Not only is SOCOM:FB the best shooter available for the PSP, it's one of the best reasons yet to own the system.
Finally gets PSP shooter controls right; Online
play is fully intact and great fun; Offline play is
great; optional headset for online works well;
The Bad:
Not the prettiest graphics around; campaign is
fairly short; may be a little bit too easy for some
people's tastes;
When SOCOM: US Navy Seals blasted onto the PS2 in 2001, it did what no other game was able to do at the time: create an online shooter for consoles that was as good an experience as any PC game. Since then, the game has spawned 2 sequels on the PS2. Now, the shooter comes to the PSP, and Zipper Interactive, the company behind SOCOM, does something revolutionary once again: It creates the first above average shooter for the portable. But not only is SOCOM: Fireteam Bravo the best shooter available for the PSP, it's one of the best reasons yet to own the system.
Of course, the real question is, "just how well are the controls handled?" In the past, the PSP's one analog nub has led to some awkward control schemes. However, this game does away with the need for the second analog stick. The analog nub moves you forward and back and turns you left and right and you strafe by holding L. The R button locks you on to an enemy, effectively doing away with the need to have a second analog stick, and the game relies heavily on this feature. You can cycle targets by pressing L when holding down on R, and X is shoot. You can issue commands to your teammate, LONESTAR (your name is SANDMAN, by the way), by pressing the O button and selecting commands from a list. Square is reload, left on the D-pad brings up your inventory, and right puts you in free-look mode. Pressing triangle cycles between standing, crouching, and prone, and holding it cycles between your weapons and your grenades.
The game sports a campaign mode with 14 missions across 4 locales. Though it's fairly short, the AI isn't so great, and it's a little too easy (on the initial difficulty setting, at least), it's still a lot of fun. There's also an instant action mode, where you set the level, difficulty, and mission goal and play a quick level. You can play with up to 9 other people in Ad-Hoc mode and up to 15 others in Infrastructure mode. You can even buy an optional headset for the online play, and it works surprisingly well.
Another nice surprise is that all of the sound effects from the PS2 counterpart made the cut, and they all sound great, from the nice VO to the little tune you get when you complete a goal. Also, there are some beautifully-rendered cutscenes when you start a new locale in the story mode. It's just too bad that the in-game graphics aren't so great.
All in all, this is one PSP game that you shouldn't miss. The superb online play of the console games is fully intact, and the single-player modes will get you even more mileage out of the game. So whether you've been waiting for months to play this, are just looking for a good PSP shooter, or are searching the market for a great PSP game, you can't go wrong with SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals Fireteam Bravo.