Searching for the Next Socom

Part II

Introduction

Goat Forward

This is part II of a look at the gaming shooters world, where we are heading and why the trends in place are what they are. In part one I mentioned how currently on Socom and in particular the use of older consoles has in essence ran it’s course and that Urgent fury would be moving on and seeking new and more viable choices. The recent addition of Call of Duty Modern Warfare as well as the most recent breaking news announcement by Urgent Fury’s creators, that UF will be including the X-box 360 console version of COD4 in the near future, further exemplifies the always moving forward approach that predominates not only the creators and staff of Urgent Fury but the entire membership .

Hat’s off to the creator team of Urgent Fury who continue to provide the community of Urgent Fury’s membership a place for honest and respectable players to gather and enjoy the games we play with like minded individuals. As time is moving along more and more of the membership have made the switch over to the newer consoles, giving the expense of this many are forced with the difficult choice of which console to buy. It is little wonder that Urgent Fury understands this dilemma and is moving towards providing it’s membership a rewarding experience regardless of the system it’s members have chosen. Although the Play station’s hold on the Socom franchise makes it a predominant choice, giving the many new titles that are being released for both consoles, the choice to incorporate both systems into the community is a welcomed decision.

Part 1

Recent Releases.

Although I have both systems, the majority of my gaming time is spent on the PS3. I have however been attempting to try to find a common ground in terms of playing both systems. Again, I choose not to debate the pro’s and con’s or compare the consoles to one another. I find many similarities between the two and there are strong points and weak points for each. Let’s face it from a gamer point of view, right now the world is our oyster! Regardless of the console of choice, we have it pretty good these days and from the look of things it’s only going to get better.

On to the nitty gritty as they say.. :

Currently: Call of Duty Advanced Warfare.

This game Rocks! It’s really been a nice fit IMO and I have had a lot of fun playing it. The only troubling aspect of the game right now is still the poorly done lobby and difficult way that is needed in order to fully incorporate the title into that of a clan based tournament structured game.

The most widely recognized complaint in terms of it’s inclusion into UF’s tournament structure is the issue of server functionally. By not allowing passed word protected rooms on the public servers and making it impossible to hold private battles between clans in any fashion other that the use of the private lobby and match functions has resulted in the problematic issues of connection errors that are directly related to the person who is the assigned rep and host for a particular match. When a match is created within a private lobby, a greater emphasis is placed on the ISP of the host in terms of the ability to adequately host the match. Unlike the public rooms, private matches are indeed hosted by the person who sets up the match. The wide differences in connection speeds, router set ups, Nat counts and Universal PnP ability between each of the clan’s respective reps or assigned rep for a certain match has led to a unbalanced situation which changes from game to game and is entirely due to the wide dispersion of connectivity between the competitors. The quick fix of alternating the hosting of any given war, which serves to even the odds is an attempt at a fair solution, however it does not address the issue of any one sided connection related circumstance which may or may not give a team an unfair advantage for every war they host. A solution as of yet as not been found for this dilemma and despite this difficulty the initial responses have been well received for the inclusion of COD 4 within UF.

As expected glitches and problems within the game have come up and the ability to find reasonable solutions for them is steadily being addressed as they arise. Keep in mind that with Crucible it is not only an evaluation of prospective clans but is also an evaluation of the game itself and it’s ability to be a venue for tournament inclusion. For simplification: many issues will not be addressed during the running of the first tournament however all is being recorded and every attempt will be made to find resolutions that work for future installments.

The future looks bright

I just got back from my local Game Stop and I’m excited at the number of interesting titles on the horizon. As I am sure many of you are as well, I tend to download a lot of demo’s always in search of the next Socom. There are a few soon to be released titles that I would like to mention and will be trying as soon as they are available.

Rainbow Six Vegas II

I admit it!! and I’ve said it before.. I simply loved this game. I’m not sure why but I’ve always been an average player. Not that bad, not at the top. I actually like being just average it takes the pressure off and it allows me to play knowing I will contribute as best I can and although I will seldom be the MVP, I also rarely sucketh mightily and simply hold my own when it comes to clan based team wars. The exception was Rainbow Six Vegas.. I’m not sure why? It’s really not that different from a lot of the other shooters.. but for some reason I pwned (use of the word pwned is without the consent of Rooster) this game.. top scores, leading contributor game winning kills a plenty for the old goat on this one.

What will the future bring? Hopefully a game that finally incorporates the methods used in titles like Socom II which found a way to incorporate a clan based functionality into their online game the likes of which have yet to be reproduced. They seemed to be able to get it right a long time ago, yet instead of improving on a already good system they tried to re-invent the wheel and wound up with four flat tires. For now it seems I’m still searching for the Next Socom.

Goat-gto

Urgent Fury