Descent: Freespace - Silent Threat

"Not nearly as good as the original"

Silent Threat is the add-on to the original Freespace game and contains 12 Volition made campaign missions that clear up a lot of uncertainty from the original Freespace, 30 fan made missions, and 3 gauntlet missions. I'll evaluate all three parts of this game in this review.

Silent Threat Campaign
The campaign takes place only days after the very end of Freespace, from the point of view of a different pilot. I won't go too much into detail about the game, because I don't want to give up any spoilers about this add-on or the original game, but I will give a brief synopsis of it. You are a pilot in the Special Ops branch of the Galactic Terran Intelligence (GTI) and you are stationed on the GTD Krios, one of the GTI's several destroyers. The primary mission of the GTI is to provide Terran Command with accurate and comprehensive information regarding the tactics, technologies, activities, and strategic objectives of forces hostile to the Galactic Terran Alliance (GTA). Not only do you have to fight with the xenophobic and genocidal Shivans, but you have to deal with the Hammer of Light (a Vasudan religious sect) and rouge Terrans as well. You're not sure of who your real enemy is until almost the very end. Not only that, but you have to deal with 4 brand-new ships and several new weapons that you never saw in the original.
While the plot sounds good, the game is not. The voice acting is terrible, several of the missions are boring (especially the last one, it drags on forever!), and overall it's not very fun. It's obvious that Volition didn't spend much time with this game and only tried to plug up some plot holes that remained from the original.

Silent Threat Score - 3/10

Fan Missions
I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprise with the 30 fan made missions. While there is no voice acting, so you have to read what your wing mates say mid-dogfight, this part is very enjoyable. The quality ranges from poor to incredibly good. I won't focus on the poor missions, but will only focus on one series of missions that was designed by a single person. The Destiny of Peace 1-7 is a series of 7 missions designed by Freespace fan Justin Mills. The missions (Flagstaff, No Man's Land, The White Flag, The Employer, Shadow Dancer, Checkmate, and The Destiny of Peace) follows a lowly traffic enforcer of a major Installation as he rises in prestige by killing all of the enemies he faces. His skills impress Command so much that he is assigned to the elite GTD Nepenthe and he starts to fight on the front line. However, as tensions rise between Terrans and Vasudans, you have to fight to stop a full fledged war from starting. In my opinion, this series is much better then the Silent Threat missions.

The Destiny of Peace Score - 10/10
Overall Fan Mission Score - 7/10

The Gauntlet
The Gauntlet is a series of three mission where you shoot down as many Terran, Vasudan, or Shivan ships as you possibly can. There is no plotline, no mission objectives, and no specific need to do these missions; yet, the Gauntlets are all very fun and challenging (especially on higher difficulty levels). I can't really rate this section, due to the fact that all you do is kill, but this is very enjoyable.

Overall Score - 5/10
While the fan missions and the gauntlets are fun, the Silent Threat campaign was not. Volition ruined a great plot by barely putting any effort into it whatsoever. Despite the fact that the fan missions do raise it's overall quality, you will definitely feel like you've been ripped off by buying this game. Only buy the Silent Threat add-on if you want to clear up some questions before you play Freespace 2.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 06/02/03, Updated 06/02/03