Hands On: SOCOM 4 With Move

Now this is what I’m talking about!  SOCOM 4 with Move has pretty much rocketed to the top of my wish list, and makes a compelling argument against those who claim motion control can’t be implemented into anything but mini games and family orientated titles.

Having never properly sampled a SOCOM game before, I was unsure of what to expect – let’s just say things I’ve heard about the previous games haven’t been particularly flattering.  What I encountered though was a graphically pleasing game with a steady frame rate and lots happening on screen. “So why the big fuss?” I hear you cry – well it’s all down to Sony’s magical glowing orb on a stick – the PlayStation Move.

Simplicity and accuracy are the two big features here.  I was expecting to be pounced on by a Sony bod explaining all the various controls, but instead I was left to my own devices and I can see why – all you have to do is point and shoot.  The Navigation Controller is used to control your character and dish out various orders, whilst the Move takes care of aiming, firing, and ducking in and out of cover.  I was amazed at how easy this game is to pick up and play, and soon a small crowd gathered to watch as I made my way through the level looking like I had been playing the game all my life – BOOM headshot!

The objective of the demo was to make it to the end and call in an air strike on a specific enemy unit.  The Move suits SOCOM 4’s pace well – if it were a run and gun FPS I’m sure it would have been harder to control, but the slower paced moving from cover to cover whilst lining up headshots works really well and delivers immense satisfaction when you pop your head out of cover, squeeze off a few well placed rounds then pop back in again.

Your squad is controlled via the D-Pad on the Navigation Controller, so they are never more than a thumb flick away, and the air strike was accessed by simply holding down L2 and aiming at your target.  I was worried that perhaps I was getting too excited about SOCOM 4 with Move, but it appears I’m not the only one as it was getting rave reviews from everyone I spoke to about it.

There are a couple of negatives however.  The first is I’m not sure how long you can realistically play SOCOM 4 with Move in one sitting; even ‘playing from the elbow’ started to ache after a while.  The second negative is the fact that those without Move will really be missing out – in my opinion anyway.  With Move the game is precise, and fantastic fun and I really can’t see myself wanting to play it with the DualShock 3.