My PSP and I? We get along fine… but we don’t really spend much time together anymore. In fact, I haven’t picked up a PSP game from a brick and mortar shop in over a year (and that may never change thanks to the increasing number of downloadable titles launching with the PSPgo). But there’s one game that’s looking to change that this fall, and that’s "SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3."
At Sony’s recent fall preview event I stumbled upon -- or rather into -- Ryan Eams, Associate Producer on “Bravo 3,” as he was tucked up against a wall, just slightly out of the single line of foot traffic. After brief introductions, he handed me a PSPgo with “Fireteam Bravo 3” loaded up and he talked me through the ins and outs of the franchise’s fourth entry on Sony’s handheld. To put things simply, I was sold. And it wasn’t the sales pitch that did it.
This latest entry in the “Fireteam Bravo” series returns to the action-oriented gameplay that was introduced in the original title, but it takes things one step further by increasing your squad’s count from 2 to 4 members. “We wanted to recreate the experience players were introduced to on the PS2,” Eams tells me. “This is us bringing that console experience to the PSP in the best way possible. We’ve totally redesigned the graphics engine to create visuals that are well beyond anything we’ve done on the PSP so far. And that translates to more density in the environments, more enemies on screen at one time, and the two additional members in your squad.”
Even without Eams’ claims, it was readily apparent that this was not your average PSP title. The snow-covered landscape of the demo was littered with cabins and other structures within an impressive proximity to one another. And these structures weren’t merely four solid walls. All the doors I tried to open, did, revealing interiors with more cover points, windows, and tactical opportunities for my squad to take advantage of during our hunt from A to B.
Once more, traversing the terrain and issuing complex commands to my squad proved incredibly fluid and simple. I’ve long believed that the “Syphon Filter” games on the PSP represent some of the best controls implemented on Sony’s handheld but “Fireteam Bravo 3” may just outshine those definitive examples. “Bravo 3” handles movement and aiming with the single analog stick while depressing the left shoulder button switches the left and right commands from turning to strafing. It only took a few moments before I was easily covering ground, popping off shots at incoming enemies (by holding the right trigger to auto-aim and X to shoot), and issuing waypoints to my squad mates.
Best of all, “Fireteam Bravo 3” does away with health packs and embraces a regenerative health system that just seems more appropriate for a portable offering. While die-hard “SOCOM” fans may cringe at the change, I can’t help but feel that the team at Slant Six made the right move to embrace new players this time around.
Of course, it wouldn’t be “SOCOM” without some sort of online component and Fireteam Bravo 3 brings along the whole bag of tricks. Local and online competitive multiplayer, stat-tracking via SOCOM.com, and dynamic drop in/out co-op all make for an impressive list of features to lure in players and keep them playing online for hours. While no plans are in motion to release any downloadable content for the game just yet, the precedent set by “Fireteam Bravo 2” may be enough to expect further multiplayer support for the title well after launch.
“Bravo 3” looks like an easy bid for PSP Game of the Year and I’m betting I'll put my money where my mouth is this November 24th.