient like us - your network adaptor arrives from the UK!).

So what exactly do you get for your money then? Well first of all it's obvious from the over-sized packaging that it houses more than just a disc and manual. That's right, you also get something that's actually less gimmicky than you think - the innovative and very snazzy Logitech headset that allows real-time in-game communication! Now if you're thinking it's just a redundant piece of online-only hardware that won't be used until you and your mates finally hook-up via broadband, then think again. The headset is actually used and in a few cases is quite essential in single-player mode. Quite simply, it's used instead of messy menus and multiple button pushes to give voice commands to your AI teammates as you play through the game. There's even an occasion where you can call in helicopter support to pick up a hostage you just rescued mid-mission. If you do decide to use the manual menu command system rather than the headset however then you'll see that it's actually one of the best and most user friendly in a game of this type. Saying that, we stuck with the headset and recommend the same for you to get the most out of the title.

The thing that really amazed us about the headset and SOCOM's voice recognition is that it really works (quite well!) and there is absolutely no configuration or time consuming set-up to go through at all. It's as easy as putting the thing on, firing up the first mission and (after learning the small list of necessary commands) barking out your simple orders clearly and in the right order. Then be amazed as your AI teammates respond back vocally via the earpiece, move to where you ordered them to and do exactly what you say!

Your "team" of 4 is comprised of 2 "Elements" - you (Kahuna by default) and Boomer make up Alpha Element and Spectre and Jester make up Bravo Element. Commands can be directed at either Bravo element alone or the whole team although Boomer will always follow you regardless. A good example of a simple voice command would be "Bravo - Stealth to - Navpoint C" which would see Spectre & Jester move cautiously via the most undetectable route to the identified point on your "Tec Map" (which can be brought up and viewed at any time by pressing the Select button). If you just change the middle part of that command to "Run to" or "Lead to" or "Attack to" then the Bravo's actions will change accordingly, the latter meaning that they will charge ahead clearing a path to Navpoint C taking out any enemies they encounter along the way.

It really can be a powerful, effective and quite satisfying tool but as in real life, bad orders can have bad consequences. Send your teammates headlong into battle without first taking out enemy snipers and a few foot soldiers and you'll just end up sending them to an early grave. Also there are a few little gameplay flaws that mean the headset and voice commands aren't quite as effective or as much fun at times as they could have been but we'll touch on those as we go. Overall though the implementation of the headset in SOCOM is innovative, fun to use, much quicker than the old menu systems and quite a fine first effort. As a bonus it's promised that it will also be useable with upcoming titles, the first of which is set for launch very soon.

The game itself is a third-person, squad-based tactical shooter played over 12 missions which start out fairly simple but crank up becoming longer and more complex as the game progresses. There are 4 main global locations in SOCOM including Alaska, Thailand, The People's Republic Of Congo and Turkmenistan and each of the maps reflects the different environments and climes pretty well. However, the general feel of the maps on at least the first few levels could best be described as drab. Detail probably isn't quite what you'd expect in places from the latest generation of PS2 titles (understandable given SOCOM's age now) and some of the overall lighting, in the Thailand maps for example, isn't the best making things appear quite murky. Understandably most missions are carried out under the cover of night but when you get to the Congo and Turkmenistan levels you'll definitely notice the improvement in visibility. Having said that there are moments when you'll stop, look around and think, "Hmmm, that doesn't look too bad at all!".

The missions vary and range from simply collecting data on various threats, through setting or defusing bombs to rescuing hostages and prisoners. There are usually 3 main or primary objectives that must be completed for mission success plus additional secondary ones which can help you achieve primary objectives and help improve your final mission "score". This score is shown at the end of each completed mission with individual rankings or percentages for things such as stealth, accuracy and your ability to keep all team members alive all being added up for the overall rating.

Generally SOCOM combines a lot of really good ideas in its gameplay albeit ones we've seen before in games such as the Rainbow Six series. While it initially feels like it could wind up being better than the games it borrows from, the shortfalls soon become apparent and it fails to reach this goal. While it's good use of the headset and voice recognition set it apart from other similar games there are a few times when voice commands aren't recognised and either have to be repeated or a different command chosen. Also, if you try giving Bravo a command to move somewhere that's too far from their current location they'll more often than not either refuse or reply that they don't understand. This isn't a major set-back though and forces you to think more carefully a lot of the time but occasionally it's annoying.

Also, despite there being quite a number of different commands to choose from you'll soon end up finding that you really only need to use a few of the more commonly required ones. Another thing is that most waypoints are pretty much along the same route that you'll be travelling yourself due to mission structure being fairly linear so most movement commands will be sending your teammates ahead while you cover, getting them to cover while you move ahead or calling them to catch you up. It can all end up feeling a little like you're just holding their hands and leading them along. In fact here's a little SOCOM spoiler so skip to the next paragraph if you don't want to spoil the surprise. You can just about complete most missions by leaving Bravo at the insertion point and rushing off to do everything yourself! In fact the oil rig mission where you have a set time to defuse several bombs literally forces you to abandon the team and run around doing your own thing so you don't run out of time.

After a while with the game you will figure out how it works and you'll start yearning for the little things that could have made SOCOM that much better. The biggest letdown here, and where it fails to match games like Rainbow Six (and perhaps leads to the most frustration), is that you can only play as the one lead character Kahuna. That means that no matter how well you equip your team, you'll only be able to use whatever gun you've equipped yourself with and you can't switch to other team members to take advantage of their different weaponry. Sure, you can pick up and swap guns with any enemy you kill which is quite nice but it's not the same as using a sniping team member to pick off the first few enemies and then swapping to a machine gunner to storm rooms. In fact it really just about negates that whole team set-up stage that is such a big part of the strategy in Rainbow Six and you'll probably just find yourself skipping the armoury and playing each map with the default weapon set like we did.

What that also means is that if you die during a level the game is over right there and you must replay the failed mission even if all your remaining teammates are still in perfect health. That's right - no mid-mission saves either! Be prepared then for going right back to the start for repeated plays on the trickier maps. Combine this with the complete lack of a training level, some steep difficulty on the odd mission, some unclear secondary objective instructions here and there and some insanely stupid enemy AI and frustration levels are certainly going to rise from time to time.