As a huge fan of the SOCOM series, I eagerly anticipated the release of SOCOM: Confrontation since the PlayStation 3 was first unleashed. Once the game was actually launched last month, however, my anticipation turned into sorrow as the game was plagued with problematic issues such as locking players out of the servers, players “warping” around the map, and people shooting through walls. To keep things short, the game was really unplayable — not the launch Sony and Slant Six Games had in mind.

I played in the Confrontation Multiplayer Beta that was released in September, and the game had much of the same problems and issues then as well. I was sure Slant Six was going to fix the bugs that haunted the Beta, but nope. They instead released a 1.20 patch a few weeks after the original launch, and I must say the game is a lot better than before, which makes me happy.

I’m glad I didn’t review the game immediately after it came out, because it would’ve gotten a much lower score than what I’m about to give it. As we reported before, another patch will be coming in the next few weeks to add Trophies and few new features, so the game will only be getting better.

Now that the worst seems to be over, we can actually talk about what SOCOM: Confrontation has to offer. If you’re a fan of the franchise (like me), Confrontation is pretty much everything you liked about SOCOM II’s online play, but with four all-new maps and three favorite maps remade. If you’re looking for a Campaign mode or a deep single-player experience, however, look elsewhere — Confrontation is online-only, offering up to 32-player matches.

For those of you who haven’t followed the franchise or never played a SOCOM game, let’s get this one thing straight: this is no regular modern-day military FPS. If you play this game like you play Call of Duty, you’ll end up dead last every round. While there are respawn matches, the real SOCOM experience comes in the ranked games, in which you just get one life per round. If you die, you die and sit out until next round. It’s kind of like Search and Destroy in Call of Duty 4, but in SOCOM, careless play usually leads to you spending more time watching the game than actually playing.

This is actually one of my favorite things about SOCOM. The extremely intense and adrenaline-pumping gameplay that it offers because death holds a real penalty just makes it so much more thrilling and meaningful to stay alive. But, once again, there are respawn matches, so you don’t necessarily have to play the “real” way.

Because of the way SOCOM is designed, matches usually take longer and tend to move more slowly compared to most shooters. This wouldn’t happen without the great level design and a focus on strategy and tactics. No place is ever safe on any map as every move you make can be countered, and the only way to really succeed is to change up strategies when opponents become familiar with them. The levels are big enough and complex enough to allow the game to almost continually change along with the players’ experience.

Graphically, the game looks great. Characters and weapons look good, but could have been sharpened a little more. The maps are by far the best-looking aspect of the game with extremely detailed and realistic environments. Again, the level design and complexity just help the game feel that much more realistic.

Deep down inside, I feel like SOCOM: Confrontation is a really fun game, but it still has some issues. Confrontation lacks many promised features including clan ladders, matchmaking, and a party system. Along with these omissions, the game still suffers from occasional freeze-ups and stuttering gameplay. It even locked up my PS3 once before, requiring a reset. Unfortunately, Confrontation still needs some work, even with the recent patch.

SOCOM is a great shooter. One of the best of its kind on the PS3, but it’s not for every shooter fan. If Halo and Call of Duty fast-paced action is your kind of thing, you’re likely to find the realism in Confrontation annoying and too slow, but if you’re looking for a different kind of shooter, a game that really involves strategy and wits, then you’ll find it here in SOCOM: Confrontation.

Overall, the game has improved enough from its launch date that I’m okay with saying that I like this game and can recommend it to anyone owning a PS3. It doesn’t exactly give me that same feeling I had with SOCOM II years ago, but it comes damn close.