The amount of content we have packed into Combined Assault
is just mind blowing: Co-operative play in online or LAN, a brand new non-linear campaign spanning 14 unique areas and 18
missions, compatibility with SOCOM 3 competitive multiplayer plus 10 new competitive multiplayer maps exclusive to SOCOM:
Combined Assault. In addition to that we have Instant Action missions, training missions, revamped AI, new weapons,
new attachments, new vehicles, a new badge system and even new controller layouts.
Whew...
But we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. There
are a few last polish tasks and bugs remaining, but the hard work is paying off and the game is looking and playing great!
Recently, our design team completed a polish review of the
entire campaign co-op. To put it simply, it was a blast!
Co-op gameplay introduces so many great gameplay elements:
from deciding what weapons to take and which role each member of the team will fulfill (sniper, assault, medic, support, anti-armor,
etc.), to deciding which mission to tackle next, to deciding which objective to go for first or which route to take to get
to the objective, to yelling for the medic when your health gets low, to distracting a group of enemies long enough for the
other members of the fireteam to move behind and flank them.
Some of the highlights of our playthrough:
Mean AI moment: We're
getting owned by our improved AI. The team decided to engage in a group of enemies that were in a fortified position.
A pretty big gun battle ensued; however, no one on the fireteam was watching the flanks. Sure enough, some enemies broke
off from the engagement, flanked our position, and proceeded to decimate the entire team. We quickly learned to have
at least one member of the fireteam covering the flanks at all times.
Teamwork moment: Acting
as a spotter and marking targets for the sniper on the team. There's just something about lying in thick foliage, using
your binoculars to place a marker on an enemy patrol, then hearing the crack of your teammate's sniper rifle and seeing the
enemy crumple down to the ground. Teamwork is a beautiful thing.
Most frantic moment: Trying
to revive a downed teammate with the medkit while under fire from a sniper. Seeing and hearing the bullets ricochet
off the ground as you run up to your teammates-in-need and revive 'em will get your heart pumping.
"My bad" moment: Opening
a door that an unsuspecting teammate is standing in front of and then having an enemy rush through the now open doorway and
blast the teammate with a few rounds from a shotgun. Suffice it to say, my teammate got even with me by not telling
me the enemy had just thrown a grenade next to my position.
The biggest thing I came away with is that we actually had
to force ourselves to stop playing. Even though we've been looking at the game for a year now, we still had to tear
ourselves away. I can't wait to get my non-work friends into Instant Action missions!
