SOCOM: Special Forces

SOCOM: Special Forces was among the launch titles for the PlayStation Vita console and was the first entry in the series to attempt to make full use of the handheld's entire new set of controls. The player once again commands a four-member special forces squad through a campaign full of tactical firefights, taking cover, and cautious advances through urban and outdoor locations, but on top of the usual analog stick controls, Special Forces adds the ability to aim using the gyroscope, issue orders to teammates via the rear touchpad, and quickly switch weapons through the front touchscreen without opening the classic menu.

It's precisely this attempt to adapt a traditional series to an entirely new set of controls that makes Special Forces different from previous entries on PSP and home consoles – it's not just about transferring established controls onto new hardware, but an attempt to find a meaningful new use for them on the Vita. The result was received quite mixed; for some players, the touch and motion features complicated gameplay rather than speeding it up, and the game ultimately became more of a showcase of the new handheld's capabilities than a mature, polished tactical title comparable to the series' home console entries.

Both the campaign and multiplayer otherwise follow the structure of previous Slant Six Games entries – squad missions, taking cover, marking targets, and both competitive and cooperative online modes for multiple players – but the graphics engine was built on the Vita's new generation of hardware, which visually and technically noticeably distinguishes the game from the series' older portable entries on PSP and brings it closer to the home consoles of that era a generation further along.

Why play: Special Forces is worth attention mainly as a document of how an established series coped with the touch and motion controls of a new generation of handhelds. Fans of the series will appreciate the tactical framework they know from previous entries, this time in a new, considerably more experimental technical form, flaws and all.