14 DAY TRIAL // The upcoming SOCOM 4, or SOCOM: Special Forces, as it will be known in Europe, will have a sort of online pass system in place, called SOCOM Pro, which will allow those who purchase the title first hand access into all of the multiplayer features of the game.
The system will be enabled through a one-time use code, found on the back of the instruction manual for SOCOM 4.
[admark=1]This means that those who buy a used copy of the game, through the many pre-owned programs run by game retailers around the world, won't have access to many of the core features in the multiplayer mode.
These include things like Pro Custom game queues, ranked playlists that will act as leaderboards, as well as two exclusive weapons, the M-16 for Spec Ops members and the AK-47 for Insurgents, that can be used in the multiplayer matches.
Those who will get a used version of SOCOM 4, without the functional code, will find themselves locked out of exclusive multiplayer maps, various cooperative additions and lots of other great things that will be enjoyed by those who bought the game as a new copy.
Just like any sort of Online Pass system, Zipper Interactive, the developer of the game, and Sony, its publisher, are offering the possibility for players to buy access into SOCOM Pro, for a one-time fee of $15.
While we already saw different sorts of online pass systems be introduced for games by Electronic Arts, with almost all of its new titles, or THQ, with the recent Homefront, this is the first time Sony has tried implementing such a thing.
SOCOM 4 is set to take the popular tactical, squad-based shooter franchise to a new level, being the first "true" installment on the PlayStation 3.
The game has been launched yesterday in North America, and appears today in Europe, only on Sony's PlayStation 3 console.