Coming from a Socom 2 Veterans point of view, this game is not worth picking up if you've played Socom 3 either.........
Graphically this game is pretty ugly actually with the exceptions of decent characters and gun's. The world is very bland and blurred looking, I didnt think they would add another version on the PS2 due to the fact that its pretty outdated. To be honest this game looks worse then Socom 2 for sum reason, usually updates in a series improves graphics but in this game it decraded. Also they removed Blood which is a huge dissapointment being that when you shoot sumone they should bleed and now its just nothing. Why make a game look worse?
Gameplay wise this game would be great with a few tweaks, still its amongst one of the best games on the PS2 but it does have its faults. Shooting seems less smooth compared to Socom 2, weapons are less accurate feeling, while running and movement is still pretty good. Socom 2's shooting is what made it standout compared to Combined Assault where it lacks a little again losing to its predecessor.
Sound in this game is below averaged, gun sounds arent correct, they have heavy machine guns that sound like 9mm's and what not, sounds from a distance arent always on point either, Socom 2 had better sounds and better sound scaling so no improvement here.
Plenty of features in this game, which is pretty standard from Zipper, not much has changed from Socom 3 besides Coperative gameplay online. Its a good add to the series, i can see it being better or improved in the future. Overall its a good game, above average I'd say but its pretty much the same thing as Socom 3. Still needs to be fine tweaked, as all socoms are glitchy, well If you've played Socom 3 save your money and dont buy this unless you really like single player or 10 new online maps which arent all that great. A few that standout like Echelon and Boot Camp but others are just big landmasses full of nothing.
Online still holds good replay value while not much has been improved. The online is the same as Socom 3 with a few added extras such as Extended Clips and Shotgun attatchment on the M4/M16, basically you should only buy this if you really play a solid amount of online play still and plan on getting used to the few good new maps. Only 3 worth playing others were really boring.