Sony’s game stations at Games Convention rarely fail to impress. Last year, SCEE had installed a dozen non-working gold plated toilets, each with a PSP in front for maximising that feeling of being at home. This year, no toilets. But the SOCOM Confrontation play area certainly feels more authentic, as it requires PlayStation 3 fans to play the game in a prone position, getting close to the action and the sweet smell of cedar chips. Not the first time SOCOM forced Games Convention attendees to take one lying down. We shudder to think of the European plumber cracks that will emerge when the show enters its public attendance period. But hey, that’s a post!
The SOCOM Confrontation public beta is set to run for the entire month of September, the developers announced today, and there are two ways you can get into it.
Gamers can land entry to the public beta by preodering a copy of the game at GameStop, which will also give them two keys to the beta to share. They can also get in by downloading the June issue of Playstation Network video show QORE. GameStop beta keys go live on September 1, while the Qore when start on September 8.
Unfortunately, this is only for North American gamers. Other regions will have to wait to see what their local Sony tells them.
Public Beta Info No Really! [SOCOM]
I had a chance to sit down and get a nice long demo of upcoming SOCOM: Confrontation for the PS3. As someone who wasn’t big into the previous titles in the series before, I wasn’t sure how in the hell I’d like this one. As it turns out, it’s very easy to pick up and get into. And of all the major PS3 releases this fall – and there’s a lot of them – SOCOM is the game you might want to keep an eye on.
It seems like every online shooter coming out nowadays is held to a much higher standard than before when it comes to features and modes. Everyone is trying to outdo each other by having larger multiplayer maps, better cover systems, or smarter AI bots. So it was refreshing to see that SOCOM: Confrontation went the simple route and included none of these.
SOCOM is strictly multiplayer-only (read: no bots) and consists of seven maps. Five are for 32 players and the other two are for only 16. The level I was shown was for 32 players and we played against the QA testers back in Foster City. The game was a little laggy, but nothing that broke the gamplay.
SOCOM: Confrontation will be hitting North American stores and the Playstation Network on Oct. 14 for $US 40 to $US 60, depending on the bundle you choose.
The SOCOM folks broke down the bundle options on their site a bit earlier today and it looks an awful lot like the options Warhawk gamers were given. While they haven’t yet nailed it down, the team hopes to have the game hit the rest of the world at the same time.
And now for your choices:
$US 59.99 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation (Bundle Version) Includes SOCOM Confrontation, a newly designed Bluetooth® Headset for the PLAYSTATION®3 system and exclusive Behind the Scenes videos.
$US 39.99 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation (Stand Alone Version) For all of the people who want SOCOM: Confrontation on a disc. Does not include the headset or the Behind the Scenes videos.
$US 39.99 SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation on the PlayStation Network SOCOM Confrontation downloadable from the PSN without ever leaving you couch. Does not include the headset or the Behind the Scenes videos.
I sure hope that headset is SOCOM-themed. If you’re going to buy the game, which option do you think you will be picking up.
We were resigned to the fact once retailers started pushing their release dates back to mid-October, but the dev team have gone and made it official, announcing that SOCOM Confrontation has been delayed until October 14. The usual short-term delay reasons are apparent – a desire to add a little more spit, a little more polish, so while you’ll be waiting a little longer to get the game, you’ll also hopefully be playing one that’s a little better.
SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation Deployed To October? The release of Slant Six Games’ PlayStation 3 shooter SOCOM Confrontation may have been bumped back a bit — at least at retail — as retailer GameStop pegs its North American release for mid-October. The PS3 game was planned for a September release of this year, but we’re checking with Sony to see if this delay only affects retail. Thanks to David from TheRealSOCOM.com for the heads up.
Here’s a couple of flythrough videos of two of the maps for the upcoming PlayStation 3 entry in the popular tactical shooter series, SOCOM: Confrontation. Looking at these you might marvel at the details and the textures, working out specific strategies you will use on each map when the game comes out. I, on the other hand, only see an endless sea of corpses littering every surface, each one bearing my name. I might die a great deal in SOCOM matches, but I die tactically, dammit.
If you think Quarantine looks nice, hit the jump for Crossroads – definitely my favourite of the two.
It doesn’t look like there will be a whole lotta new coming to SOCOM Confrontation when the online-only shooter hits the PlayStation 3 in September. Sure, you’re going to get new maps, and lots more detailed graphics, but if you were hoping for some paradigm shift, some major change in the way you play the popular PlayStation shooter, you’re going to be disappointed.
But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. A developer doesn’t always have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to hardcore shooters, and SOCOM is about as hardcore as they come.
The team did talk up a few of the changes coming to this latest iteration while they were showing SOCOM Confrontation off during last Friday’s SCEA Pre-E3 Judges Day held by Sony in Hollywood.
David “Pointman” Brothers dropped a bunch of new screens for upcoming Playstation 3 shooter SOCOM Confrontations this week over on the SOCOM site, he also added a bit of commentary to a few.
Check out the jump for details on some of the screens taking from the Crossroads and Urban Wasteland maps. I can’t wait till this game hits, looks like it’s going to be a total blast.