Silent but deadly
By Ben Rudick
Just when you thought the pool of World War II-based games had finally dried up, along comes Silent Storm, a fresh turn-based strategy game by Nival Interactive. Silent Storm is proof that even after 60 years and countless games based on World War II, this historical period still holds its excitement. While lacking in some areas, Silent Storm more than makes up for its deviancies with near perfect game play. It is a must-buy for any World War II strategy fan.
In Silent Storm you play as the leader of an elite squad of soldiers sent around Europe and Asia on clandestine missions. You can choose to play as either the Axis or Allies; there is a very lengthy and well-developed campaign for both sides. Although the plots of the two campaigns differ greatly, the overall feel is about the same. You travel from one location to the next completing missions of increasing difficulty and uncovering information that leads you to your next battle. The missions range anywhere from rescuing hostages from a secluded country manor to battling huge armies in downtown Berlin. The large variety keeps what could be a dull and repetitive game fresh and engaging.
Your squad consists of six members (yourself included) and each member has their own set of abilities and skills-along with a very detailed biography. You select your squad from a group of soldiers (20 or so) that include snipers, medics, grenadiers and just plain soldiers. You can rotate the members from one mission to the next, which gives you great tactical flexibility.
The game also has a distinct role-playing element. Each of your squad members gain experience through battle and level up and become increasingly deadly as the game progresses. Also, each character gets an ability point every time they level up. These points are used to gain additional skills. This is very similar to the skill system in the Diablo games, since it uses the same type of skill "tree" (see screenshot) with each earned skill unlocking more powerful ones.
While the game is purportedly a hybrid of turn-based and real-time combat, it plays almost purely as turn-based strategy. The only true real-time is when you have not yet made enemy contact, and that happens only briefly at the beginning and end of each mission.
The true gem of the game (and the one which allows the turn-based style to flourish) is the game's use of AP's, or action points. The AP's are an attempt to represent how much time it takes to perform different actions. Each action, such as firing, moving, or using objects, has an accompanying AP cost that is determined by the difficulty of the action and the proficiency of the character. It is all very commonsensical. For example, crawling takes up many more AP's per unit distance than running. The same is true for shooting: a carefully aimed sniper shot is much more costly than a randomly fired pistol shot. Each character has a set number of AP's to use per turn, and this number is dependant on the characters speed (dexterity), the weight of their pack, and if they are injured. As a character gains familiarity with a certain action (such as shooting a certain type of machine gun), the AP cost of that movement decreases. The AP scheme works wonderfully and adds a great deal of realism to the game. It also forces a player to strategize and use their limited AP's to the greatest effect.
Once a player has used up their action points, they end their turn and the enemy moves. In the more crowed missions, a full turn of movement (both player and enemy) can last up to 15 minutes. This complexity can make for arduous missions that can last near to an hour or more. This, combined with the inability to save your game in the midst of the mission while playing on normal or hard difficult settings, makes for a very challenging (and sometimes very frustrating game). It took me an extraordinarily long amount of time to complete certain levels since every time I slipped up I had to restart. This is a minor fault in comparison to the overall quality of the game.
Another fault is the game's vacillating tone. Some times, with the music thumping and bullets crashing nearby, the game can be very serious. Other times it is just silly. One of it's more silly aspects are the character's personalities-especially their speech. While the box proudly announces that the game features "operatives spanning 30 nationalities," it fails to mention that these 30 nationalities are, for the most part, blatantly stereotypical. For example, an Indian character by the name of Abala Dawar (pretty ethnic, eh?) is absurdly subservient and takes every opportunity to remind you what "a pleasure it is to be of service." With his thick accent and cliched sayings, he might as well change his name to Apu and buy a Kwik-E-Mart. Another character named Viper is Abala's American counterpart. After killing an enemy he proudly exclaims in a thick Texan drawl that the Germans are, "just dying to get a taste of the Viper." While this is meant to be a type of comic relief, it detracts from what could otherwise be a very enthrallingly realistic game. In this way the game reminds me of Bruce Willis' movie Tears of the Sun which unsuccessfully tried to be an action/comedy/humanistic drama all wrapped into one. The game just tries to be too many things simultaneously and, like a combination fax/copier/telephone/coffee maker, ends up doing none of them overly well.
The game takes another hit to its otherwise impressive realism with the introduction of robotic suits later on (think of the machine-gun toting final boss in the original Wolfenstein). They're insanely powerful and horridly anachronous. But, overall the game is a joy to play. It has minor failings, but these are overshadowed by its depth and originality. One of my favorite aspects of it is the ability to destroy anything (doors, walls, cars, wildlife). If you're at all interested in turn-based tactics with a pinch of role-playing, buy this game.
Reviewer's
Scoring Details
The AP system is brilliant. It makes for one of the best turn-based squad combat to date. The game also makes frequent use of terrain and multilevel building, which adds a nice twist..
On a powerful system, the game looks stunning. The objects are very detailed and effects such as explosions and weather look very convincing. Another fun aspect of the game is the ability to only view certain sections of buildings. You can choose to see only the first storey and down, which gives a clear view of the interior of the building otherwise obstructed by the roof.
The heavy and grave music is sometimes in contrast to the less serious parts of the game. Otherwise, it is a very nice (albeit a little repetitive) addition. The sound effects, such as machine gun fire and crashing glass, are done very well.
The "easy" setting is a bit of a misnomer. Even on that setting the game is very challenging even for experienced gamers. Also, you can't save mid-mission on any other setting.
Congratulations to Nival for finding new life in what I thought to be an exhausted market. Silent Storm is thoroughly original while still maintaining a good dose of historical accuracy.
N/A
Along with the extensive campaigns, the game includes an editor for making your own maps and missions. It would take a lot of time to use up all the game has to offer. The only thing it lacks is multiplayer support.
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