SOCOM: US Navy SEALs
Something people have long forgotten is that fact that the PS2 actually beat the Xbox to online gaming. Socom wasn't the first online game for the system, but it was the first killer app for PS2 online gaming. Socom also introduced console gamers to the online headset where instead of typing messages back and fourth, gamers could now communicate with each other. This was a good thing, but sometimes, in the case of kids who thought the mic was for screaming, singing, trash talking, or playing music (annoying trends that have spilled over into today's online gaming), occasionally a bad thing.
The mic was also used in the single player campaign, which I though was unfairly criticized by critics as being weak, when I really enjoyed it. It was less sim-like than Rainbow Six (the original Rainbow series not the wannabe series they have today), but it wasn't overly arcadey either. In the missions, you had the option to be the silent stealth assassin, or the loud bad*** running and gunning with an M-60 machine gun, and you weren't punished for running and gunning. Being loud would change your objectives (cancelling out the ones that required stealth), and give you a bad score for the mission, but it wouldn't end the mission. There was flexibility in the single-player design leaving the choice up to the player's particular style which I really liked.
The online mode could best be described as a more tactical version of Counterstrike. This game didn't hold your hand online. There were no practice modes. No respawn mode to hone your skills, you were thrown into the fray with one life to live in each round. Needless to say that it took a long time to learn the game, and could be frustrating for new players. The scarcity of life in each round meant that you didn't want to waste your turn by acting foolish. Few games have gotten my adrenaline pumping like the Socom series does. It can be that intense to play at times, especially when you're the last one alive, and outnumbered. You also know that your entire team (potentially seven other players) were watching your every move, so you were worried about messing up as well. There was a big feeling of relief sometimes when a round ended whether you won or lost.
Another thing about playing the game online that has since been lost in modenr online gaming, is that gamers still had an honor-code. If you did certain things, or played in a cheap, game ruining way, instead of emulating what you did, your own teammates would vote you out of the game, or threaten to. The excuse that "It's in the game" didn't cut it. There was a code, and lines you didn't cross, so you played your game straight, or you got the boot. That's just how it was.
The biggest problem with the online mode was that Zipper left it open for cheaters, and the cheaters eventually ruined the game. They left no protection against people who wanted to use cheat devices like a Codebreaker to hack the game. The devlopers, either through missing it during the testing phase, or purposely left ways for people to get into the walls in the map. This led to being shot through the walls by players who were outside the map. Luckily, Socom 2 came out a little later with DNAS, which took until about the time the game was dying down for people find ways to bypass in order to cheat.
I actually logged onto the original Socom about two days ago, and played a few rounds. I got raped, of course, which is to be expected when you haven't played a game online for years. There weren't a ton of people online, in fact there were only 17 people online when I played, but the servers are still up for this game, and there is still a small, but very dedicated community for the game which says a lot considering that it is a ten year old game.
I can also tell you that the North American servers for all the PS2 Socom games are still up and running, and they are still the most-played PS2 online games. I didn't check Socom 2, but Socom 3 had 256 people online still playing, and Combined Assault had 250 which sounds like a small amount, but considering that we are already well into the next generation of gaming, those are actually impressive numbers for PS2 online games. They have more people playing online than some PS3, and 360 games which is a true testament to their quality, and the effect Socom had on it's fans.
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