SOCOM 3: U.S. Navy SEALs review

SOCOM has always divided its time between online and single-player. SOCOM 3's offline campaign is robust, taking you all around the world to right wrongs and triumph over evil. Level designs are set up well, and context-sensitive actions and user-friendly checkpoints and objective beacons. Voice recognition and AI haven't advanced as much as other aspects of the franchise, so you may be a little annoyed by them. Using L2 for quick commands works well, however, and may have you tossing your headset aside in single-player -- even if manual orders break up gameplay a little.

Nobody can deny that online is this series' bread and butter. Sure to draw cheers is the fact that you can now have twice the troops going at it in one battle (32, up from 16). Maps are much larger, time of day effects play, and new modes pop up -- though even the older ones are refreshed by the addition of vehicles. When you get a good team going and all cylinders are firing, few games are more satisfying. Conversely, if you get some cocky punks or unforgiving elitists, it can go downhill fast. Such is gaming online.