Those glorious Seals; resplendent in their valour, flawless in their execution and, bar of course the SAS, unsurpassed in their reputation as the most ruthlessly effective fighting force on earth. I sometimes wonder, however, if the Navy Sea, Air and Land troops would be so universally feared if they went by their real acronym, the Navy SALs. Anyway, girly name or not, you've gotta give it to these guys, as they provide an excellent videogame backdrop and have given rise to one of the most complete titles of recent years - SOCOM II: US Navy Seals.

How does SOCOM stack up against the wealth of squad-based shooters on the market? Does it address the niggles present in its predecessor? How does the AI stand up to the razor sharp skills of the armchair anti-terrorist squad leader? How does the sometimes-a-little-ropey headset perform in the heat of battle? It's questions like these, amongst others, that flood this humble reviewer's mind like a gallon of frenzied piranha when a title of this scale reaches the shelves but the most important question remains - is it worth your hard earned reddies?

Well to save you a bit of time, if you're online you might as well go out and pick up a copy now, as I can firmly recommend SOCOM II to almost anyone with a bent for shooters, squad-based or otherwise. Not since Everquest, despite its problems, has a game enthralled me so much or exceeded so many expectations. Had Zipper Interactive simply churned out a few new maps and weapons, concentrating on the online aspect, this review would have taken a very different direction, but as it stands every area of the gameplay has been enhanced and comes off looking, sounding and playing miles better than the original SOCOM.

As a single player experience, SOCOM II relies heavily on stealth as the basis for all missions, be they escort, rescue, elimination, demolition or intelligence gathering. Full blown frontal attacks are dangerous and ineffective, often forewarning mission critical NPCs who subsequently hightail out of the danger zone like the rats that they are. Each of the four terrorist hotzones are separated into three missions, the first often taking the form of an intel gathering affair, while the other two include an assassination of some kind. Whilst the environments differ greatly, the objectives do not and tend to take you by the hand, which dampens the feel of freedom. In fact, some of the objectives act more as help tools like 'Spot the patrols' or 'Recon from this position'. That said, the linear nature of the levels is the only downside in a title full of surprises and many of the bonus objectives, which lead to extra goals later on, are sneakily hidden away in snippets of the terrorist grunt's conversation.

Your teammates respond quickly and efficiently to any situation or command but on occasion will test your reflexes with a perfectly placed flashbang right in front of your face, treating you to the fine aroma of toasted retina. In most firefights your team comes off unscathed and a majority of the hot lead you take comes from slow reflexes in tight situations, rather than a dodgy camera or poor AI. There's a real sense of satisfaction with some of the missions. Some are difficult to the point of hair loss but for the most part fulfilling your mission simply requires ample controller skills, a good deal of patience and the eyes of a hawk. Some fantastic gameplay touches have been thrown into the mix such as the darkening of your vision when changing from night vision to regular view, increasing the need for patience as your eyes adjust to the light. Add to this the unpredictable AI, sturdy map design and easy-going storyline and SOCOM II stands out as an impressive title that builds on the quality of the previous incarnation.

As an online experience, SOCOM II offers some of the most intense and satisfying gaming on the PS2. The headset works better than ever, the option to respawn is a particularly useful addition and SONY's commitment to stamp out cheating seems to be working well. An abundance of maps adds decent variety with urban, jungle and industrial levels being the mainstay of the range. The nature of online gaming means that the up to sixteen player rumbles often turn into run-and-gun numbers, almost the exact opposite of the single player mode and require a great deal of familiarity with the maps. Making your way in the online world is difficult at first but controller expertise comes quickly, and from that point on SOCOM II becomes impossible to put down.

The gameplay is not the only area of the game that has benefited from a tweak, as the presentation, whilst not undergoing drastic changes, also looks more complete. In-game graphics have replaced a majority of the cutscenes, giving a more immersive feel, the animation is smoother than before and despite some heavy fogging the environments are full of detail and character. SOCOM II doesn't astound in its technical proficiency but there's nothing to criticise and the overall effect fits perfectly with the nature of the game. Heavy gunfire dominates the online mode and with realistic reports, the impression is quite a daunting one for the newbie but in the single player campaign these bursts of unsilenced gunfire are quite rare, as success is often reliant on stealth. Apart from some repetitive tunes the audio holds up well, including some well-acted pieces of dialogue, as well as some not so great morsels, especially from the non-English NPCs.

SOCOM II: US Navy Seals is a must buy title for anyone with a penchant for shooters. Zipper have ironed out all the problems from the original and produced a real winner in this title. Realism features by the bucketload and the mood is enhanced by some proficient presentation and much-enhanced AI in a single player mode that is as enjoyable as the online option. Those without network capability may find it lacking in replayability but there are few games out there that deal with covert warfare so well. Your mission soldier: get your cam paint on, infiltrate your local game store and extract a copy of SOCOM II: US Navy Seals. Good luck. Diiiiisssssmissed! [Disclaimer: By "extract", Tom means "pay for". "PAY FOR!" Ed.]

Reviewed by Tom LeClerc for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).