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SOCOM 4 has a story ... trailer
SOCOM fans have been eagerly awaiting this: a story-driven PS3 game developed by franchise creators Zipper Interactive. In addition to adding PlayStation Move support, SOCOM 4 is promising a much more engaging and comprehensive story mode, evidenced by this new story trailer. Strangely, Shanghai comes under attack (yet again!), evoking -- for better or for worse -- an Army of Two vibe.
'Battlestar' composer Bear McCreary scoring SOCOM 4
The grizzly-named composer Bear McCreary, most famous for putting together the score on the recent Battlestar Galactica TV series, has announced on his blog that he'll be composing the music for Zipper Interactive's upcoming SOCOM 4. McCreary previously did the scoring work on Capcom's Dark Void (and 8-bit spin-off Dark Void Zero), and for SOCOM 4, he says he's written, "muscially, a franchise re-boot," with over eight hours of original music featuring "ethnic percussion, virtuosic Asian stringed and woodwind instruments, and the spectacular, other-worldly tones of the gamelan." Insert joke here about how that Indonesian ensemble's name actually looks like "game LAN." He also says that the soundtrack will fulfill his dream "of a video game score that would feel as if it were being composed specifically for each player, adapting and shifting perfectly to capture the mood of the individual gamer." Which sounds fun, but if we start hearing an orchestral version of "All Along the Watchtower" as our individual score, what exactly does that mean?
New SOCOM 4 screens released, Operations Commander detailed
Operation Commander Cullen Gray has been through a lot. In his 36 years, he's seen military action the world over, been field-trained with various Special Operations units, worked with NATO and now he's about to star in a popular war-based video game franchise. SOCOM 4 has the fictional Cullen Gray acting as an addled operation commander who "will pursue success at all costs." The EU PlayStation blog has a rundown of Gray's entire dossier and a handful of new images (seen in the gallery below). And if you're wondering who it is that he resembles while you're browsing the images, it's obviously Lost's Matthew Fox. WE HAVE TO GO BACK, CULLEN! %Gallery-92173%
Interview: SOCOM 4's Travis Steiner
SOCOM fans are by far some of the most vocal and opinionated people in gaming today. Having endured the rocky launch of SOCOM Confrontation, the revelation that SOCOM 4 would include support for the PlayStation Move motion controller was met with a large amount of skepticism. We spoke with Zipper Interactive about their plans to address fan concerns, and the challenges of balancing a game with two very different control inputs. Some fans didn't take well to the announcement that SOCOM 4 would use the Move controller. How do you address concerns that motion controls will "ruin" the experience? First and foremost, SOCOM 4 was designed with the DualShock in mind. When we started this game over three years ago, Move didn't even exist yet. I cannot emphasize this point enough: the game supports both controllers. And again, we designed SOCOM 4 with the DualShock in mind. What ended up happening is that when we found out about the Move, we decided to try it out and see if it fits with the SOCOM experience very well. And so far, the reaction of the people that have tried it is that it's actually integrated quite well. The key there is that it's an optional control mechanic, and in no way is any other part of the SOCOM game being hindered or negatively affected by Move's integration.
Hands-on: SOCOM 4 (with PlayStation Move!)
There are two questions I'll try to answer with this quick hands-on preview. Firstly, is SOCOM 4 the true sequel to the SOCOM franchise we've been waiting for? Secondly, does the PlayStation Move controller work as intended? It's hard to answer the first question, especially within the constraints of a ten-minute demo. What I can say is that even in this early state, SOCOM 4 looks very good, sporting incredibly detailed environments. While the early code has a noticeably choppy framerate, there was already a large number of objects in the environment. Whether it's a car, a trash can, a thrown-out mattress, there are tons of objects to take cover behind in the world. Controlling your squad should be familiar to anyone that's played a recent SOCOM game. Holding L1 on the Move allows you to slightly slow down time and direct your team to move to position and await orders. You can even call in an airstrike by holding down the Move button and holding Down on a target. After sneaking down an alley, we were able to catch a large squad of soldiers lounging in an open field. They had no idea what hit them as the bombs dropped. %Gallery-87398%
The PlayStation Move games (we know of)
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playstation/The_PlayStation_Move_games_we_know_of_Joystiq'; According to the block of info posted on European PlayStation Blog, there are a lot more PlayStation Move games out there to be seen than tonight's press release let on. Beyond the already revealed support for Move in SOCOM 4, LittleBigPlanet and EyePet, a whole mess of games were shown off at Sony's GDC event, from Move Party (um, a party game) to Slider (Mirror's Edge meets Pain?) to a Western shooter in The Shoot. (We've dropped a screen of Sports Champion above -- a game we think looks particularly fantastic.) Oh, and the Euro Blog's mention of "DUKES" is just another name for that Motion Fighter game, which was mentioned onstage during this evening's press event -- so cool your heels and put the Jump to Conclusion mat back away. (We do rather like the name "Dukes," we'll admit; though we've been told it's a regional thing, and us North Americans are likely stuck with "Motion Fighter" instead.) We've yet to confirm which studios are developing which games, but you can be sure we'll ask Sony just as soon as we can. Here's the complete list of PlayStation Move titles that we know of, though, for now: Sports Champion The Shoot Slider TV Superstars Move Party Motion Fighter
SOCOM 4 to support PlayStation Move
digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/SOCOM_4_to_support_PlayStation_Move_Joystiq'; During its GDC 2010 conference Sony has revealed that Zipper Interactive's upcoming shooter SOCOM 4 will support the (just officially named) PlayStation Move motion controller. Controlling the shooter requires the PlayStation Move and its optional secondary device known as the Move "Sub-controller" -- a wand like device which sports an analog stick. During Sony's Game Developer's Conference keynote SOCOM 4 was demoed using the precise motion-control scheme to varying accuracy success. PlayStation Move support was also showcased in a demo for LittleBigPlanet (originally shown at TGS 2009) where PlayStation Move players could interact with the environment around Sackboy (or Sackgirl!). Sony also featured a handful of mini-games for an upcoming compilation title titled Sports Champions, including a gladiator-style fighter and table tennis. The PlayStation Move will release later this year in a variety of bundles.
Socom 4 debut trailer deployed
Yesterday, Zipper Interactive announced its return to the SOCOM franchise with the sequel to the sequel's sequel, SOCOM 4. This first trailer reveals a bit more about the project, including -- spoiler! -- confirmation that there will be at least one Irish lady and a burning boat at some point in the campaign. Thankfully, the trailer seems to indicate that the game will still focus on shooting dudes with guns and telling other dudes to do the same. It's a tactical shooter, remember? Just tell us one thing, Sony: is it just "SOCOM" or is it SOCOM 4?
SOCOM 4 announced for PS3, Zipper developing
Click to enlarge Hot off the release of MAG, Sony has revealed that the game's developer, Zipper Interactive, will be returning to the SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs franchise for the development of SOCOM 4 on PS3, slated for release this fall. Unlike the Slant 6-developed, online-only SOCOM: Confrontation and Zipper's own MAG, this new SOCOM will include a full story-driven, single-player campaign comprised of 14 missions that the dev expects to offer around 12 hours of gameplay (according to IGN). Of course, the developer's experience on the excellent 256-player MAG will undoubtedly be carrying over (in as many ways as possible) to the announced 32-player online component of its new project. Only 32 players? (We kid.) %Gallery-87398% Source -- PlayStation.Blog Source -- IGN
PS3 rumor: SOCOM 4 at E3, God of War shaping up
Not to be outdone, Computer and Video Games have their own PS3 inside man who gave them the scoop on some upcoming PlayStation 3 games. SOCOM 4 is not only "absolutely gorgeous looking" but is "confirmed" for E3, and is probably a launch title. A sequel to the award-winning God of War may not make it to E3 but--rest assured--is "well into development." They also revealed that (Ratchet and Clank creators) Insomiac's next-gen FPS, heretofore titled I-8, is now known as... Resistance. Really? Resistance?Perhaps most interesting is the claim that both SOCOM 4 and God of War (2?) will also see current-gen releases: "...Both [God of War] and SOCOM 4 will also be appearing on PS2, underlining Sony's commitment to its favoured current-gen son for the next few years." Sure, there's almost 100 million of the things out there, but those games are sure to be system sellers. Unless the next-gen variants provide more than just prettier graphics, a $X00 dollar PS3 with the same games will be a tough sell. Please apply salt liberally.
