Harsh? Maybe, but hear me out.

SOCOM: Combined Assault marks the 4th installment in the popular online shooter for the PS2. It also marks the last installment on the current system, which might cause people to think they’re going to go out with a bang, but after playing thru the lengthy single player campaign and the online modes, I’d have to disagree.

The single player campaign is definitely more fleshed out this time, not that they story is particularly good or involving. Not much change there, and I really didn’t expect it, however that’s no reason to be lazy. I’d love to see someone spice the series up a bit with something resembling an actual plot, but maybe I’m asking too much here. Instead, you get a series of missions that are somewhat tied together, and all take place in the same country, but yet manage to feel constantly disjointed and almost random. Adding to that is the fact you can generally pick the order in which you’d like to take the missions, usually in groups of three. It doesn’t provide a huge impact on gameplay, or any shortcuts, because to finish the game you still have to complete them all. I suppose it gives the feeling of an option without really being there.

Throughout the game a squad of three accompanies you, and these three consist of some of the worst AI on the planet. A few people have been pretty forgiving, but I refuse to believe as you enter the 4th game in the series near the end of the PS2’s lifecycle that you can’t AT LEAST get the path finding of your AI characters to realize that no matter how long they run in place against a wall they’re never going to be able to go up a slope unless they choose an angle of approach that is actually viable. Also, what’s with the enemies that stand idly by their teammate who’s just been downed from a headshot, without any kind of reaction or “Oh Hell, I better hide” movement? It takes the satisfaction completely out of the game when you’re shooting at the equivalent of propped up test drive dummies.

I could complain that AI isn’t balanced, because at times the enemy will have an uncanny ability to sense your presence regardless of how sneaky you think you’re being, but I honestly welcome the challenge that something so cheap can bring. The same goes for the AI on your squad. If I were being shot at I would love for them to fire back at the guys trying to kill me. Instead, 9 times out of 10, I had to command them to return fire (unless they were in the line of fire, then they had no trouble at all).

On top of that, the online mode of SOCOM: Combined Assault is nearly the EXACT SAME THING from SOCOM 3. You’re getting some of the maps from CA, but you’re also getting all the maps (and players) from SOCOM 3. Actually, the combined player base of the previous title is definitely a bonus, and you’re never going to have trouble finding a game to get into. They did finally get around to adding a CO-OP mode this time, which is pretty fun, but almost completely unnecessary when it comes to a challenge standpoint. There’s no need for tactics when you really didn’t need to use them much by yourself. Add three other semi-intelligent people into the mix and the game becomes a real breeze.

Graphically the game looks pretty much exactly like it did last time. On a whole everything looks pretty good, but there’s definitely clipping issues all over the place. SOCOM handles pretty well even in the busiest of firefights though, so you won’t encounter much in the way of slowdown. The environments are all pretty varied in design, and the map layout is pretty well structured.

Sound is what you’d expect. The gun battles are all lifelike and strong, and the orchestrated bits are completely over the top but in line with what has come before. Voiceover work is pretty standard video game fare; nobody is winning any award here.

Still though, SOCOM remains the standard shooter of choice on the PS2. In part it definitely stems from having a severe lack of competitors, and in the end I think it really hurts the franchise. I mean, why try to improve when you really don’t need to? I feel that’s definitely been the choice made here. If you already own SOCOM 3, and you’re really only playing it for the multiplayer stuff, then you can avoid this one and save yourself a few bucks.