Fantastic turn based strategic action with a few technical flaws
If I could rate games based solely on the amount of fun I had playing them, Silent Storm would be off the charts. Unfortunately, a few technical flaws mar an otherwise stellar game.
GRAPHICS
Although it's now showing it's age a bit, thanks to some creative graphics design, the majority of Silent Storm stil looks good. My only real complaint here is the high number of recycled character designs. I wished for a bit more variety in that regard, but the textures look good, there's a nice level of detail to the environments, and you'll see some nice explosions. A hell of a lot of them, actually. One aspect I really like about Silent Storm is its inventory screens. Most of your items are displayed in nice, large icons, and it's rare that I wasn't able to identify an item in the inventory screen just by a quick glance. On the field, this can be a different story, but with enough camera wiggling, I didn't generally have any trouble finding guns or ammo.
GAMEPLAY
This is one of the finest turn-based strategic games I've ever played, rivaled only by Jagged Alliance 2. There is an intensity to the firefights that draws real emotional involvement as they play out. A critical head shot from a sniper, a satisfactory explosion wiping out two or three baddies, sneaking around to flank the enemy... this is pure, gooey, chocolatey strategic gaming.
As characters advance, I found myself drawn into keeping them alive. Their skill sets become absolute necessities, and while they don't quite have the personal charm of those found in JA, I still found myself rooting for my favorites. There is a ton of variety in the weapons you'll find and implement as well, which adds another layer to the whole game.
One of the highlights is the game's destructible environments. With enough bullets and explosives, just about anything can be brought down. Walls will topple, doors will shatter, and entire buildings will come down around your head. As cool as it sounds, this can sometimes be problematic when you're trying to hunt down a key item located within a building. Sometimes the game glitches make it impossible to find and salvage necessary items, and you''ll often get an unexpected "Restard" option after accidentally toppling a building. With enough saves, this usually isn't a problem, but after an extended gunfight, sometimes the need to replay missions over and over can be a bit irritating. It's really the biggest disadvantage to the game, but like I always say, save often and you'll be fine.
OVERALL
If you own a PC and you're looking for a game that will last you a long time, keep you coming back for more, and isn't a graphics juggernaut, check out Silent Storm. And if you're a strategy enthusiast, that goes doubly for you. I'd also recommend it to fans of isometric turn based RPG's, like Fallout or Arcanum. You can't get a much better strategic game than Silent Storm.
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