SOCOM: FIRETEAM BRAVO -- Initial Impression.

Next up for me will be SOCOM: FIRETEAM BRAVO for the PlayStation Portable. The first thing I did was to create a profile within S:FB. The second thing I did was to connect the PSP to the PS2 via a mini-USB cable and load up both SOCOM 3 and the S: FB software and go to the crosstalk sections within each game. I hit "sync all files" in both titles and almost instantly the games had communicated and altered each profile and were asking me to save the changes. As I haven't played S: FB yet there wasn't much change to the SOCOM 3 file. The S:FB on the other hand had numerous changes made to it. Unlocked character skins for multiplayer, weapons made available in both the single player and multiplayer modes, and the alterations of missions in the single player based on my actions in SOCOM 3. As of this entry I have completed the first three missions within the campaign mode of S: FB. My initial impressions are that once again the PSP's shortcomings compared to the PS2's Dual Shock 2 controller require some creative control schemes from the programmers in bringing over known PS2 series to the PSP. I can tell you that S: FB's learning curve isn't anywhere near as tough as GTA: LCS' and that you're likely to be far more comfortable with the controls far sooner. I've managed overall A ranks for the first three missions so I don't think control is a real issue. The game uses sparse environments and less texture mapping than its PS2 counterpart, and the game looks and moves rather well because of it. The crosstalk objectives also make themselves known at the start of the missions as the game rattles off everything that is in place because of your SOCOM 3 actions. I'm initially finding the game quite fun. I'm pleasantly surprised at this point.