SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo 3 Hands-On

Sony's line of SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs tactical third-person shooters is one of those rare franchises that's managed to transition from consoles to handheld systems without skipping a beat. Although the series made a name for itself among realistic-warfare fans with a series of well-received games on the PlayStation 2, the franchise's PSP outings have been held in equally high regard. Now a new PSP game is on the horizon, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3, which we recently played at last week's PlayStation Gamers' Day press event.

What's most immediately apparent about Fireteam Bravo 3 is that the game is very easy on the eyes. From character models to environments, these are some of the most impressive graphics the PSP has to offer in terms of games aiming for a realistic look. The level that we got to play was set in an Eastern European forest filled with birch trees, and it was given a slightly eerie feel thanks to swaying trees and light snowfall. Likewise, the characters that make up your squad of four have a nice look to them, with some fairly impressive facial detailing and motion-captured animations.

It's a good thing those characters look so good, because narrative is a big focus for the development team at Slant Six. Of the game's roughly five-hour single-player campaign, there will be 30 minutes of cinematic vignettes that use the relationships between squadmates to move the story forward. This comes as a departure from previous Fireteam Bravo games that used intel handed out from a distant HQ to advance the game's story. Although the build that we played was a mix of finished scenes and placeholder screens, what we saw of these vignettes was encouraging.

In terms of combat, a few notable changes have been made for this third installment in the Fireteam Bravo series. The most striking difference is the inclusion of a regenerating health system. Rather than taking a limited amount of damage during the entire course of a mission, you'll be able to restore your health by ducking out of harm's way for a few moments. Although this might seem like hand-holding aimed at new players, the way your vision suddenly turns blurry and distorted as you're shot actually becomes quite a challenge in itself--one that many games with regenerating health don't have.

More than 70 weapons and attachments will be available to spread across four loadout slots per player. Not only do you have the option to customize your own loadout, but you can also customize each of your three squadmates. We found the game's control scheme to be quite responsive when we were using those weapons, which seemed to offer a nice blend of precision targeting and simplified, contextual actions such as the way you automatically pop up from cover when you've locked onto an enemy. It was occasionally problematic reacting to enemies who would sneak up on us from behind, but on the whole, we liked the control scheme.

Right now, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo 3 is looking like a worthy successor to the series' prior PSP installments. It's currently scheduled for a winter 2009 release window, and you can expect to see details relating to the game's multiplayer features when E3 rolls around.