SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs

SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs marked a breakthrough for the PlayStation 2 in console online multiplayer — the game let players communicate by voice through a bundled headset and fight in team firefights over the internet, which was an almost unheard-of novelty on consoles in 2002. The single-player campaign was built around tactical command of a SEALs squad, where the player issues orders to teammates through a quick command menu and advances carefully through environments full of enemies and snipers. Missions took the player through dense vegetation, abandoned villages, and military compounds, where a mistake in your approach usually meant an instant mission failure.

The gameplay emphasized realism and tactics over action pacing — a quick death from a single well-aimed shot forced the player to think about cover, movement, and cooperation with AI teammates, which set the game noticeably apart from the more arcade-like shooters of the time. Controlling the squad via a contextual menu was unusual at first, but once mastered offered satisfying tactical depth. The graphics were in line with the PS2's early years and weren't the main draw — the emphasis was placed above all on tension and cooperation in the online environment.

The need to additionally buy a network adapter and headset meant that the game was best appreciated by players willing to invest in the console's nascent online infrastructure. SOCOM became one of the best-selling and most influential online titles of its generation, laying the foundation for the entire series and for the concept of console online play with voice chat, which was later adopted by other platforms and genres as well. Today the game mainly serves as a historical reminder of what the beginnings of organized console multiplayer looked like, and as one of the pillars of the reputation Zipper Interactive built among tactical players around the world. Even years later, it remains an example of how a single title could define an entire genre of tactical online shooters on consoles.

Why play it: For a historical look into the beginnings of console online gaming with voice chat — you'll appreciate it mainly as a reminder of a time when that required a network adapter and a headset.