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SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs
Developer(s)	Zipper Interactive and the U.S. Navy
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Genre(s)	Third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs is a third person tactical shooter video game for the PlayStation 2 and a sequel to SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs. The game was developed by Zipper Interactive in collaboration with the Naval Special Warfare Command and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. SOCOM II was released on November 4, 2003.

Gameplay

SOCOM II is a third person tactical shooter for the PlayStation 2 that combines the elements of strategy, health, reflex and hand-eye coordination. There are 12 different single-player missions: split equally between Albania, Algeria, Brazil and Russia. There are 5 different ranks that can be played in the game: Ensign, Lieutenant, Commander, Captain, and Admiral. The player starts with the first three ranks unlocked, but must finish the entire single player game on Commander to unlock Captain and on Captain to unlock Admiral. Players can unlock new models for multiplayer, as well as movies, music, concept art, and credits by completing certain objectives. For example, beating the Albania missions on Commander unlocks Pius skin for multiplayer. Each mission has Primary Objectives, Secondary Objectives, and Hidden Bonus Objectives. Players have to complete all the Primary Objectives to win the mission, and Secondary Objectives are optional, but add to the overall score for the mission. The Hidden Bonus Objectives usually help make other missions easier. For example, finding a map in one mission means the player will not have to work to find that place in the next mission. A letter grade is received at the end of each mission based on 4 categories of score: Stealth, Accuracy, Teamwork, and Objective Completion.

In single player, commands can be administered to the rest of the team. This can be done using either the command menu or a USB headset. The menu features new command options, enabling the player to order their teammates to drop to the ground and hold position when outdoors. The artificial intelligence for both sides has generally improved during single player play. Terrorists, for example, will now side-strafe and lie prone in foliage. Zipper stated that they integrated some tactics from the online portion into the new AI, while squadmates who are in the "Fire at Will" state will take down the opposing force in an efficient manner. There are a few problems such as when teammates run into walls because the player has gotten too far ahead.

Online multiplayer

The online multiplayer portion of SOCOM II requires a broadband connection for play. This mode sets two teams of up to eight each, SEALs and Terrorists, against each other. The default round time is 6 minutes, and each game is decided based on the first team to win 6 of 11 possible rounds. Each round plays out in a manner similar to Counter-Strike. Each team "spawns" at opposite sides of the map, and proceeds to pursue its objective. When a character dies, the player must wait for the next round to resume play (this isn't true of "respawn" games - see below). While dead, the player may monitor the status of his teammates, and may change his weapon load. In a room created by a given SOCOM II user, factors such as the number of rounds, round type, round time, weapon restrictions, and friendly fire can all be adjusted to the creator's liking.

SOCOM II supports cervical chat and in-game loitering is prohibited. Voice chat is not permitted in server lobbies or while in the armory of game lobbies. There are in-game options to mute certain players and to switch to different channels of communication (offense, defense, etc.). Problems with locating acquaintances in the original SOCOM online lead to the development of both a Friend List and a Clan Roster. If one is a member of a clan or recognized friend of another player, he/she may view the statistics, status, and server and game location of anybody on the respective lists, as well as the other user's "Description" and "Hometown" at that user's discretion.

The game features twelve new online maps, along with ten maps from the original SOCOM. The maps carried over from SOCOM have undergone minor changes such as turrets and breaches being added, daytime maps being switched to nighttime maps and some paths being blocked, while others have been opened. Three additional maps could be played by purchasing an issue of the Official PlayStation Magazine which came with a CD. Players would then install the contents of the CD onto their PS2 hard drive.

Online Cheating

Code Majic

In 2003, Work on the first "Next Gen" Cheat Device made for Online Play had already begun. "Code Majic" was undoubtedly the first online cheat device on the scene. This is important in historic terms as it shows the evolution of online gaming. Code Majic is the only cheat device built from the ground up, with completely original source code and original hardware to support the creation of codes for the device. "Idot" was the name of the software programmer and the main inventor of the device itself. "Spit" was the name of the main cheat code creator/programmer and "The Cyndicate" was the name of the main Hardware designer. The hardware used allowed staff to tap directly into the PS2 IOP chip and read live memory information from any game, as well as inject any value in real time. This is the first real time code creation on these platforms as well. This allowed the creators to include things in the online game that are only normally available in Single Player modes (Glowsticks/H&K OICW), and in some cases, not in the game at all!(PKM). The PKM Heavy Machine Gun is an interesting story. It was originally going to be included in the game, on the single player missions by the computer "terrorists", but the weapon was deemed unfair by game-makers and pulled from the missions at the last second. However, the information about the gun and the 3d model were kept on the disc. This allowed The Code Majic team to create a code to allow players to use this hidden weapon on both the single player missions and online play. People were really very excited about this discovery. Code Majic allowed for ANY value in the game to be edited and the Code Majic team was the sole source for all new codes made for the game. The only other codes were ported from the first Socom. The device went on to make ground breaking cheat menus for "Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas" as well as many other great PS2 games and ALL of the other Socom Games. It is the only device that still currently works on ALL versions of the game. Code Majic was publicly released by team member "The Cyndicate" and shortly thereafter followed by a complete public release by team member and software creator "Idot".

Weapons

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SOCOM II features an array of modern day armaments (most of which carry their real world names). Both teams - Seals and Terrorists - carry distinct weapon sets with only a few similarities. When selecting the weapons, the player chooses a primary weapon, such as an assault rifle or sub-machine gun, a secondary weapon (pistol), and is given three slots to fill with various tactical devices (such as a thermal scope for sniper rifles and grenades). Upon completing the single-player campaign on a selected difficulty level (Ensign, Lieutenant, Commander, Captain, Admiral) the player will unlock certain weapons for use in the single-player portion of the game, along with playable characters for the online missions.

For legal reasons, several of the weapons representing real life counterparts have had letters of their real life name replaced with initials of the real life manufacturer. Such as the F90 representing the FN P90, and the HK5 representing the H&K MP5. Other weapons have been renamed in other ways, such as the Model 18 representing a Glock model 18 and the 9 mm Sub representing an UZI submachine gun. The OICW is a primary weapon not legitimately available for online play, but it is available for use in single player once the game has been beaten on the "Admiral" Difficulty level.

References

1. Lewis, Ed (2003-11-04). "SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs II Review". IGN. Retrieved 2008-07-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. Gerstmann, Jeff (2003-11-04). "SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs for PlayStation 2 Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
3. The Cyndicate/Code-Majic Info Might Have to Sign Up to view.

External links

• www.SOCOM.com
• "Bringing the War Home: The New Military-Industrial-Entertainment Complex at War and Play" by the journalist Nick Turse (October 18, 2003)
• SOCOM II U.S. Navy SEALs at MobyGames

• Articles needing cleanup from May 2008
• Cleanup tagged articles without a reason field from May 2008
• Misplaced Pages pages needing cleanup from May 2008
• 2003 video games
• Third-person shooters
• Multiplayer online games
• PlayStation 2 games
• PlayStation 2-only games
• Microphone-controlled computer games
• Advergames
• SOCOM
• Tactical shooter video games