The SOCOM series is a long-standing tradition for PlayStation fans. Since its debut on the PlayStation 2 back in 2002, this third-person shooter series has been a mainstay for hardcore shooter fans to flex their tactical muscle with its heavy emphasis on teamwork and coordination. At developer Zipper Interactive's recent press event, we got the chance to try out SOCOM 4's latest addition: cooperative play.

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　　SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs Co-op Gameplay Interview

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　　When setting up a cooperative game, look no further than the custom campaign generator. With it, you can build your own scenario, from a quick, single mission to several linked back-to-back. Our setup was a bit more chaotic as we were basically thrown into a match with four other players--co-op mode supports up to five players--of wildly varying skill levels without much knowledge of our objective. Oh well, we decided to just go with it. Our mission began on the character-customization screen. Here, we could pick out our primary and secondary weapons, grenades, and other equipment. Unfortunately, everyone had pretty much the same gear to start, so our team was a tad heavy on the assault rifle side.

　　On the battlefield, co-op mode plays just as you'd expect. Well, not exactly; our teammates (and ourselves) would routinely break cover and blunder out into enemy fire in a vain attempt to pull off some ill-guided Rambo maneuver. When teammates do go down, you can revive them by sliding up next to them and hitting the circle button. Because you have to be looking straight down at them when you do this, it can be a little tricky to make the prompt appear when the bullets are flying and you're totally panicking. After a few moments of medical assistance, your allies are back on their feet once more.

　　Communication in cooperative play is key because the AI will be mixing things up for you every time you play. Taking a page from Valve's Left 4 Dead AI director, SOCOM 4 will populate its levels with enemies in varying locations every time you play. And it's never at a loss for enemies. Time and again, our team would charge around a corner only to come face-to-face with a wide-open field of enemy units. Then, there would a moment of tension; the enemy not yet aware of the five-man death team that has just spotted him before someone would fire randomly into the crowd and the chaos would begin.

　　Had we been a more coordinated team and if loud music wasn't playing in the background, we could have planned out this attack much more effectively. When communicating with your teammates, the headset is a must because from what we saw, there were precious few communication tools within the game itself. By pressing up on the direction pad while hovering the reticle over an enemy, we were able to mark the target. But other than that, we were incommunicado.

　　This image was taken moments before the rocket suddenly blasted our team to bits.

　　Our mission, which had something to do with recovering enemy intel, ended in stupendous failure. One of our team members ran out onto a dam only to get shot down almost instantly. One after another, we ran out to try to revive him until our five-man team was a five-man piles of corpses. It also didn't help our spirits much that the other team members across from us started cheering and high-fiving each after completing the same mission. Get your squad together and seek out SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs exclusively on the PlayStation 3 April 19.