SOCOM and its bot even close. Socom 2 to this day was the best online shooter ive ever played. Every single night, countless hours, lobbies full of friends, it never got old. I die inside thinking of what a new bur TRUE Socom could be in a PS5.
But was SOCOM so great, or was it the SOCOM
community that was great?
The actual gameplay of shooting and maneuvering was sort of janky (the only SOCOMs I think I really liked to play purely on control quality were the two PSP ones by Slant6, the tactical one and FTB3,) and the visuals were bare; the game also didn't grow in stature as it grew in scope/capabilities, with SOCOM 3 being the least respected of the core originals despite having vehicles and other play enhancements. Bullet physics was interesting but not really used in the run-and-gun online matches, and the third-person perspective made the priorities of mechanics different but you still didn't have enough quick control of your character to be mobile in the battlefield or take proper military tactics into account in a firefight; you just circle-strafed and pogoed and ducked in and out between walls like a FPS. The maps were well designed, and the dead-means-dead tension was intense in large-scale battles. Largely the game was addictive though because you could talk to your squadmates online and talk about the map and the strategy and where enemies seemed to be headed, or just talk shit until you get in the thick of it.
If you watch video of SOCOM now, even online matches with skilled players, it can lead you to wonder what the heck so many people were doing all that time playing this PS2 game...
IMO, the people made SOCOM what it was, and the game thankfully had the right design philosophy and alchemy to foster that community. The whole was bigger than the sum of its parts, and the gamers all found room for each other when they all jumped into its hole whole.
Rebuilding the SOCOM sense of community, with players respecting squad tactics and communicating over mics to play as a team.... I'm just not sure that can ever be put back together again?