If you’re a fan of the SOCOM series on the PlayStation, you will be a bit surprised if you pick up Tactical Strike hoping to frag your friends. The game takes the series in a new direction, which puts you in control of a team of four Navy SEALs in a tactical manner. Instead of running and gunning, you issue commands for your team and come up with the best strategy to complete your mission. SOCOM is a tried and true brand, but just how well does the turn in the series work? Here is a breakdown of some of the facets of SOCOM US Navy SEALs Tactical Stike for the PSP:

Presentation and Graphics: I’m astounded at the level of graphics that Sony is pulling from the PSP recently. SOCOM US Navy SEALs Tactical Strike no is exception. The levels are huge and finely detailed. Character models look great in the varied lighting conditions in the game. Tactical Strike has one of the better lighting engines in any PSP title. You’ll enjoy sniping enemies over and over with the great animations provided, showing your character steadying his breathing before holding mid-breath to fire the shot. The camera follows the bullet as it takes out the enemy. It’s just something you’ll never get tired of. The game does have longer than typical load times, however, so be prepared to wait a bit between each level. 4.5 of 5

Sound and Music: Just like the graphics, the sound in Tactical Strike is pretty darn good. Most of the sound revolves around your stealth movements and weapons, which are accurately reproduced in the game. At a few points in the game, the sound seemed a bit flat for all weapons, which could be due to a lot going on in the game. It’s tough to explain, but the bullets seems to fade out a big, and grenades didn’t explode as loud as expected. This didn’t happen very often, but was puzzling the few times it did. 4 of 5

Gameplay: Tactical Strike is a dramatic change from previous SOCOM games. You’re not running around shooting enemies yourself here. Instead, you control a team of four SEALs as they go through various missions to protect our freedom. Movement is taken care of with the circle button and analog stick. You can move your team as a whole or break them down into two squads of two members each, which becomes increasingly needed as your progress through the game. With the vast levels, you have many options as to how to complete each task. My personal favorite is taking the Bravo team and flanking the enemy, then sending Alpha team in as a distraction while your squadmates take them out from behind.

The combat is controlled mainly with the square button. Holding it down brings up lists of actions to take against enemies, including throwing grenades and sniping. If you’ve ever played a tactical game like Full Spectrum Warrior, the controls will feel somewhat familiar and comfortable. If you’re new to the genre, it may take a bit to get used to. After the initial training mission, I felt very comfortable with the controls. 4 of 5

Multiplayer: There are quite a few options for both Ad Hoc and Infrastructure play over Wi-Fi. There are a total of five modes in the multiplayer portion of the game. Free for All is your standard deathmatch, with Supression being a team deathmatch mode. There is an Extraction mode, which requires one team to protect a VIP while the other tries to take that player down. Demolition has one team protection an object or vehicle while the other team tries to take it out. Collateral Damage takes Demolition even further by giving each team multiple vehicles to protect. There’s a lot of depth and a good online community for the game. The only problem is the lag, which was fairly significant in most of the matches I played. There are a lot of times when it takes too long it issue commands and either get killed or miss your target. 4 of 5

Lasting Appeal: SOCOM US Navy SEALs Tactical Strike has a long single player campaign with a deep multiplayer aspect. With the great online community for the game, Tactical Strike will keep you occupied for a good amount of time. 4.25 of 5

Final Word: If you’re a fan of tactical action games, definitely pick this one up. If you’re a SOCOM fan and have never played a tactical strategy game, it would be well worth it to give the game a try. The great graphics and solid gameplay will keep you coming back.

Overall: 4 of 5

1 = Not worth the bandwidth.

2= Demo is enough, not worth your money.

3= Game is good, depending on the price, seriously consider picking it up.

4= Worth your money. Should provide some good times for quite awhile.

5= Buy the game. Lock your door. Pick up a case of beer. This could take all night.