2nd Op By

Darrell Mashia 6.5 RATING

Ever wonder how Gomer Pyle got into the Marine Corps? This lovable character first captured our attention and our hearts during the third season of the classic Andy Griffith Show, and somewhere along the line decided that serving Mayberry's automotive needs just wasn't enough. So good ole' Gomer decided to enlist. He spent five seasons annoying his commanding officer Sergeant Vince Cater as he bumbled his way around Camp Henderson. Could you imagine having to lead Gomer Pyle to battle? What about 3 Gomer Pyles? Now imagine that the enemy team is also made up of Gomers. The results would be maddening. Thanks to the at times horrendous artificial intelligence (AI), the single player campaign of SOCOM: US Navy SEALs for the Playstation 2 (PS2) lets you live out this nightmare.

The sub genre of tactical shooters has always been one riddled with frustration and repetition. From the Tom Clancy titles to Digital Anvil's Brute Force, the key to victory is redundancy and patience. In SOCOM, look forward to playing many of the 12 missions several times. Not particularly because of the time it takes to learn the layout of the map, but because in many instances, the AI of teammates and enemies alike dumbfound the player with their lack of intelligence to the point that mistakes are made.

Though Gene mentions the AI in the main review, I believe that it is fair to say that it is more than "spotty" and detracts more from the game than the initial rating denotes. Throughout my time playing the single player campaign, I was constantly amazed by how inept the AI truly is. Entered a room filled with enemies? Not a problem, just stand still and you are invisible to your adversaries. If one is ever in need of a human shield there are three teammates right beside the player that are more than willing to turn their back to an open door or lie down in the prone position less than two feet away from a group of enemies. The AI is in fact so bad at times, I wondered if Zipper Interactive had done it on purpose, so that the player would kill their team and tackle the missions alone.

But luckily there is refuge from the annoying AI. SOCOM is the first official online game for the PS2, so thankfully a good portion of the game's appeal lies within the online play. Apparently I've had a much better online SOCOM experience than Gene. The game takes on a new life when the AI is replaced by gamers that have at least minimal experience with the title. On the surface, SOCOM plays much like the average online first-person shooter. But it is the little things that make this game both a fun and different online experience. The USB headset that is included gives the players limited vocal interaction, so teammates can strategize and communicate with each other, but removes a lot of the senseless chatter that ruins many online games. The inability to re-spawn after a player is killed gives the game an added sense of realism and reduces the number of teammates that decide to go after the opposing team alone.

The most disappointing thing about this title is the fact that even after the hours upon hours of fun I had playing the game online, the only thing that I could remember was how horrible the AI was in the single player. The game left a really bad taste in my mouth—worse than the time Gomer drank motor oil thinking it was lemonade. What should have been a sweet, refreshing jaunt into the world of combat was in actuality a foul, dark excursion into controller-tossing frustration.

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