AWPS FOR LOSING TEAM ONLY
Play It:
For the arcade, PS2, and XBox (as part of Silent Scope Complete.) Just so you know, there are several different subtitles for this game depending on the region: Dark Silhouette, Fatal Judgment, and Innocent Sweeper.
Story:
A military base where experimental VX gas missiles are being developed is attacked by a terrorist group. The agency believes that they will use it to attack England. Covert ops group Alpha Squad was sent in, but all contact has been lost... Falcon, now back on the payroll, is sent along with another sniper named Jackal to find the lost team and stop the terrorist plot. Oh, and some terrorist on a completely unrelated mission vows that he will have his revenge some day... Any takers on whether he's somehow involved?
Graphics:
Definite improvement over the previous title, but still wasn't quite up to snuff back then.
Sound:
Slightly more memorable (but still mostly forgettable) BGM. It's not bad but you probably won't be able to recall more than 2 tracks until at least a few games. Sound effects are sufficient. Voice acting has taken a bit of a dip though, and even surpasses House Of The Dead 2 in some ways. While the voice actors were horribly overacting there, I have never heard a more unenthusiastic bunch of VA's then here, at least not in a shoot em' up. The lines are delivered like a 6-year old being forced to help his sister act out her part in a play. The script looks like it was written by the same person that did the first; since this game was made about a year after the first, that would make him now about 8. Also, several lines are abruptly cut off right in the middle of the last word.
Difficulty:
Really depends on how you look at it. Home version is a bit rough with only 2 continues, but extra lives and continues are unlocked by failure, which will make the game MUCH easier.
Enjoyment:
Hasn't been hurt a bit. In fact, it's better. Time is much better allotted here. You can still fall into that never ending "Hurry up!" rut, but it is nowhere near as rough as it was before. Nothing really new, but nobody else has tried out the sniper rifle, so it's still a fresh game. Bonus points for the final chapter: definitely not how I expected to take out the big boss. Now 2 players can take on the enemy, or go head-to-head to see who's the better sniper. 2-Player is strangely absent from the SS Complete version.
Replay Value:
Sadly a bit lacking. No 'choose your own path' choices here. However, you can play as either Falcon or Jackal, who each have their own path. It's mostly just different angles, but there are a couple differences. There's also a good and bad ending (or at least a more elaborate 'game over' if you prefer.)
Rant Session (spoilers):
Sadly, the game manuals don't have nearly as many pathetic bios for the characters like in the original, probably because the writer was soon fired after being caught huffing whiteout while at work. It's just the snipers and the Big Boss. Props to Sploosh for giving me the transcipts. Here's the heroes:
JACKAL: As a former special forces member, Jackal's violent personality led him to disobey orders and go on a violent rampage, endangering the lives of his unit. As a result, he was labeled a threat to society and imprisoned. He is the older brother of Laura, one of the female hostages. Although he has been temporarily released in exchange for his cooperation in obtaining information and eliminating the terrorists, he will stop at nothing to rescue his sister. Acting largely on impulse, he tends to forget his role as a sniper and attack directly.
FALCON: Despite his retirement from the frontlines, Falcon's cool, calculating personality and unsurpassed skill enabled him to single-handedly rescue the American President's family in SILENT SCOPE. Now, he has returned to his old haunts as a special counter-terrorist agent. He is the former lover of Laura, one of the female hostages. Teaming up with Jackal (Sniper 1) he will see the mission through to it's completion. He always acts with a cool head, and never fails to carry out his duty as a sniper.
Get that? Jackal forgets he's a sniper and attacks directly. Falcon is the cool-headed one. Now why is Jackal Sniper 1? Shouldn't Falcon be #1? Probably just a ploy for rivalry. Anyway, what's this about Laura?
LAURA: Laura is the younger sister of Jackal (Sniper 1) and the former lover of Falcon (Sniper 2). She was a member of the missing counter-terrorist unit, acting both as a missile-disarmament engineer and as a chemical researcher. However, her team was betrayed by one of it's members, a spy for the enemy, and Laura was taken hostage along with the other engineers.
Ooohhh. A love interest! AND he's fucked the sister of his rival! Sounds great so far. Sadly, Konami doesn't take advantage of this opportunity for Falcon to use the phrase "I may have totally missed the headshot on the big boss, but... I FUCKED YOUR SISTER!" during one of their little exchanges. The only thing is, those of us in the arcade didn't have a manual, so we have absolutely no idea that they were together. And just so we're clear Konami, we can logically assume traitors are spys for the enemy, but thanks for the specification.
The game begins in 1998, which would be BEFORE the events of Silent Scope (I'm talking about the first one you dimwits.) Apparently the English government is transporting some top secret documents and wants Falcon and Jackal to protect it. I guess this is also before Jackal went crazy, endangered his team, and got imprisoned. Somehow, the snipers are set up at the bridge, which is exactly where the ambush occurred. This may suggest that the government discovered this ambush and deployed them to eliminate them. I have a better idea though: If we know we will get ambushed while driving across the bridge, how about WE DON'T DRIVE OVER THE BRIDGE AND GET ATTACKED IN THE FIRST PLACE? We can still send a strike team there to kick ass, but you don't need to risk the documents. However, HQ neglected to tell Falcon about his backup, to which he doesn't take well. Could this be why he quit his job?
For the arcade, PS2, and XBox (as part of Silent Scope Complete.) Just so you know, there are several different subtitles for this game depending on the region: Dark Silhouette, Fatal Judgment, and Innocent Sweeper.
Story:
A military base where experimental VX gas missiles are being developed is attacked by a terrorist group. The agency believes that they will use it to attack England. Covert ops group Alpha Squad was sent in, but all contact has been lost... Falcon, now back on the payroll, is sent along with another sniper named Jackal to find the lost team and stop the terrorist plot. Oh, and some terrorist on a completely unrelated mission vows that he will have his revenge some day... Any takers on whether he's somehow involved?
Graphics:
Definite improvement over the previous title, but still wasn't quite up to snuff back then.
Sound:
Slightly more memorable (but still mostly forgettable) BGM. It's not bad but you probably won't be able to recall more than 2 tracks until at least a few games. Sound effects are sufficient. Voice acting has taken a bit of a dip though, and even surpasses House Of The Dead 2 in some ways. While the voice actors were horribly overacting there, I have never heard a more unenthusiastic bunch of VA's then here, at least not in a shoot em' up. The lines are delivered like a 6-year old being forced to help his sister act out her part in a play. The script looks like it was written by the same person that did the first; since this game was made about a year after the first, that would make him now about 8. Also, several lines are abruptly cut off right in the middle of the last word.
Difficulty:
Really depends on how you look at it. Home version is a bit rough with only 2 continues, but extra lives and continues are unlocked by failure, which will make the game MUCH easier.
Enjoyment:
Hasn't been hurt a bit. In fact, it's better. Time is much better allotted here. You can still fall into that never ending "Hurry up!" rut, but it is nowhere near as rough as it was before. Nothing really new, but nobody else has tried out the sniper rifle, so it's still a fresh game. Bonus points for the final chapter: definitely not how I expected to take out the big boss. Now 2 players can take on the enemy, or go head-to-head to see who's the better sniper. 2-Player is strangely absent from the SS Complete version.
Replay Value:
Sadly a bit lacking. No 'choose your own path' choices here. However, you can play as either Falcon or Jackal, who each have their own path. It's mostly just different angles, but there are a couple differences. There's also a good and bad ending (or at least a more elaborate 'game over' if you prefer.)
Rant Session (spoilers):
Sadly, the game manuals don't have nearly as many pathetic bios for the characters like in the original, probably because the writer was soon fired after being caught huffing whiteout while at work. It's just the snipers and the Big Boss. Props to Sploosh for giving me the transcipts. Here's the heroes:
JACKAL: As a former special forces member, Jackal's violent personality led him to disobey orders and go on a violent rampage, endangering the lives of his unit. As a result, he was labeled a threat to society and imprisoned. He is the older brother of Laura, one of the female hostages. Although he has been temporarily released in exchange for his cooperation in obtaining information and eliminating the terrorists, he will stop at nothing to rescue his sister. Acting largely on impulse, he tends to forget his role as a sniper and attack directly.
FALCON: Despite his retirement from the frontlines, Falcon's cool, calculating personality and unsurpassed skill enabled him to single-handedly rescue the American President's family in SILENT SCOPE. Now, he has returned to his old haunts as a special counter-terrorist agent. He is the former lover of Laura, one of the female hostages. Teaming up with Jackal (Sniper 1) he will see the mission through to it's completion. He always acts with a cool head, and never fails to carry out his duty as a sniper.
Get that? Jackal forgets he's a sniper and attacks directly. Falcon is the cool-headed one. Now why is Jackal Sniper 1? Shouldn't Falcon be #1? Probably just a ploy for rivalry. Anyway, what's this about Laura?
LAURA: Laura is the younger sister of Jackal (Sniper 1) and the former lover of Falcon (Sniper 2). She was a member of the missing counter-terrorist unit, acting both as a missile-disarmament engineer and as a chemical researcher. However, her team was betrayed by one of it's members, a spy for the enemy, and Laura was taken hostage along with the other engineers.
Ooohhh. A love interest! AND he's fucked the sister of his rival! Sounds great so far. Sadly, Konami doesn't take advantage of this opportunity for Falcon to use the phrase "I may have totally missed the headshot on the big boss, but... I FUCKED YOUR SISTER!" during one of their little exchanges. The only thing is, those of us in the arcade didn't have a manual, so we have absolutely no idea that they were together. And just so we're clear Konami, we can logically assume traitors are spys for the enemy, but thanks for the specification.
The game begins in 1998, which would be BEFORE the events of Silent Scope (I'm talking about the first one you dimwits.) Apparently the English government is transporting some top secret documents and wants Falcon and Jackal to protect it. I guess this is also before Jackal went crazy, endangered his team, and got imprisoned. Somehow, the snipers are set up at the bridge, which is exactly where the ambush occurred. This may suggest that the government discovered this ambush and deployed them to eliminate them. I have a better idea though: If we know we will get ambushed while driving across the bridge, how about WE DON'T DRIVE OVER THE BRIDGE AND GET ATTACKED IN THE FIRST PLACE? We can still send a strike team there to kick ass, but you don't need to risk the documents. However, HQ neglected to tell Falcon about his backup, to which he doesn't take well. Could this be why he quit his job?
"OMG YOU ASSIGNED ANOTHER AGENT? I ONLY WORK ALONE!
J4CK41 STEALS ALL MY KILLS! I DON'T WANT 2 PLAY ANYMORE!" (Ragequits)
A helicopter rises up from underneath the bridge and
a man inside vows revenge... They tried to hide a helicopter underneath
the bridge? No wonder they blew their ambush. The snipers don't seem to
take him seriously, as they let him escape. Perhaps that's why you don't
get a "You did it" message like with the other levels. Anyway,
about this fool in the chopper:
BIBBOSS: The mastermind behind the terrorist incident, BibBoss has an evil charm about him. Boasting superhuman abilities, he is building an organization that threatens to take over the world. He plans to use the genocide-capable prototype VX gas missile to display his power. He is an old friend and former comrade of Big Boss, the villain of SILENT SCOPE.
This passage is written exactly as it is in the manual. Well, I had simply thought that BibBoss was just a typo, but seeing how his name is misspelled not once, but TWICE, while the previous boss is correctly referred to as Big Boss, I have no choice to assume that his name really was supposed to be BibBoss. However, the higher-ups didn't approve, as he is Big Boss in the game. He also just happens to be friends with the Big Boss of the previous game? What, is there some secret Big Boss Club or something? And what are these 'superhuman abilities' they speak of?
1st appearance: Vows revenge and leaves via helicopter.
2nd appearance: Arms missiles, talks, laughs, and leaves via trapdoor.
3rd appearance: Talks and then runs off.
4th appearance: Rides helicopter and offers a deal, then fires a few shots and flies away.
5th appearance: Dances, gets shot, and falls off a really tall tower.
Must be those dance moves. Very superhuman.
Now, in the present, Falcon is dispatched to stop the aforementioned missile crisis along with the same sniper that assisted him years before. What a coincidence. While flying into combat, the commander feels fit to let Falcon in on a little tidbit. Oh yeah, we sent in another team and now they vanished. We suspect they're traitors, so you go take em' out. Yep, the ENTIRE damn team (which is HUGE for a covert assault team) seems to have been bought out by the terrorists. Now, I still don't really see why a pair of snipers are the logical candidates to send on a mission to recover missiles.
Well, maybe not ALL of them. A woman named Laura is immediately spotted who Falcon seems to recognize and also happens to be Jackal's sister. Mind you, the fact he recognized her is the ONLY hint that Falcon was her boyfriend in the game. The terrorists make their escape with snow trucks, snowmobiles, and.... snowboards. Uh, whatever. Jackal cuts off a truck of missiles with his snowmobile. The boss is... Fox. Argh, I thought we were done with all the animal names in the first one. Rather then flattening the tiny vehicle, Fox gets out to engage in shooting wars, which of course he loses.
Next, the terrorists hijack a cargo plane to transport missiles and hostages. Falcon and Jackal somehow find out and attack as the plane lands. Guess who shows up? Cobra! Is there some rule that states that at least one most certainly dead villain returns in the sequels to shooting games? First Joe Fang from Virtua Cop, then Wild Dog from Time Crisis, and now Cobra. Strangely, although there are clearly several hostages in the plane, when Jackal drives inside, there are none. The level ends with Falcon yelling at Jackal as the plane crashes into a hanger. Fade to black... Whatever happened to Jackal?
Oh... he's fine, and now he and Falcon are storming an armory in England. They're STILL looking for missiles and hostages. How many damn missiles and hostages did the terrorists take? The enemy has moved, but there's still a force waiting to eliminate the snipers. The boss mentions the opera for some reason before attacking, so that if he dies, the snipers will still be able to find the terrorists.
At the operahouse, the snipers discover the Big Boss of the group, none other than Bibboss, that clown from the ambush at the beginning of the game. He's got the missiles ready, but of course he'll give you a chance to save the city by performing some expert sniping. He's placed the remotes on hostages suspended above the stage. Interestingly, the bullets apparently don't penetrate the remotes, so you got that going for you.
Next, the 2-man team hits up the terrorist's hidden base (exactly 1 year after the ambush. How convenient.) How does Jackal find out about all these terrorist sites in 2 days? BibBoss gives the snipers a deal: fight to the death and he'll give the girl to the winner. They immediately turn on each other. Unsurprisingly, the bad guy doesn't keep his promise and attacks the winner with his helicopter. However, he then decides to just drop a few lackeys, fly off, and assume you'll be killed. Surprise surprise, the OTHER sniper is still alive and saves the winner. They were using PAINTBALLS to trick BibBoss. Even while averting a missile crisis, bringing along a couple clips of paintballs is never a bad idea.
Bibby flies to Big Ben to celebrate his victory. The snipers are able to locate him pretty quickly. Maybe Bibboss also left his "Celebratory Dancing Location" plans on top of his desk along with the locations of his outposts. After winning, the snipers part ways, the winner of the duel leaving with Laura. Disturbingly, there is a very heavy 'winner gets the girl' implication going on here. Isn't Jackal her brother? And you thought lightgun shooters would never take a stand on moral issues.
Bottom Line:
A straight ahead sequel. Nothing new here, but if you want more sniping action, this is your only fix (well, aside from SS3.) However, once again, the PS2 port proves unsatisfactory for true gunstars. If you can, nab Silent Scope Complete unless you absolutely need to get a friend in on the action (although the arcade would still be a better alternative.)
BIBBOSS: The mastermind behind the terrorist incident, BibBoss has an evil charm about him. Boasting superhuman abilities, he is building an organization that threatens to take over the world. He plans to use the genocide-capable prototype VX gas missile to display his power. He is an old friend and former comrade of Big Boss, the villain of SILENT SCOPE.
This passage is written exactly as it is in the manual. Well, I had simply thought that BibBoss was just a typo, but seeing how his name is misspelled not once, but TWICE, while the previous boss is correctly referred to as Big Boss, I have no choice to assume that his name really was supposed to be BibBoss. However, the higher-ups didn't approve, as he is Big Boss in the game. He also just happens to be friends with the Big Boss of the previous game? What, is there some secret Big Boss Club or something? And what are these 'superhuman abilities' they speak of?
1st appearance: Vows revenge and leaves via helicopter.
2nd appearance: Arms missiles, talks, laughs, and leaves via trapdoor.
3rd appearance: Talks and then runs off.
4th appearance: Rides helicopter and offers a deal, then fires a few shots and flies away.
5th appearance: Dances, gets shot, and falls off a really tall tower.
Must be those dance moves. Very superhuman.
Now, in the present, Falcon is dispatched to stop the aforementioned missile crisis along with the same sniper that assisted him years before. What a coincidence. While flying into combat, the commander feels fit to let Falcon in on a little tidbit. Oh yeah, we sent in another team and now they vanished. We suspect they're traitors, so you go take em' out. Yep, the ENTIRE damn team (which is HUGE for a covert assault team) seems to have been bought out by the terrorists. Now, I still don't really see why a pair of snipers are the logical candidates to send on a mission to recover missiles.
Well, maybe not ALL of them. A woman named Laura is immediately spotted who Falcon seems to recognize and also happens to be Jackal's sister. Mind you, the fact he recognized her is the ONLY hint that Falcon was her boyfriend in the game. The terrorists make their escape with snow trucks, snowmobiles, and.... snowboards. Uh, whatever. Jackal cuts off a truck of missiles with his snowmobile. The boss is... Fox. Argh, I thought we were done with all the animal names in the first one. Rather then flattening the tiny vehicle, Fox gets out to engage in shooting wars, which of course he loses.
Next, the terrorists hijack a cargo plane to transport missiles and hostages. Falcon and Jackal somehow find out and attack as the plane lands. Guess who shows up? Cobra! Is there some rule that states that at least one most certainly dead villain returns in the sequels to shooting games? First Joe Fang from Virtua Cop, then Wild Dog from Time Crisis, and now Cobra. Strangely, although there are clearly several hostages in the plane, when Jackal drives inside, there are none. The level ends with Falcon yelling at Jackal as the plane crashes into a hanger. Fade to black... Whatever happened to Jackal?
Oh... he's fine, and now he and Falcon are storming an armory in England. They're STILL looking for missiles and hostages. How many damn missiles and hostages did the terrorists take? The enemy has moved, but there's still a force waiting to eliminate the snipers. The boss mentions the opera for some reason before attacking, so that if he dies, the snipers will still be able to find the terrorists.
At the operahouse, the snipers discover the Big Boss of the group, none other than Bibboss, that clown from the ambush at the beginning of the game. He's got the missiles ready, but of course he'll give you a chance to save the city by performing some expert sniping. He's placed the remotes on hostages suspended above the stage. Interestingly, the bullets apparently don't penetrate the remotes, so you got that going for you.
Next, the 2-man team hits up the terrorist's hidden base (exactly 1 year after the ambush. How convenient.) How does Jackal find out about all these terrorist sites in 2 days? BibBoss gives the snipers a deal: fight to the death and he'll give the girl to the winner. They immediately turn on each other. Unsurprisingly, the bad guy doesn't keep his promise and attacks the winner with his helicopter. However, he then decides to just drop a few lackeys, fly off, and assume you'll be killed. Surprise surprise, the OTHER sniper is still alive and saves the winner. They were using PAINTBALLS to trick BibBoss. Even while averting a missile crisis, bringing along a couple clips of paintballs is never a bad idea.
Bibby flies to Big Ben to celebrate his victory. The snipers are able to locate him pretty quickly. Maybe Bibboss also left his "Celebratory Dancing Location" plans on top of his desk along with the locations of his outposts. After winning, the snipers part ways, the winner of the duel leaving with Laura. Disturbingly, there is a very heavy 'winner gets the girl' implication going on here. Isn't Jackal her brother? And you thought lightgun shooters would never take a stand on moral issues.
Bottom Line:
A straight ahead sequel. Nothing new here, but if you want more sniping action, this is your only fix (well, aside from SS3.) However, once again, the PS2 port proves unsatisfactory for true gunstars. If you can, nab Silent Scope Complete unless you absolutely need to get a friend in on the action (although the arcade would still be a better alternative.)