Why the SOCOM Series is in Deep Trouble

I remember when I first got SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs for the Playstation 2. I also remember the first time I played it online. It was an amazing and addictive experience. The simple yet fun game play, the amount of maps to play on, and the different game modes had me playing for hours every day when I first got it. It only got better as I learned different tactics and joined my current clan. But, unfortunately, those days are over.

When SOCOM 3 came out, it was different. Some people hated it, others loved it. It took some time to get used to, but after a little while, it was still fun. Not as good as SOCOM II, but it was still a good game with good online play. Just as my clan and I were getting used to it, Zipper Interactive, the brilliant developers, came out with yet another installment in the SOCOM series: Combined Assault.

I have a review of Combined Assault here on Associated Content. If you have read that, you can tell I don't like it. What begun as an addictive, time consuming, fun experience with SOCOM II, has become boring, frustrating, and generally annoying with Combined Assault.

"O.K.," you're saying, "Get to the point." Well here it is: The SOCOM series is going down hill fast, and unless something big can happen to save it, it's not looking good. There is yet another SOCOM game coming out, only this time for the Playstation 3. And guess what? Zipper Interactive is not developing it, Slant Six Games is, which can be good and bad at the same time. Zipper, for some time now, had pretty much ignored its fan base. We have been constantly asking for ways to prevent cheaters, patches to fix the dozens of problems in the game, and to just go back to the simple yet addictive game play we were all used to. Can Slant Six Games do that? Are they going to be able to deliver and give us something great? Time will tell.

Speaking of the fan base, more and more people are "quitting" SOCOM. My clan went from well over 40 people to just about 15 who regularly play and visit our website. I haven't played Combined Assault in months, and don't plan on playing it anytime soon. What we've done is we went back to SOCOM II. That's where all the fun is. Other players are doing the same thing.

So, I really hope the new SOCOM, which is called SOCOM: Confrontation is something great. If it's not any good, more fans of the SOCOM series will stop playing, and it's only a matter of time before this series comes to a stop. From the video and the images I've seen of Confrontation, I can't say much. I haven't seen nearly enough media or read nearly enough information to get a feel of what the game will be like. There's also the issue of buying a Playstation 3, which costs $600. That is a huge reason why a lot of people won't buy Confrontation; some people simply cannot afford a new console. I hope I look back on this article a year from now and see I shouldn't have worried about a thing.