Silent Scope EX

"Bring him down in one shoot!"

I've been a great big fan of the SS series since the groundbreaking entrance of the first game. I mean, THIS was what going to the arcade was all about- huge peripherals, loud sound effects, cheesy voice acting that you and your friends could all laugh about, and awesome gameplay that was worth the .50 cents you threw in.

The third entry in the Silent Scope series is EX (3 on Xbox) and it changes some of the tried and true formulae from the first and second. First, there is NO LIFE BAR! Let that sink in before I ruin your dreams of being invincible. Ok.... Ok. Now is the time to tell you that your standard lifebar and timer have fused into one aggravating meter that both drains constantly AND loses huge chunks when you get hit! But, is there rest of the tried 'n true gameplay there?

GRAPHICS - 8 (out of 10)

The graphics are pretty clean, but there are a few jaggies here and there, as well as the occasional clipping error- nothing you dont see all the time in most 3-d arcade games anyways. The backgrounds are pretty detailed, with little touches here and there that make it feel less than artificial and slightly believable.

The character models are pretty good too, but some of the animation is stilted- when the characters turn to run at you, they spin in place first, then run forward. Ick.

Bright explosions are prevalent when destroying big stuff, and the blood sprays look like .gif animations gone bad. There's little touches, like the beams on the spotlights that are marginally impressive, but it's all old ground.

The graphics are ok, but nothing terribly stellar.

GAMEPLAY - 7

It's the point and shoot gameplay that makes SS king of arcade shooters, and in this one it's upped the ante considerably. Taking a cue from 2, in how many tokens someone can spend on it, the difficulty in many places is artificial, relying on cheap shots and forcing your time meter to go dow even when you aren't shooting at anything. (IE; Transition screens) Also, the hit detection is a little off- there's times when you'll be fighting Big A Life (3rd level boss) and you just know that you plugged the teddy bear in the head. Yet, he fires missiles at you, flies at you, and ultimately runs the clock down in a battle that requires a credit or two over reflexes and aim.

The phantom (Level 5 boss) is another great example of ridiculous gameplay- it's invisible until it gets right in front of you, then you have less than a second to sight the pilot and get a headshot before eating a hit. Not impossible, but I can single credit the original Silent Scope- this one just makes you frustrated for no good reason.

It's fun, but the fake difficulty makes it irritating.

CONTROLS - 10

It's a sniper rifle mounted at the opposite end of the game screen. You aim it. Once you get accquainted, you'll probably despise holding a regular light pistol.

OVERALL - 7

It's a great game marred by ridiculous jumps in the difficulty. The lack of 2 player also makes this game a little less enjoyable than the stellar-yet-also-annoying SS2. Sound needs not be covered- in the arcade you can barely hear it anyways; and besides, what's there neither subtracts or adds to the overall experience. Unless you're partial to really crappy voice acting and the silenced shot from the rifle, you'll be ok.

When you get to the first level boss, shoot him in the very tip of his left foot. Not because it's a secret, or anything. It just looks cool.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/26/04