SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs
Encyclopedia
SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs is a third-person
Virtual camera system
A virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in videogames where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; more generally, they are used in 3D virtual worlds when a third person view...
tactical shooter
Tactical shooter
A tactical shooter is a subgenre of shooter game that includes both first-person shooters and third-person shooters. These games typically simulate realistic combat, thus making tactics and caution more important than quick reflexes in other action games...
video game for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs
SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs is a tactical third-person shooter video game developed by Zipper Interactive and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is an exclusive title for the PlayStation 2. SOCOM was released on August 27, 2002, and it is one of the earliest online titles available for the...
. The game was developed by Zipper Interactive
Zipper Interactive
Zipper Interactive is an American video game developer part of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios and is located in Redmond, Washington. It was founded in 1995 by Jim Bosler and Brian Soderberg. It has created many different games, including the popular SOCOM series of games...
in collaboration with the Naval Special Warfare Command and published by Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
. SOCOM II was released on November 4, 2003.
Gameplay
SOCOM II is a third-personVirtual camera system
A virtual camera system aims at controlling a camera or a set of cameras to display a view of a 3D virtual world. Camera systems are used in videogames where their purpose is to show the action at the best possible angle; more generally, they are used in 3D virtual worlds when a third person view...
tactical shooter. There are 12 different single-player missions: split equally between Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. There are five 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 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.
Each mission has primary, secondary, 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, orders can be given 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.
Online multiplayer
The online multiplayer portion of SOCOM II requires a broadbandBroadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
connection for play. This mode sets two teams of up to eight, SEALs and Terrorists, against each other. The default round time is six minutes, and each game is decided based on the first team to win 6 of 11 possible rounds. 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. 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 permitted in server lobbies, but not 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 night 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.
Plot
The game first begins when the SEAL team members Specter, Jester, Wardog, and Vandal are alerted by an informant codenamed MALLARD of a blackmarket group called the Sesseri Syndicate, led by a man name Pius Platz, who are trafficking and selling weapons and plutonium from their bases in AlbaniaAlbania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
and sending them to cities from London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
to Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
. The SEALs is sent in to investigate, locate and destroy the Syndicate's weapon caches and if possible, capture a mid-level member for interrogation. In the second and third missions the Bravo element in the team is replaced by two, highly trained SAS operatives
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
named Sabre and Reaver. The SEALs and their SAS counterparts are charged with bringing down the Syndicate, first by shutting down an abandoned factory in Schkoder, then capturing or killing the leaders at their stronghold (an abandoned castle in the Albanian mountains). The team is able to neutralize the Syndicate's leadership and the organization falls apart.
In Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
a group calling themselves the Revolutionary Army Forces of Brazil (RAFB) have threatened to seize control of the government there. In the opening cutscene, an informant that was caught by the RAFB escapes through the Amazon
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
jungle until the female leader of the RAFB murders him with a machete. The leader name is Quixata Christo, the daughter of a prostitute and a wealthy industrialist who have a strong resentment of men. In the first mission outside the slums of Rio de Janeiro, the four-man SEAL team is sent to recover information from an informant. When the SEALs arrive at the target building, the informant is not there, but is being tortured by RAFB members on the opposite building. The team recovered him and he disclosed information about a meeting between the cell leader and Christo. They eventually capture the cell leader who reveal the whereabouts of the RAFB training camp. The SEALs traveled deep into the Amazonian rainforest and destroyed an underground cocaine factory, which was being used by the RAFB to fund their operations. With their funds cut, Christo and the RAFB made a last desperate attempt to destablize the government by seizing the Grand Panama Dam. The RAFB threatened that if their demands are not met, they will blow up the dam, which will cripple Brazil's economy. The SEAL team is sent in to retake the dam and defuse any explosive devices on site. The SEALs are successful and the RAFB is no longer a threat.
In Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, a rebel group called the Algerian Patriotic Front (APF), under General Heydar Mahmood, is instigating a coup to take control of the Algerian government. APF soldiers are overrunning the city of Bejaia, where CHA (Coalition for Humanitarian Aid) workers and peacekeepers (similar to United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
peacekeepers) were staying on a Humanitarian mission. The SEAL team is sent to recover the CHA personnel and protect them from APF troops that are in control of the city. They later have to secure an area around the U.S. Embassy, where two State Department workers were left behind in the confusion of the evacuation of the city. They recover them and while fighting off continuous attacks from APF soldiers. After a long, intense firefight, the HH-60 Pave Hawk
HH-60 Pave Hawk
The Sikorsky MH-60G/HH-60G Pave Hawk is a twin turboshaft engine helicopter in service with the United States Air Force. It is a derivative of the UH-60 Black Hawk and incorporates the US Air Force PAVE electronic systems program...
arrives and evacuates the group.
In Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, a group calling itself Force Majeure, also known as the Global Liberation Front, is planning on making and using nuclear weapons to attack the United States. Intel from operatives in Eastern Europe suggests that Force Majeure's movements in the abandoned Kellski naval shipyard in Kamchatka, is a potential terrorist threat. The SEALs are sent in to investigate, supported by two Spetsnaz operatives, Polaris and Bludshot. The team discover evidences that Force Majeure is creating a nuclear bomb. With their findings, the team gets extracted by the . With Force Majeure nowhere to be found, things look grim, but fortunately the Russian Federal Security Service was able to detect the presence of the terrorist group. Force Majeure had staged a radiation spill at the Northern Star uranium processing plant that forced hundreds of Northern Star employees to evacuate the plant. Disguised as members of the decontamination crew, Force Majeure operatives infiltrated the plant with additional terrorists arriving later. Their plan was to steal vast amount of enriched uranium to be use in their "dirty bomb". The SEALs and their comrades are sent into the plant to escort a radioactive specialist, codename Flatfoot, to see how much uranium had been stolen. The findings were not good, as almost all of the uranium storages had been empty. In the final mission of the game the SEALs infiltrates a ship, the Bitter Moon, with a large payload of radioactive material, bound for Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
. The terrorists are planning detonate the ship in or near the Port of Seattle
Port of Seattle
The Port of Seattle is a port district that runs Seattle's seaport and airport. Its creation was approved by the voters of King County, Washington, on September 5, 1911, authorized by the Port District Act. It is run by a five-member commission. The commissioners' terms run four years...
. Aboard the ship, the SEALs discovered that MALLARD, the informant from the first mission, is actually an operative working for Force Majeure. He had used SOCOM to eliminate the Sesseri Syndicate, thus tying up a loose end, as Force Majeure had bought plutonium from the Syndicate before. The SEALs moves in and defuses all bombs place on the ship. The female leader of Force Majeure, Valeska Lukanov, and Mallard, whose real name is Arjan Manjani, is either killed or captured. The team releases a smoke grenade as a signal to the USS Michigan to stand down, and the mission is complete.