The lights are on
If Sony's Move motion controller is going to win over the hardcore gamer, the company will need big titles like SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALS to prove the new input device is more than a Wii knockoff. Surprisingly, the game Sony announced just last week appeared as a playable demo at the Move press event.
The SOCOM 4 control scheme will be familiar to anyone who has played a shooter on the Wii. The subcontroller (read: nunchuck) has an analog stick that controls all movement, while the wand itself handles the pointing and shooting. Your soldier can move into cover with the click of the subcontroller's trigger, and all your squad controls rest on the D-pad located just below the analog stick. To aim down the ironsights, simply press the Move button on top of the wand. While in cover, you can also use the analog stick to pop out and line up shots.
Since this was mainly a tech demo, developer Zipper Interactive removed all of the story elements so we could just focus on shooting the baddies in front of us. The reticle moved slowly but also demonstrated relative precision; in no case did I find my crosshairs jumping to the borders of the screen and sending the camera into a frenzy like on many Wii shooters. Zipper assured us that when the final game ships you'll be able to adjust several sensitivity settings to your liking, or you can stick with the DualShock 3 if you prefer.
When we asked about multiplayer, Zipper confirmed that players will be able to jump into competitive matches with either the DualShock controller or the Move. The short demo didn't give us enough time to come to a conclusion as to whether the Move controls will be up to the task, but we can't wait to see which camp comes out on top when the two input schemes go head to head.Be sure to check out the GDC 2010 hub page for quick access to more news and hands-on impressions from the event.
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I am skeptical that an motion controller will become more popular than a standard controller for any game. Even if the Move works great for this game, I'd bet the core gamers will stick with the Dualshock.
Hopefully this will be an actually GOOD SOCOM game. I've been unimpressed by the past entrances.
I agree with Trey, I think that gamers will stick with the dualshock as long as they have the chance. As for SOCOM 4 increasing my hopes for the Move, I've never liked the SOCOM series so Sony's going to have to do better than that.
I like the idea of an improved approach to shooters from what light guns can currently do. I think I'd play more FPSs on consoles if I had a decent option for my weapon. Shooting games at the arcades, heck even Duck Hunt, have always been among my favorites.
I still don't see that alone justifying the Move just yet, but I'll let Sony try to impress me before its launch.
I'm actually excited about this. Let's hope they get this right. As long as Zipper is doing SOCOM, it's a win for me.
"The subcontroller (read: nunchuk)"? And a wand that looks like a Wii controller? Nintendo should file a lawsuit against Sony...and WIN!!! What a complete ripoff? Does this not infringe on Nintendo's, I'm assuming, patented product? Nintendo should receive a larger portion of the profits than Sony for every "Move" game that Sony tries to sell. BTW, this is coming from someone who hates what Nintendo has become.
Amen Trey. No hardcore gamer is going to pick up a wii remote and play Red Steel. It's a good concept...but come on. The Dualshock is where its at. I don't want to aim those two controllers at the screen...when someone else kills me using the Dualshock laughing at how terrible I am.
just dont take my dualshock away and ill be happy.
you all are haters socom has always been good there rating on confrontation was before the patch that fixed it def deserved better rating than they gave. although its was a downstep from prior socoms no doubt but with zipper back at wheel we should get some quality out of this one. Also we know zipper can build game with almost no lag mag.
It could work but it better be *** good for me to wanna switch from my dualshock controller. Perhaps it could even give you some exercise?
never been interested in SOCOM. always seemed way too unpolished for my taste
I wish that people would stop saying that Sony or Natal is copying the wii and should be sued. Are we walking the world with blinders on, or are we just that narrow minded to see that everything around us was somebody else idea. Look at Car companies, washer and dryers vacuums. Every single one of these stared out as some ones idea; they made marketed it and made a profit. Then someone else sat back in the cut looking at what this person did, and thought to themselves."how can I take that idea and make it better?" Thats how you get ahead in this world wait to see what the next person is doing see it works then make it better. Yes the PS Move looks like the Wii remote but it's not the Wii remote. and if you are still blind look what Bill Gates did and how he took an idea and made himself rich as hell
I'll leave shooting to my controller, not a peripheral or a motion controller for that matter. I really liked that demo where the MOVE was used as a sword to fight enemies. I'd use it for things like that. But never in a shooting game especially in multiplayer.
ill try both and see what i like best
no thanks the dualshock 3 is more appropriate for this game. I want to see an RPG I can use this with
if they can pull that off, I'll be very impressed
This game looks really cool. Sucks that its not coming out for the 360.
Well I'm glad the SOCOM series is back I hope this time they don't mess things up, and for the Move controllers it would nice to try them see the difference between the Wii's and this.
Should I get SOCOM 4 (and it's gonna require the game to be at least on par w/ Sony's current flagship shooters), I'm gonna stick to the DualShock 3.