PlayStation 3 | New SOCOM Zipper-ed

Sony's shooter franchise returns to original developer; will sport full single-player campaign and 32-player multiplayer.

To many fans of the SOCOM series, 2008's SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation was a disappointment. Developed by Slant Six, the shooter series' multiplayer-only PlayStation 3 debut was heavily criticized for rampant technical issues. Many wished it would return to the hands of original developer Zipper Interactive, which was busy working on the 256-player multiplayer shooter MAG at the time.

Zipper is retaking the SOCOM series' reins.

Well, wish granted. Today Sony announced via the PlayStation Europe Blog that a new SOCOM is in the works at Redmond, Washington-based Zipper. Reassuring those turned off by Confrontation that the game has been "created from the ground up," Sony also revealed the plot of the series' first single-player player campaign on the PS3.

Though no official title has been announced, the new SOCOM will be set in Southeast Asia after a revolution endangers a vital shipping lane similar to the Strait of Malacca. Players assume the role of the commander of a five-man squad of NATO commandos dispatched to prevent international trade from being disrupted. Their mission will only last six days, a time limit which Sony says will add urgency into the campaign.

As always, the new SOCOM will have an extensive multiplayer component, allowing for teams of players to shoot it out in 32-player matches. Terrain types will include hostile jungle and half-ruined cities.

Sony did not offer a launch date for the new SOCOM game, but did say a teaser trailer would arrive this week.

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Source: http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/socom4/news.html?sid=6252885