SILENT SNIPER, ANNOYING ANNOUNCER
Play It:
For the arcade, Dreamcast, PS2, and XBox (as part of Silent Scope Complete.)
Story:
A terrorist group has attacked the President's motorcade and kidnapped the entire First Family! They are demanding the release of their 'enemy dictator', whatever that means. Naturally, the US isn't going to take this kind of shit from terrorists, so a sniper codenamed Falcon is sent in (although he wasn't named until the sequel.)
Werd.
Graphics:
Circa 1999. Nothing that was too impressive back then though.
Sound:
All fair across the board. Well composed but forgettable music, functional soundbites, and of course, shabby voice acting. However, the script was clearly not proofread and looks like it was written by a 7-year old. Some examples are "You are the great sniper", and "This is the live switch to the bomb which will destroy everything!" Your announcer is even more annoying than your usual "Reload!" guy since he comments on your accuracy, coolness under fire, and speed. The problem is he never misses anything. Squeeze the trigger a little too fast after a shot... "Calm down!" When you have 10 seconds left, he says "Hurry up!" EACH AND EVERY TIME. Since you regain very little time, you'll hit 10 seconds, whack someone and gain your 3 seconds to locate and eliminate the next guy, which is probably not enough. This leads to...
"Hurry up!" (bang!) "Hurry up!" (bang!) "Hurry up!" (bang!) "Hurry up!" (bang!) "Hurry up!" (get the point?)
Difficulty:
Not hard overall, but a tight allowance of continues in the home ports (2, or 'you earn more by doing well') makes this a good challenge with the rifle. The game is short, but doesn't allow for much error. I'm all for tough games, but this game is hard for the wrong reason: you have an impossibly tight time limit. It's like Time Crisis on crack. I am adamant hater of time limits that serve no plot purpose. If there's a bomb going off, fine, but whenever time limits are imposed, it just screams "We didn't think our game was hard enough, so we're just gonna slap a time limit on it." Oftentimes, they either give you way too much time or too little. Increase the damage, reduce my life, put more enemies in, anything but make me fucking run a game at breakneck speed.
In TC, the time was ticking down but here it just fucking drops like it's tied to an anvil. Now in TC, time was a counterbalance to prevent abuse of the hide feature, probably for the sake of whoever's waiting to play the game next in the arcade. Here it's just a constant instant death dogging you as you regain very little time per kill. It's a real buzzkill to go into a shootout and lose, but not because you got shot, because you just weren't killing enemies fast enough. It's like watching Die Hard and seeing John McClane mow down a room full of terrorists then suddenly die while running down a hall to the boss.
I suppose using the controller makes it much easier, but why would you do that? Oh yeah, see below.
Enjoyment:
Depends. See, the whole fun of this game is the original light gun, er... rifle. With it, it's a blast. Without, it isn't much fun at all. Sadly, the home ports for PS2 and DC lack any support (I hear the Japanese versions DO, but I have no more info than that), which pretty much ruins the whole fun. The XBox version at least has the Pelican sniper rifle which can make the game almost like being at the arcade.
The levels are the game's strongest point. They are all unique and have their own twists. I hardly even needed to replay them to write the walkthroughs since they were so memorable. One lively part has you shooting at a fleeing kidnapper in a football stadium where the players are chasing him. The only real complaint I have is the stupid time limit. I'm disappointed with practically no damage to cause, although I suppose you don't have time for that anyway. Bottom line: Arcade or XBox with gun = good. PS2 or Dreamcast = don't bother.
Replay:
There are a few branching/alternate paths, and 2 endings. Not that much, but at least it's there.
Rant Session (spoilers):
So anyway, the president was kidnapped and is being held ransom for the release of an enemy dictator. I'm not sure if 'dictator' means he's the ruler of something, but it can't be much since nobody ever mentions his name. So the government decides to send in a solo sniper rather than a full-on assault team. Now, the whole sniper angle is original and a nice change of pace, but are snipers really the kind of people to send for a one-man RESCUE operation? I always thought snipers just kinda sat around and waited for someone to walk into their crosshairs.
"You have an impressive battle record with the task force, but for unknown reasons, retired from the unit with no advance warning. Currently residing in Chicago, Illinois, you work as a sniper for hire in the underworld. You have successfully carried out numerous difficult missions with an innate cool-headedness, earning you legendary status as a sniper. Extremely reticent by nature, you treasure solitude and are still single. Your only companion is a one of a kind, custom sniper rifle."
The sniper in question is Falcon. If this were a movie, I'm sure they'd have a scene showing him refusing to help before someone strikes a nerve, but Konami didn't feel like making more FMV. So Falcon arrives on scene of the motorcade assault to help the police. I don't know about you, but I'm seeing a timeframe problem here. Since the president's been kidnapped, the terrorists have made their demands, the government contacted a retired operative, briefed him on the situation, and deployed him in time to help the police with the motorcade assault?
Even more to the point, how come 20 or so terrorists with sniper rifles on the the roofs of SKYSCRAPERS are completely unable to kill 3 cops armed with handguns? C'mon, they've even got em' surrounded on all angles. Now it's branching path time. Path 1 puts you fighting some guy named Scorpion on top of the "tower building" to rescue the First Lady. What, was this supposed to be the Sears tower, but Konami was too chickenshit to use the actual name? Now how about this guy's bio?
"At one time, Scorpion was able to benchpress 770 pounds with ease, but he had to retire from bodybuilding after suffering a devastating injury in which he tore his right thigh muscle. His life in disarray after seeing his dreams dashed, Scorpion was invited to join the terrorist group. He gained a reputation for his Herculian (yep, they misspelled it) strength and brilliant mind and soon rose to the rank of officer. He was given the code name "The Butcher" because of his imposing muscular body. Incidentally, his apprentice is the one that appears in the fighter plane."
I guess ex-athletes are the ideal candidates for terrorists right now. Wonder if they've approached OJ? Able to benchpress 770+ pounds and a brilliant mind? Oh yeah right. The path continues onto the freeway where you fire from some sort of open police jeep in which the Chicago PD often deploy snipers to stop pursuits.
Air battle advertises: "Shoot against the air battle!" The boss is a jet operated by 'Scorpion Bros'. Aw rats, I thought I actually gonna be fighting the air. I'm guessing the name is a typo since there's only 1 guy in the jet, and he sure looks a lot like Scorpion. Scorpion's bio says that his apprentice is in the jet, so it would seem that his brother is an apprentice terrorist yet he wasn't deemed important enough to get his own bio. When the jet crashes, you save the First Lady. Or at least someone else does while you're shooting at a jet, because I never saw her anywhere. To the freeway again.
The third path is in the stadium, where you're tasked with finding the president's daughter because "we can't identify them from here". How about that guy running across the field with a girl on his shoulders? And those others dressed all in black with ski masks? If you can't stop him, he'll escape in a car to the freeway because nobody considered that the terrorists might try to escape and set up a perimeter. Way to go guys. The dude in question is Cobra, whose bio reads:
"A long time ago, you prevented Cobra from completing a commission, shooting Cobra in the right arm. He underwent an operation to repair his arm and later, burning with vengeance, came after you time and again, but each effort ended in failure. His ruthless killing techniques and indomitable stamina and physique have earned him the code name Ironman. Caring little about how he achieves his goal, Cobra joined the terrorist group for the sole purpose of seeking revenge against you."
Woo, that one almost makes sense in the grand scheme. You stopped him from completing a commission? It's not really incorrect, but who the hell says commission? That's right, nobody. And he joins the terrorist group simply to kill you. Because of course they knew that the government was going to find and contract a certain retired sniper to rescue the President from their little operation. Right.
This path features another level, the hotel. Apparently the First Lady was captured there. In Wisconsin. A MERE EIGHT HOURS (at most) after the attack on the motorcade. What the hell was she doing going to Wisconsin after being attacked in Chicago and having her husband captured by terrorists? The boss is Hornet:
"Skillful at hiding undercover and unrivaled in shooting accuracy, Hornet has an appropriate name, as his strike is like the sting of a hornet. He will take on any job no matter how crude, provided the pay is generous. Boasting that he is the god of snipers, Hornet has been waiting for a showdown with you in order to earn himself a reputation as the No. 1 sniper of the underworld. Though he has the habit of saying he's No. 1, he seems more like the No. 1 narcissist."
Well thanks for totally beating us over the head with the whole Hornet thing. Well, it's pretty generic, but at least it isn't totally fucking stupid.
The final level is a raid on the enemy's base, which is of course is an operation best suited for a sniper. But before you can enter, you must defeat the guards Tom & Jerry. Anyone noticing a strange fascination with names having to do with animals? I can't believe Konami didn't just name these guys Cat and Mouse. Some inside talk suggests these guys were apparently going to be named the Killing Machines, but I guess they didn't want to be confused with these guys.
"The terrorist group raised these killing machines from birth to be assassins. A drug was administered to Jerry in large doses to adapt his body specifically to night combat, but resulted in wiping out all of his emotions. Since then, he has refused to listen to anyone but Tom, who he has known since birth. Tom, who is teetering on the brink of insanity, attempted to escape from the group with Jerry to seek a more human-like existence. His attempt failed, but he has not given up his dream of freedom."
What a riveting backstory. Too bad there's absolutely no hint of this anywhere in the game. Jerry received drugs to adapt him to night combat, yet it is clearly obvious that they are both wearing NIGHTVISION GOGGLES. The most telling hint is when the game identifies them as "Tom and Jerry the men with nightvision goggles". I guess the serum didn't work at all.
After infiltrating the mansion, Falcon proceeds to search it with absolutely no semblance of an order. Below the building, inside a loading dock, Falcon meets "Monica the armed secretary", who's obviously got an infatuation with the President. Exactly what she is the secretary of, I don't know. I'd suppose she would be the President's in a not-so-subtle jab at Clinton. However, I'd think people with ties to terrorism wouldn't make it past White House background checks. She's clad in full body armor, which is detailed in the manual:
"In the presence of her stunning beauty and ingenious torture techniques, all men cannot help but obey Monica, including the Big Boss. In fact, some say the Big Boss kidnapped the President simply because she wanted to torture him. The armor she wears represents the latest technology created by the group´s internal research and development team. The armor was designed to repel all bullets shot from any angle. However, since the top priority was making it lightweight, the armor suffers in durability. With her beautiful body clad in this armor, she flashes a bewitching smile as she hunts her prey again tonight."
Some also say that the Big Boss kidnapped the President to ransom him for the release of the dictator. I think it was the guy in the intro. Hold on, read that part about the armor again:
"The armor was designed to repel all bullets shot from any angle. However, since the top priority was making it lightweight, the armor suffers in durability."
Uh, what? Yeah, we designed this armor to be impenetrable, but our priority was making it light, so we cut back on it's strength. How the hell can the armor be strong yet not durable? Truth be told, I think the armor's real priority was to be as risqué as possible.
For the arcade, Dreamcast, PS2, and XBox (as part of Silent Scope Complete.)
Story:
A terrorist group has attacked the President's motorcade and kidnapped the entire First Family! They are demanding the release of their 'enemy dictator', whatever that means. Naturally, the US isn't going to take this kind of shit from terrorists, so a sniper codenamed Falcon is sent in (although he wasn't named until the sequel.)
Werd.
Graphics:
Circa 1999. Nothing that was too impressive back then though.
Sound:
All fair across the board. Well composed but forgettable music, functional soundbites, and of course, shabby voice acting. However, the script was clearly not proofread and looks like it was written by a 7-year old. Some examples are "You are the great sniper", and "This is the live switch to the bomb which will destroy everything!" Your announcer is even more annoying than your usual "Reload!" guy since he comments on your accuracy, coolness under fire, and speed. The problem is he never misses anything. Squeeze the trigger a little too fast after a shot... "Calm down!" When you have 10 seconds left, he says "Hurry up!" EACH AND EVERY TIME. Since you regain very little time, you'll hit 10 seconds, whack someone and gain your 3 seconds to locate and eliminate the next guy, which is probably not enough. This leads to...
"Hurry up!" (bang!) "Hurry up!" (bang!) "Hurry up!" (bang!) "Hurry up!" (bang!) "Hurry up!" (get the point?)
Difficulty:
Not hard overall, but a tight allowance of continues in the home ports (2, or 'you earn more by doing well') makes this a good challenge with the rifle. The game is short, but doesn't allow for much error. I'm all for tough games, but this game is hard for the wrong reason: you have an impossibly tight time limit. It's like Time Crisis on crack. I am adamant hater of time limits that serve no plot purpose. If there's a bomb going off, fine, but whenever time limits are imposed, it just screams "We didn't think our game was hard enough, so we're just gonna slap a time limit on it." Oftentimes, they either give you way too much time or too little. Increase the damage, reduce my life, put more enemies in, anything but make me fucking run a game at breakneck speed.
In TC, the time was ticking down but here it just fucking drops like it's tied to an anvil. Now in TC, time was a counterbalance to prevent abuse of the hide feature, probably for the sake of whoever's waiting to play the game next in the arcade. Here it's just a constant instant death dogging you as you regain very little time per kill. It's a real buzzkill to go into a shootout and lose, but not because you got shot, because you just weren't killing enemies fast enough. It's like watching Die Hard and seeing John McClane mow down a room full of terrorists then suddenly die while running down a hall to the boss.
I suppose using the controller makes it much easier, but why would you do that? Oh yeah, see below.
Enjoyment:
Depends. See, the whole fun of this game is the original light gun, er... rifle. With it, it's a blast. Without, it isn't much fun at all. Sadly, the home ports for PS2 and DC lack any support (I hear the Japanese versions DO, but I have no more info than that), which pretty much ruins the whole fun. The XBox version at least has the Pelican sniper rifle which can make the game almost like being at the arcade.
The levels are the game's strongest point. They are all unique and have their own twists. I hardly even needed to replay them to write the walkthroughs since they were so memorable. One lively part has you shooting at a fleeing kidnapper in a football stadium where the players are chasing him. The only real complaint I have is the stupid time limit. I'm disappointed with practically no damage to cause, although I suppose you don't have time for that anyway. Bottom line: Arcade or XBox with gun = good. PS2 or Dreamcast = don't bother.
Replay:
There are a few branching/alternate paths, and 2 endings. Not that much, but at least it's there.
Rant Session (spoilers):
So anyway, the president was kidnapped and is being held ransom for the release of an enemy dictator. I'm not sure if 'dictator' means he's the ruler of something, but it can't be much since nobody ever mentions his name. So the government decides to send in a solo sniper rather than a full-on assault team. Now, the whole sniper angle is original and a nice change of pace, but are snipers really the kind of people to send for a one-man RESCUE operation? I always thought snipers just kinda sat around and waited for someone to walk into their crosshairs.
"You have an impressive battle record with the task force, but for unknown reasons, retired from the unit with no advance warning. Currently residing in Chicago, Illinois, you work as a sniper for hire in the underworld. You have successfully carried out numerous difficult missions with an innate cool-headedness, earning you legendary status as a sniper. Extremely reticent by nature, you treasure solitude and are still single. Your only companion is a one of a kind, custom sniper rifle."
The sniper in question is Falcon. If this were a movie, I'm sure they'd have a scene showing him refusing to help before someone strikes a nerve, but Konami didn't feel like making more FMV. So Falcon arrives on scene of the motorcade assault to help the police. I don't know about you, but I'm seeing a timeframe problem here. Since the president's been kidnapped, the terrorists have made their demands, the government contacted a retired operative, briefed him on the situation, and deployed him in time to help the police with the motorcade assault?
Even more to the point, how come 20 or so terrorists with sniper rifles on the the roofs of SKYSCRAPERS are completely unable to kill 3 cops armed with handguns? C'mon, they've even got em' surrounded on all angles. Now it's branching path time. Path 1 puts you fighting some guy named Scorpion on top of the "tower building" to rescue the First Lady. What, was this supposed to be the Sears tower, but Konami was too chickenshit to use the actual name? Now how about this guy's bio?
"At one time, Scorpion was able to benchpress 770 pounds with ease, but he had to retire from bodybuilding after suffering a devastating injury in which he tore his right thigh muscle. His life in disarray after seeing his dreams dashed, Scorpion was invited to join the terrorist group. He gained a reputation for his Herculian (yep, they misspelled it) strength and brilliant mind and soon rose to the rank of officer. He was given the code name "The Butcher" because of his imposing muscular body. Incidentally, his apprentice is the one that appears in the fighter plane."
I guess ex-athletes are the ideal candidates for terrorists right now. Wonder if they've approached OJ? Able to benchpress 770+ pounds and a brilliant mind? Oh yeah right. The path continues onto the freeway where you fire from some sort of open police jeep in which the Chicago PD often deploy snipers to stop pursuits.
Air battle advertises: "Shoot against the air battle!" The boss is a jet operated by 'Scorpion Bros'. Aw rats, I thought I actually gonna be fighting the air. I'm guessing the name is a typo since there's only 1 guy in the jet, and he sure looks a lot like Scorpion. Scorpion's bio says that his apprentice is in the jet, so it would seem that his brother is an apprentice terrorist yet he wasn't deemed important enough to get his own bio. When the jet crashes, you save the First Lady. Or at least someone else does while you're shooting at a jet, because I never saw her anywhere. To the freeway again.
The third path is in the stadium, where you're tasked with finding the president's daughter because "we can't identify them from here". How about that guy running across the field with a girl on his shoulders? And those others dressed all in black with ski masks? If you can't stop him, he'll escape in a car to the freeway because nobody considered that the terrorists might try to escape and set up a perimeter. Way to go guys. The dude in question is Cobra, whose bio reads:
"A long time ago, you prevented Cobra from completing a commission, shooting Cobra in the right arm. He underwent an operation to repair his arm and later, burning with vengeance, came after you time and again, but each effort ended in failure. His ruthless killing techniques and indomitable stamina and physique have earned him the code name Ironman. Caring little about how he achieves his goal, Cobra joined the terrorist group for the sole purpose of seeking revenge against you."
Woo, that one almost makes sense in the grand scheme. You stopped him from completing a commission? It's not really incorrect, but who the hell says commission? That's right, nobody. And he joins the terrorist group simply to kill you. Because of course they knew that the government was going to find and contract a certain retired sniper to rescue the President from their little operation. Right.
This path features another level, the hotel. Apparently the First Lady was captured there. In Wisconsin. A MERE EIGHT HOURS (at most) after the attack on the motorcade. What the hell was she doing going to Wisconsin after being attacked in Chicago and having her husband captured by terrorists? The boss is Hornet:
"Skillful at hiding undercover and unrivaled in shooting accuracy, Hornet has an appropriate name, as his strike is like the sting of a hornet. He will take on any job no matter how crude, provided the pay is generous. Boasting that he is the god of snipers, Hornet has been waiting for a showdown with you in order to earn himself a reputation as the No. 1 sniper of the underworld. Though he has the habit of saying he's No. 1, he seems more like the No. 1 narcissist."
Well thanks for totally beating us over the head with the whole Hornet thing. Well, it's pretty generic, but at least it isn't totally fucking stupid.
The final level is a raid on the enemy's base, which is of course is an operation best suited for a sniper. But before you can enter, you must defeat the guards Tom & Jerry. Anyone noticing a strange fascination with names having to do with animals? I can't believe Konami didn't just name these guys Cat and Mouse. Some inside talk suggests these guys were apparently going to be named the Killing Machines, but I guess they didn't want to be confused with these guys.
"The terrorist group raised these killing machines from birth to be assassins. A drug was administered to Jerry in large doses to adapt his body specifically to night combat, but resulted in wiping out all of his emotions. Since then, he has refused to listen to anyone but Tom, who he has known since birth. Tom, who is teetering on the brink of insanity, attempted to escape from the group with Jerry to seek a more human-like existence. His attempt failed, but he has not given up his dream of freedom."
What a riveting backstory. Too bad there's absolutely no hint of this anywhere in the game. Jerry received drugs to adapt him to night combat, yet it is clearly obvious that they are both wearing NIGHTVISION GOGGLES. The most telling hint is when the game identifies them as "Tom and Jerry the men with nightvision goggles". I guess the serum didn't work at all.
After infiltrating the mansion, Falcon proceeds to search it with absolutely no semblance of an order. Below the building, inside a loading dock, Falcon meets "Monica the armed secretary", who's obviously got an infatuation with the President. Exactly what she is the secretary of, I don't know. I'd suppose she would be the President's in a not-so-subtle jab at Clinton. However, I'd think people with ties to terrorism wouldn't make it past White House background checks. She's clad in full body armor, which is detailed in the manual:
"In the presence of her stunning beauty and ingenious torture techniques, all men cannot help but obey Monica, including the Big Boss. In fact, some say the Big Boss kidnapped the President simply because she wanted to torture him. The armor she wears represents the latest technology created by the group´s internal research and development team. The armor was designed to repel all bullets shot from any angle. However, since the top priority was making it lightweight, the armor suffers in durability. With her beautiful body clad in this armor, she flashes a bewitching smile as she hunts her prey again tonight."
Some also say that the Big Boss kidnapped the President to ransom him for the release of the dictator. I think it was the guy in the intro. Hold on, read that part about the armor again:
"The armor was designed to repel all bullets shot from any angle. However, since the top priority was making it lightweight, the armor suffers in durability."
Uh, what? Yeah, we designed this armor to be impenetrable, but our priority was making it light, so we cut back on it's strength. How the hell can the armor be strong yet not durable? Truth be told, I think the armor's real priority was to be as risqué as possible.
I mean, for a protective suit of armor, there sure is
an awful lot of uncovered areas. Oh wait, my bad. This is just the original
design. Here's what we actually got in the game.
Damn bitch, you sure got UGLY! Nice try but you're gonna
need more than just a change of hair color to get those nerdy outcast
16-year olds to jack off again. Also notice the radical difference in
skin color from the lower neck down. Racial confusion is fun! Well, the
ridiculous amount of cleavage has been turned down, but this is still
pretty pointless.
Bottom Line:
A great arcade game with home ports of varying worth. Don't bother with the PS2 and Dreamcast versions. If you've got an XBox though, pick up Silent Scope Complete.
Bottom Line:
A great arcade game with home ports of varying worth. Don't bother with the PS2 and Dreamcast versions. If you've got an XBox though, pick up Silent Scope Complete.