Hands on with SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Tactical Strike

When you have one of the best-selling, most frequently played games on PSP, there's a certain incentive to keep the franchise going, of course. Hence the deployment of SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Tactical Strike, the third tour of duty for the impressively popular series on Sony's handheld.

Unveiled at the company's recent Gamers' Day event, we went hands on with it in order to check out how it retains the series' military flavour while embarking on a new RTS gameplay mechanic.

The difference is immediately obvious: Tactical Strike isn't so much concerned with action as it is strategy. You never take control of any member of your four-person squad; instead, you guide their actions indirectly by issuing orders on the battlefield. You can jump between each squad member's perspective to survey your surroundings, but that's the closest you'll get to actually manipulating them.

Don't develop a god complex and toy with them, though, as their lives are in your hands. The game remains firmly rooted in reality, with enemies fully capable of taking out your squad members with just a couple of well aimed shots. Although work is still being done to tune enemy intelligence, what we witnessed were smart, calculating foes – these Tangos cover, flank and tactically engage your squad with a driven intention of taking them out.

David Seymour, lead designer at Slant Six, explained the mantra behind Tactical Strike: "Evaluate, plan, and execute. We want the player to take stock of the situation, make a plan, and then make it happen." Thanks to improved team mechanics, your squad will deal with situations on their own but to succeed you really need to base your commands only after carefully assessing the situation.

We kept this in mind when playing an early mission set in a convincingly recreated jungle. An on-screen reticle can be controlled with the analog nub, useful in selecting locations for movement or targets to attack. Tapping Circle issues a move order, while the X button commands an attack. Cover is automatically utilized when it's in the proximity, so you don't have to worry about micro-managing your squad.

Moving through a narrow corridor of tropical trees, we engaged a number of terrorist by issuing attack orders. Pressing X while targeting an enemy signals your SEALs to use their default weapon. Hold the Square button, however, and it'll open your inventory, from which you can select other weapons and specialist equipment.

You can customize your squad's equipment from the load-out screen prior to the start of a mission. And as you complete missions, you have the opportunity to upgrade your arsenal for tackling more challenging objectives. Additionally, command equity earned by completing key objectives can be spent on special other goodies such as air strikes. Brand new to the series will also be the ability to augment your SEALs' attributes using experience earned through combat.

Continuing through the demonstration, Seymour highlighted one of the advanced tactical moves available in the game: tapping R enables you to split your squad in half. We used one half to lay suppressing fire on a group of terrorists, while the other flanked them. There's enormous potential for a wide range of tactical manoeuvres that ought to make the game both interesting and highly challenging.

Beyond the single-player campaign, Tactical Strike is set to offer numerous multiplayer options, with matches largely mirroring the style of play used in the single-player missions and each player given control of a four-man squad. A total of five modes are available to enjoy in both ad-hoc and infrastructure with support for the headset. You'll even have a choice from a slate of real-world special forces, including SEALs, British SAS, Spanish UOE, and several others.

With the promised wealth of options, features and modes, Tactical Strike is bound to offer a tonne of gameplay. The unusual real-time tactical approach certainly seems to work well, but we'll have to wait until review time later this year to tell you how close to the mark the game actually gets. (In the meantime, click 'Track It!' to be kept up to date with any further updates.)