Silent Scope
- October 23, 2000 00:00 AM PST
Konami gives the PlayStation 2 its first "gun game" shooter with a picture-perfect conversion of arcade smash Silent Scope.
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Stealthy Shooter
Unlike Time Crisis and House of the Dead 2, Silent Scope relies more on stealth and patience, differing from the usual run-of-the-mill, point-the-gun-at-the-screen-and-fire-away game. As part of a special antiterrorist unit, you're armed with a sniper rifle and must carefully choose targets before squeezing off a round. If you miss, your adversaries will quickly hone in on you and return fire. Scope's highlight is its one-player Story mode where you have to rescue the president and his immediate family while shooting it out with terrorists under diverse conditions. You pick off enemy snipers from skyscrapers, moving vehicles, and football fields-and even take out ground targets during a midnight parachute drop. Scope also has intense boss battles, as some of these bad boys come at you with heavy artillery, such as a jumpjet and an 18-wheeler.
Unfortunately, Story mode doesn't offer much long-term replay value, despite story branches and nonlinear gameplay elements. Target range and practice modes provide some compensation, but Scope is hardly a game that you'll play for days on end.
Playable Alternative
The home version of Silent Scope won't have its own sniper-rifle peripheral, but its controller is a surprisingly workable alternative. The shoulder buttons allow you to quickly scope out perspective targets, and the analog sticks move the target cursor around the screen with ease.
Scope also looks and sounds identical to its arcade predecessor. Razor-sharp 3D graphics keep the action alive with slick explosions and weapon discharges, though some of your adversaries suffer from blocky polygon syndrome. Vibrant sound effects highlight the audio track, especially when squeezing off a round, but distracting chatter from your teammates and the innocuous music score are both downers.
Brief, but Challenging
In a field devoid of competition, Silent Scope is a strong first-generation offering and a picture-perfect arcade conversion. While a debatable purchase, Scope easily qualifies as a must-rent title.
