It pretty much defies description for the time being. No, its not really like Socom, unless by "the same" you mean it involves the U.S. military. Think of it more as an RTS/strategy game, except...it's not. You don't control a character directly, you order them around like an invisible God-lieutenant. Tell em where to go for cover, when to open fire, blah blah blah. The camera is close in on the action, but not directly attached to a character. I would call it an infantry sim. It was supposedly develloped as an aide to the U.S. army training division, then got turned into a video game along the way. I'm renting it today.