Village Gamer

Vancouver – Coming soon from Slant Six Games and Sony Computer Entertainment of America is Cold Front, the first downloadable expansion pack for SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALS Confrontation.

Cold Front adds five maps to Confrontation, including two brand new maps, and three classic maps. Three additional clan factions compliment the new conflict zones based in Eastern Europe and Russia including Russian Spetsnaz, Italian Colm and Dutch KCT.

The added forces come with three new weapons, alpine equipment and camouflage to support encounters using thermal scope and turrets. The maps also support an all-new game mode Arms Run, challenging the commandos to prevent mercenaries from launching deadly missiles.

Along with the host of increased customization options, Cold Front players may also develop Weapon Specialties and through progression unlock Exclusive Equipment. While developing their characters, Cold Front players can also enjoy the new music while working towards New PSN Trophies.

Over the next few weeks, Slant Six would like to share some production notes with you regarding some of the new maps and shed a little insight on how these maps came together.

This week the studio is featuring Blizzard, a classic map from SOCOM 1 and 2 that has been updated with HD graphics and effects. In order to enhance the player’s experience with this perennial favourite, we opted to make the weather a key gameplay aspect. The calm atmosphere of previous iterations of the map has been completely reworked with visibility now being hindered by the constant flurry of snow and winds that pound against your character.

The biggest challenge developers have faced so far in updating Blizzard to PS3 from PS2 was working with open terrain and wide open sight lines. Balancing the blizzard effects, vegetation, and open terrain to achieve the right amount of visibility among the characters has proven to be an interesting challenge.

In summary, Cold Front features:

* 2 All-New Maps
* Uprising, Entrapment
* 3 Classic Maps: Blizzard, Night Stalker, Vigilance
* All New Game Mode
* Arms Run
* 3 New Special Forces
* Russian Spetsnaz, Italian COLM, Dutch KCT
* Character Specialization System
* 6 Enhanced weapons, 5 Enhanced Attachments
* New Weapons
* 3 All-new weapons, 2 All-new weapon attachments, 2 New 40mm grenades
* Additional Content
* Gun Turret Emplacements
* New Trophies, New Music
* New Character Models, Alpine Gear and Camouflage