I've read almost all the reviews available at the moment for Socom 4 and they are quite confusing, some are opposites, some are biased, and some are childish and some are aggressive. Anyways, I got it from Nino yesterday

(off-topic: it came with a Resistance 3 beta access code, and a Promo code for free dlc, and a 4gb MAG trial which you can install and play the game online for an unlimited time but without going further than lvl 8 or 10 but hey it's Free so no complaints. though the Resistance 3 beta isn't due now, and the dlc aren't available yet).

If you want to skim to the multiplayer part of the review don't bother cause it's not ON yet and I was not able to access it, probably cause the game is due for release on the 19th. Anyways i'll keep watch until it works and I'll be fast to add it to the review.

This is also one of the games that followed trend with an update (42mb) and it's not even release day yet. I am gonna continue the review quickly with a list.

1- You can quickly notice that the music and the sounds in this game are nice.

2- There is 32-33 weapons in this game each with it's own 5 upgrades, that's some great variety I haven't seen in any shooting game lately, and the weapons look good. Also in between missions you have the option to choose your weapons and gear and customize them, you always carry two weapons, so you can carry two assault rifles if you want.

3- Graphics are good, definitely not bad like in Socom confrontation and better than MAG. not the best around but still good I didn't find something particularly bad with the graphics like an annoying blur or slow rendering.

4- 3D is NICE, the 3D thingy keeps improving game after game. I was able to mess around with the options and play with almost no ghosting effects which is more than I can say for Crysis2 (even on pc).

5- The PS Move & Sharpshooter support is a ++, it works very well, and like always very accurate.

5- There character models and animations like cover and prone movement look good, you can also jump over the cover; and although this is a 3rd person shooter, on weapons that has scopes or red-dot sights you can zoom after aiming which puts you in a 1st person view.

6- I found the game to be hard, so the tactical part of this game is a good thing to have. You have two squads at your disposal to order around. You can also chain commands for your squad to make them move from cover to cover and then attack someone, and I found both the squads and the AI smart; and unlike other games where other friendly characters just shoot around for effects without actually hitting someone and leaving you to do all the work, in this game the squads around you do actually attack an kill, and so does the AI who really tries to kill you and not just hide behind cover waiting for you to kill them.

x- One other thing I wanted to mention is that some reviews were trashing this game for not being like it's predecessors. I never played old Socom games before, so I am not biased with or against this one, but I don't know why all the complaints, Socom 4 is still a 3rd person tactical shooter it's not like bf or cod. You can also switch the online mode to 'classic' so you can play with the same old socom rules if you want.

There are still more stuff to talk about like the 4 player co-op or costume missions and the not-yet active multiplayer part, but I thought I just write this quick review for anyone who cannot make up his/her mind on this game (we don't have a 'her' yet), anyways as soon as I can I will add the multiplayer part.

xx- I found out that if you go to the video section at the xmb (outside the game) you can see the disk icon of the game, when I opened it there was 3 hd trailers for MAG, Navy Seals, and Uncharted 3. Though nothing major and special, I liked this move although it's just some sort of ad but why not; every developer or publisher should take advantage of the spacious blueray and just fill the remaining space with demos, trailers, soundtracks, wallpapers, anything, just like they did with this one, a couple trailers and a MAG demo.

UPDATE:

The Online was finally ON starting the 19th, and I haven't given the multiplayer part a rest. There are many modes in multiplayer, and I do mean 'many'. But 1 thing really sets this game's multiplayer from the rest. It's the amount of customization, I don't mean weapon customization, I mean the ability to customize modes, options, servers, clans, friends. There is a strong clan and friend system, and you can even set clan vs clan matches. These extended multiplayer options haven't been around for two years, not even on pc which used to be a big advantage for pc gaming.

If you want a lagless Mature, competitive, and professional multiplayer experience, Socom 4 has it all, I don't believe any other game available right now has these multiplayer specs, not on a console nor on pc; trust me I've played most available games around.

Note: if you are getting Socom4 or know someone who has, join the Leb Gamers clan or send me a message to add you to the clan.

- I was able to finish the story mode, it took me 12hours on hard difficulty.
- If anyone has the PS Move, there is no other way to enjoy this game especially in the multiplayer.