Post by el JOKER5 on Mar 17, 2009 13:29:38 GMT -5
Four months later, and still busted... PDF
Written by Rob Workman
Despite the release of the awesome Killzone 2 and some above-average downloadable content, not everything is peachy keen with the folks at Sony. No, sir. Beneath that glossy exterior of the PlayStation 3 lies a dark horse that's leaving a certain part of a game community feeling burdened and cheated. We're talking about SOCOM Confrontation, and the story isn't pretty. Let me fill you in on some details.
SOCOM Confrontation came out for the PlayStation 3 console, both in disc and downloadable format, on October 14, 2008. It wasn't produced by the same team that handled the games originally, it was handled by newcomer Slant Six Games. Also, for the first time in the series, an off-line campaign isn't available in the game. That's right, SOCOM Confrontation is strictly online only, sort of in the same way as WarHawk. I had the opportunity to review the game upon its initial release, along with the nifty BlueTooth headset that came with it.
At first, I noticed some connection problems. I thought, no big deal, the guys at Sony are just launching the game and there's bound to be bugs, right? But then I kept having those same connection problems -- repeatedly. I tried again and again, finally got into a match, only to be dropped out due to, you guessed it, connection problems. So I tried the next day. Game worked okay for a few, and, bloop, connection problems. After about a week of this (thank God for time on my hands that week), I gave the game its final review. I scorned it with a 5 out of 10, not only citing its constant bugs and connection problems, but also its gameplay.
It just didn't feel like the same SOCOM to me. Also, why the fuck would it be lacking a single-player component? Every other SOCOM game before it had one, is there a particular reason it skipped out on this, the debut chapter for the next-generation of gaming? My review went up, and some Sony fanboys went to town on me. They talked about my lack of talent to review something (of course, it's my fault, right?), how I somehow lack the "skill" to survive an online match (um, don't I have to connect with an online match first before I show off my skill?), and how someone should either re-review the game or fire me or both. Looking back on it now, 5 was too generous a score for the game. For an online only game to ship completely broken and with very little merit, we're talking more like a 3 or a 4. What a fucking joke.
But that's not the point of this article. Last week, a dude named Brian Amundson shot me an email, making a compassionate speech about how Slant Six Games essentially fucked over the SOCOM community. Those connection problems and glitches you ran into at the beginning of the game's launch are still around for the most part.
FOUR MONTHS LATER. After numerous promises from Slant Six team members that they would not only be addressed, but remedied. They haven't been, and Sony has its most broken game since those 98 percent complete copies of Gran Turismo 2. But at least that was playable compared to this miserable, broken mess. I still can't believe Sony corporate hasn't stepped in to wipe it up. I read Brian's email. He talked about how the SOCOM community in general had an "overall feeling of disappointment and betrayal". I can honestly say I felt the same way, and this is coming from a person who isn't a direct loyalist of the series. (More of a Halo fan myself -- and no, you Sony lovers, that doesn't put me in Microsoft's fucking pocket). Four months have passed by, and only minimal updates have been applied to the experience. Basically, what we have here is a game still running on training wheels, and they've gone flat.
The repairs necessary haven't been made, and they're waning on the community. Brian continues that Slant Six didn't hold up their end of the bargain with promises to make the game for the community, by the community. Slant Six hasn't kept their promises, and tons of forum posts over at their own message boards (http://forums.socom.com/socom/board?board.id=confrontation) have been unaddressed. Go ahead, take a look.
There are a smattering of positive comments, but, surprise, they're from fanboys that would back Sony through anything, like a fire sale or the re-release of Beyond the Beyond. (Yes, that was a joke, don't hold your breath.) Bottom line, it has the look and feel of a beta -- a fucking $40 beta. At least the $60 bundle has value with the headset, and you can try to sell the game back to make a few extra bucks. Still, I feel bad not only for the franchise but for the community backing it, both the people who know they brought a fucking broken product and the fanboys disillusioned by the fact that, yes, it's busted.
I'll be talking with Brian and a few members of the community about a follow-up piece, and you can expect it in the next few days here at The Start Screen. Kudos to Brian for taking time to talk about this, and speaking his mind. I definitely agree on each front, and look forward to ripping a new one on Slant Six for shipping this debacle incomplete to begin with. Oh, and before you Sony fanboys rip me a new one, consider this. The fact you're defending such a busted piece of shit like this makes you dumber than the execs who thought this would be a great way to make a buck off the community. Keep that in mind.
Written by Rob Workman
Despite the release of the awesome Killzone 2 and some above-average downloadable content, not everything is peachy keen with the folks at Sony. No, sir. Beneath that glossy exterior of the PlayStation 3 lies a dark horse that's leaving a certain part of a game community feeling burdened and cheated. We're talking about SOCOM Confrontation, and the story isn't pretty. Let me fill you in on some details.
SOCOM Confrontation came out for the PlayStation 3 console, both in disc and downloadable format, on October 14, 2008. It wasn't produced by the same team that handled the games originally, it was handled by newcomer Slant Six Games. Also, for the first time in the series, an off-line campaign isn't available in the game. That's right, SOCOM Confrontation is strictly online only, sort of in the same way as WarHawk. I had the opportunity to review the game upon its initial release, along with the nifty BlueTooth headset that came with it.
At first, I noticed some connection problems. I thought, no big deal, the guys at Sony are just launching the game and there's bound to be bugs, right? But then I kept having those same connection problems -- repeatedly. I tried again and again, finally got into a match, only to be dropped out due to, you guessed it, connection problems. So I tried the next day. Game worked okay for a few, and, bloop, connection problems. After about a week of this (thank God for time on my hands that week), I gave the game its final review. I scorned it with a 5 out of 10, not only citing its constant bugs and connection problems, but also its gameplay.
It just didn't feel like the same SOCOM to me. Also, why the fuck would it be lacking a single-player component? Every other SOCOM game before it had one, is there a particular reason it skipped out on this, the debut chapter for the next-generation of gaming? My review went up, and some Sony fanboys went to town on me. They talked about my lack of talent to review something (of course, it's my fault, right?), how I somehow lack the "skill" to survive an online match (um, don't I have to connect with an online match first before I show off my skill?), and how someone should either re-review the game or fire me or both. Looking back on it now, 5 was too generous a score for the game. For an online only game to ship completely broken and with very little merit, we're talking more like a 3 or a 4. What a fucking joke.
But that's not the point of this article. Last week, a dude named Brian Amundson shot me an email, making a compassionate speech about how Slant Six Games essentially fucked over the SOCOM community. Those connection problems and glitches you ran into at the beginning of the game's launch are still around for the most part.
FOUR MONTHS LATER. After numerous promises from Slant Six team members that they would not only be addressed, but remedied. They haven't been, and Sony has its most broken game since those 98 percent complete copies of Gran Turismo 2. But at least that was playable compared to this miserable, broken mess. I still can't believe Sony corporate hasn't stepped in to wipe it up. I read Brian's email. He talked about how the SOCOM community in general had an "overall feeling of disappointment and betrayal". I can honestly say I felt the same way, and this is coming from a person who isn't a direct loyalist of the series. (More of a Halo fan myself -- and no, you Sony lovers, that doesn't put me in Microsoft's fucking pocket). Four months have passed by, and only minimal updates have been applied to the experience. Basically, what we have here is a game still running on training wheels, and they've gone flat.
The repairs necessary haven't been made, and they're waning on the community. Brian continues that Slant Six didn't hold up their end of the bargain with promises to make the game for the community, by the community. Slant Six hasn't kept their promises, and tons of forum posts over at their own message boards (http://forums.socom.com/socom/board?board.id=confrontation) have been unaddressed. Go ahead, take a look.
There are a smattering of positive comments, but, surprise, they're from fanboys that would back Sony through anything, like a fire sale or the re-release of Beyond the Beyond. (Yes, that was a joke, don't hold your breath.) Bottom line, it has the look and feel of a beta -- a fucking $40 beta. At least the $60 bundle has value with the headset, and you can try to sell the game back to make a few extra bucks. Still, I feel bad not only for the franchise but for the community backing it, both the people who know they brought a fucking broken product and the fanboys disillusioned by the fact that, yes, it's busted.
I'll be talking with Brian and a few members of the community about a follow-up piece, and you can expect it in the next few days here at The Start Screen. Kudos to Brian for taking time to talk about this, and speaking his mind. I definitely agree on each front, and look forward to ripping a new one on Slant Six for shipping this debacle incomplete to begin with. Oh, and before you Sony fanboys rip me a new one, consider this. The fact you're defending such a busted piece of shit like this makes you dumber than the execs who thought this would be a great way to make a buck off the community. Keep that in mind.