This is not to say that SOCOM: Confrontation is a failure as a game; the moments when it all comes together – when you find the ideal sniping spot and take out an unknowing enemy with a head-shot, or when your squad is working in unison, defending a junction in the road or assaulting an enemy position – can be glorious. Similarly, if you find yourself in a team of practiced and knowledgeable players facing up to equally skilled opposition, Confrontation undoubtedly offers an experience unrivalled on PSN. Unfortunately, these moments can be few and far between, requiring a lot of practice, knowledge of the maps and being fortunate enough to find a server populated by similarly skilled and committed peers.

Unfortunately the game is marred by some often hilarious bugs. We were unlucky (or lucky?) enough to witness the UN dignitary we were supposed to be protecting swim through the air towards an escape point. Although by no means game-breaking, moments like this as well as other small design problems (getting stuck behind impassable objects is prevalent and characters can flicker and jerk when in proximity to walls) undo some of the realism that Slant Six Games has striven to achieve. Similarly, seeing soldiers leaping four feet off the ground doesn’t sit comfortably within the game’s focus on realism. While the aforementioned bugs will no doubt be ironed out over time, their presence in this final build is disappointing.

Ignoring these problems, there is much to admire in SOCOM: Confrontation. As already discussed, the level design is impeccable and it is clear that the developer has an excellent understanding of the type of game they are making. The game is also somewhat of a aural marvel and owners of home theatre setups are in for a real treat, with every sonic detail from the breathing of your soldier to ear-perforating explosions proving to be incredibly convincing. Additionally, it’s refreshing to see a game that makes good use of the SIXAXIS’s motion sensing abilities. Using a tilt to lean around corners feels perfectly natural and we sincerely hope that other developers take note.

SOCOM: Confrontation is a game delivered with conviction and a clear sense of its identity, and that it will be embraced and loved by veterans of the series is without question. However, its single-minded pursuit of realism is also unfortunately its greatest downfall, making it at times more frustrating than enjoyable. As atmospheric as the game can be, spending large amounts of your game time skulking down alleyways in search of a target only to meet an abrupt end at the hands of a more skilled, and often unseen, opponent can all too quickly crush your motivation to play on. And this is a minor tragedy; with the Call of Duty series and the recent Killzone 2 having the more action-orientated side of video-game warfare covered, there is certainly a place for a more cerebral experience such as SOCOM: Confrontation. However, the sad truth is that, for many, the game’s true quality will simply be buried too deep.

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