Silent Scope

"You think you're a sniper? Not until you've tried this..."

As most shooting games go, it's always been about running head long into a giant horde of oncoming enemies and blasting away until you make it through the other side. It can be monsters, it can be dinosaurs, it can be enemies soldiers hiding behind boxes. For the most part, it's all the same, no matter how you look at it, and perception is everything!

With Silent Scope, you're shooting people again, as before, but with a large and rather noticable difference. Instead of running up on the horde of terrorists, you're looking at them from behind a rather fine tuned sniper's scope and picking them off at will in a variety of different ways. From head shots to groin shots, you pick off your opponents from afar, and try not to get nailed in the process!

The story sets in during a terrorist attack in which you have to save the different members of the Presidential family from the clutches of a terroist group that is strangely similiar to the Metal Gear games. In fact, in some instances, you'll probably be looking at the game and seeing some rather noticable ideas and appearences from MGS!

-Game Play 8/10-

The most catching point of Silent Scope is the fact that the game offers you a different way of executing your opponents, and that is with the sniper's scope. There is nothing like aiming and firing a head shot from a good 500 yards and watching your target crumple to the ground! What Silent Scope also offers, is the different paths that you can take through the game in order to give you a slightly different path each time you play. Just remember, while the game make be about accuracy, you're on a timed basis, so make your shots count, and make sure to keep moving!

As logic would have it, the different shots that you take have a different effect. With bosses, your accuracy has to be dead on, and a head shot will take anything out, including the toughest boss. Something that you have to learn to do, is move your scope along with the camera if you happen to be moving, in order to get a clear cut shot off at your target. This adds a whole new dimension to the shooting game, in which it's about control, and not about mindlessly shooting!

-Control 8/10-

While nothing will ever replace the scope from the arcade version of this game, Silent Scope's dead on targeting is rather well ported. With the different shoulder buttons controlling several different functions, you'll find that some time will be spent just getting used to the new way that you have to use your weapon! With several different control setups to use, the control is based solely on your ability to keep the scope on target and take the shot when it's good.

-Visual / Audio 8/10-

The visuals have been ported over from the original, and don't get too much better than what you see on the screen. The different views that you have, as well as the detail is comparable to the arcade brother, and also the various stages that you go through are teeming with life and animation!

The audio comes in with a little bit of music as well as the radio voice of your partner or rather your commander or whomever it is as you go through the different stages which will never commend you, but sure will dog you if you screw up. Explosions, grunts and groans come off without much of a hitch, and even the soft thump of your rifle sound great on a stereo or even with headphones.

-Overall 8/10-

Silent Scope is good, but not the best there is. Once the effect of playing as a sniper wears off, you'll find that the game is pretty much like everything else out there right now. The game play is enough to keep a person riveted to their seat with the amount of secrets to be found, but in all reality, Silent Scope is a rent first and then decide later type of game that only offers more of the same, but with a different perspective. And like before, perception is everything!

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/26/01, Updated 09/26/01