http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3166758

“full 32-player online battles”

This is terrible, terrible news. I don’t even have a PS3, but if they could return Socom to its former glory I would pick one up in a second. The original Socom is still my top ranked online console game, and I still hope for the day when a next-gen title can match its greatness.

The developer made an amazing online game by using some unusual rules for Socom 1. It has since abandoned those rules, I believe, to try and gain more “mass market” appeal. One life, round based gameplay with no on screen life indicator, accurate, quick kill weapons, well balanced guns with no “ultimate” weapon, push button voice chat… all of these made Socom unique from all other online titles that have come after it. Having to sit out for up to 6 minutes between rounds if you get killed kept the matches from becoming run and gun affairs. No lifebar meant you had no idea how many bullets you could take- you couldn’t take many anyway, but regardless, no indicator meant you had to weigh each potential encounter with the thought that one hit could take you out. There were no “noob tubes” or giant explosive weapons that simply ruled any map in the game, instead each gun performed differently in recoil, magazine size, and range, so all you had to worry about was which one you could handle best and not whether it would stand up to the biggest or most popular gun. I actually didn’t like the need to push a button to talk to the team at the time, but after listening to all of the garbage over my headset on Live, I can’t help but think that if it wasn’t so easy to be an idiot with constant communication, maybe the airwaves would be a little more bearable.

Rambling aside, Socom was great because you were Navy Seals, working with a small team on memorable maps to outmaneuver and take out the other team (or plant the bomb!) That is a far cry from the direction they have taken the series even as early as the 2nd iteration. Obviously with this new 32 player Socom, the focus continues to go towards large scale, respawnable battles, aka “obscurity”.