Basics - SOCOM 2: U.S. Navy SEALs Guide - IGN (2024)

Basics

Zipper Interactive's SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs is a tactical action shooter. In the single-player mode, the team of protagonists is split into two elements. Able Element consists of Specter (the character you directly control) and Jester. Bravo Element consists of Wardog and Vandal or, during certain missions, two operatives from other special forces. The members within an element will stay close together, although both elements may work independently of one another. Here are the default controls (the "precision shooter" controls):

Left Stick - Move. Push this stick up to step forwards, and push it down to step backwards. Push it left and right to strafe.

Right Stick - Aim. Push this stick to turn left and right and to look up and down.

XButton - Perform context-sensitive actions, such as performing melee attacks, taking items, restraining people, and climbing ladders. Hold this button and press left or right to cycle through different actions if there are more than one available at the moment.

Square Button - Jump.

Circle Button - Access the team command menu. Various commands may be assigned by Specter to his Able teammate (Jester), Bravo Element, or the entire team (all three teammates). Remember, although the two elements may move separately of one another, the members within an element will try to stick together (so they can cover each other's asses). For example, if Specter moves too far away from Jester, Jester will always come back towards him.

Triangle Button - Change stance. Press this button lightly to toggle between standing and crouching. Press this button hard to toggle between crouching and crawling.

L1 Button - Quick-equip the designated weapon in the inventory. This is the primary weapon by default, but it may be reassigned. (To reassign the designated weapon, press this button when the desired weapon is highlighted on the inventory menu.)

L2 Button - Quick-equip the designated weapon in the inventory. This is the secondary weapon by default, but it may be reassigned. (To reassign the designated weapon, press this button when the desired weapon is highlighted on the inventory menu.)

L3 Button - Toggle firing mode (semi-auto mode, full-auto mode, grenade launcher mode, etc.). As a safeguard, you must hold this button or press it twice in order to toggle the firing mode. The more bullet icons there are, the greater the firing rate is.

R1 Button - Use the currently equipped weapon. When throwing grenades, press this button harder to aim them farther away.

R2 Button - Access the inventory menu. Press Up and Down to cycle through the different weapons and other equipment. To equip weapons rapidly without going through this menu, press the Quick-Equip Buttons instead.

R3 Button - Load another clip into the currently equipped weapon.

D-Pad Up - Switch to a closer perspective. Keep pressing this button to switch to a first person perspective and then to a scope perspective.

D-Pad Down - Switch to a farther perspective. Keep pressing this button to switch to a third person perspective.

D-Pad Left - Peek left. Do this to lean around corners with minimal exposure to enemy fire.

D-Pad Right - Peek right. Do this to lean around corners with minimal exposure to enemy fire.

Start - Pause. Various options may be accessed on the pause screen menu.

Select - Access the tactical map. The team members' positions, nav points, locations of important items or characters, terrain details, mission objectives, and other data are displayed on this map.

Gameplay Tips (Single and Multiplayer)

- Each mission comes with a preset bunch of nav points (Charlie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Juliet, Romeo, Whiskey, X-Ray, and Zulu). Nav points always mark locations of significant importance, like the positions of key items or persons, entrances to rooms containing such key items or persons, and extraction points.

- While it may be fun to listen to conversations between enemies, it's usually better to "cut" these cinematics. This way, the enemies will continue talking while the team can sneak up to them and surprise them. If the enemies end their conversation, they may begin moving, making them tougher to track down and kill.

- An enemy is more likely to surrender if all of his buddies nearby are killed and if a flashbang is used on him. If Specter's teammates are close enough, they might also try to intimidate the enemy into giving up.

- Enemies have trouble seeing the team if they are extremely far away, giving Specter an excellent opportunity to pick them off with a sniper rifle. If a red dot appears on the radar, Specter should always stop and scope ahead. Even if an enemy if facing the team directly, he won't notice the team until he moves in closer.

- Trying to finish the single-player missions quickly so you can unlock some goodies for multiplayer action? Despite what you may think, stealth is not a very big deal in completing the missions. Unless there's a primary objective that requires the team to avoid being detected, Specter can often command his teammates to fire at will and then send them straight into enemy forces. Specter's teammates aren't the smartest computer-controlled allies in the world, and sometimes they forget to move away from explosives, but they are awfully good at killing enemies. As long as they have a clear line of sight and are equipped with decent assault rifles (preferably silenced ones), they will blow away any enemies nearby with inhuman effectiveness. Even though the team's stealth rating will be crap, it will still finish the mission with a "B" grade as long as most of the secondary and hidden objectives are completed, no teammates get incapacitated, and everyone maintains a high accuracy (which is extremely easy to do, considering how the teammates have near-perfect aim). Don't you just love the magical world of videogames?

- Because the computer-controlled teammates can kill enemies in direct firefights with so little trouble, Specter should usually stick with a sniper rifle so he can take out the few enemies whom his teammates have trouble aiming at, like extremely distant guards or snipers positioned at tough-to-reach spots. For the rest of the enemies, he can just rely on his teammates. (The more enemies his teammates take out, the better the teamwork rating will be anyway, even if Specter doesn't fire a single shot over the course of the mission.) If Specter finds his sniper rifle too slow during combat at close quarters, he can rely on his pistol or borrow an assault rifle from a dead enemy.

- When stealth is absolutely necessary, the team should always move behind cover, crouch-walk or crawl, and use silenced weapons (the "volume" rating tells you how much noise a weapon makes whenever it's fired). Crouch-walking is quieter than running forwards at full speed, and it's very useful for sneaking up behind unsuspecting enemies. Silenced rifles are a must for taking out distant enemies stealthily, but they won't help much if the enemies fire back, alerting everyone in the area.

On to Walkthrough...