Silent Storm

by Encore

Product Features

• Pick your team from a pool of mercenaries and equip them with more than 75 authentic WWII weapons -- then go deep inside enemy territory for dangerous missions
• Non-linear campaign structure allows you to tackle missions any way you like
• Choose the best men and live out your favorite WWII movies - Blow up a depot wall, sneak up on enemy officers, take out snipers and more
• Exciting 3D tactical game combines role-playing and turn-based strategy, for a fully immersive gaming experience -- you'll practically feel the bullets fly past you!

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0000DB4B3
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: January 20, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,178 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #29 in Video Games > PC Games > Action > Military & Espionage

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

Silent Storm is a turn-based WWII game that's heavy on tactics and team-management. You're in control of an elite corps of specialists for use on missions to destroy, sabotage, and perform reconnaissance against the Axis (or Allied) forces on the European front. You can create your team from a field of 40 male and female operatives from a variety of nationalities.

The action takes place on 3-D battlefields, and there's lots of stuff you can blow up and interact with. The developers went all out making sure each battlefield offers a lot to do, the enemy artificial intelligence is sharp, and each mission can be approached in any way you see fit. You can choose a well-rounded team, a stealth based group, or a bunch of Rambo-types out for carnage.

There's no multiplayer, but the fun campaign can be played from either side, and, given the personality and operative choices, there's a lot of replay value to be enjoyed. WWII tactical strategy games don't get much better than this. If you're a strategy fan, better enlist now. --Andrew S. Bub

Pros:

• A wide range of unique operatives
• Total freedom of strategy across non-linear missions

Cons:

• No multiplayer

Product Description

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Silent Storm: From Russia with Love!, January 8, 2004

By 

Robert W Huckaby (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silent Storm (CD-ROM)

Initial reaction: People who love turn-based tactical combat games, such as Jagged Alliance and Fallout, Silent Storm is sure to excite. Silent Storm's 1.2 beta version, supplied as a preview, seems promising. As a former Marine with combat training and experience, I must say that this in one of the most realistic I ever had the pleasure of reviewing.

Advice for Beginners:
While Silent Storm is a game that many will enjoy this may not be the one to start with. It's system requirements alone are well above the entry level gamer's home system. Although the features are inviting, there are plenty of games available that introduce this style of play with less impact to your wallet.

Advice for Intermediates and beyond:
This game is, without a doubt a welcome addition to your collection. If you enjoy turn-based games, Silent Storm is a title we would suggest reviewing. If you appreciate a challenge, fantastic graphics, and are looking to add another genre to your list of games to master, we've listed a link to download the free demo below.

Game Play:
Silent Storm is a true 3D game combining turn-based tactical combats and role-playing set against the background of WWII. Leading your squad behind enemy lines to perform secret missions, you choose from a pool of more than 40 elite soldiers from 30 different nations. With over 75 weapons ranging from commando daggers to hand-held rockets, you are able to experience virtual combat in many different scenarios. With 24 missions and individual character development you would be hard pressed to play the same game twice.

In typical Role Playing Game (RPG) format you start off by creating a character from six preset professions:
* Grenadiers (grenade experts)
* Snipers (marksmen)
* Soldiers (heavy-weapons experts)
* Scouts (stealth and espionage operatives)
* Engineers (who specialize in explosives)
* Medics (who are adept at treating wounds).

As in other RPG style games like Neverwinter Nights, and Baldur's Gate you can adjust your character's look and speech. The first mission you complete must be solo -a negative perhaps- we suggest trying the German Mission the first time around. Upon completion of your first mission, you can then begin to build your squad by picking one soldier from each class. Much like Baldur's Gate your squad advances in levels and along a skill tree that assists you in development for future play. Each class has their own special skills that compliment your squad, so you have the ability to build based your style of play. Unlike Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate, Silent Storm is offered as a Single Player only game. This game has multiplayer written all over it, and it is sad to see that it lacks that option.

For the novice, the significance of turn-based games, such as Silent Storm, is that they are based on Action Points (AP), [segments of time equaling the length of a turn.] You initiate your turn, and then the enemy's turn begins. Each of the six characters has different numbers of action points available, a crucial factor when building your squad. We found that the enemy's turns take time to execute, and to some, this will be considered a fault with the game. Understanding this, the developers included an option to shut down the turn-based mode until you actually engage in combat. Gamers with little patience may find Silent Storm frustrating. If you are unaccustomed to this style of game play, it may take time to get used to. However, the manner in which Silent Storm has been produced is sure to capture an audience outside the normal turn-based gamer.

Graphics:
Silent Storm's animations are excellent for this genre. You will find bump mapping, full skeletal animation, anti-aliasing, real-time shadowing--- all the things we love seeing in a big budget shooter. You can also take advantage of the truly interactive environment with fully deformable geometry. Destroy anything in the game, including multi-storied buildings, landscapes, and dungeons. In other words you can destroy practically anything you see on your screen. This is a feature that truly enhances Silent Storm, and is exactly what Silent Storm's predecessors lack. Add to this, Silent Storm's Artificial Intelligence (AI) offers quite a challenge as it adapts to the game's ever changing environment. During game play, your enemy will adjusts it's tactics according to your squad's strengths and weaknesses. Silent Storm's AI engine is a long awaited feature to turn-based gaming. As such, the game will cause you think about your next moves, and it will react accordingly.

Requirements:
Silent Storm is not meant for entry level gaming systems as its game requirements are high to fully enjoy what the game has to offer. The minimum system requirements are as follows:
* Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP, DirectX® 9 .0 or higher
* CPU 600 MHz
* 128 MB RAM
* 3D graphics card, 32 MB RAM (nVidia GeForce2MX compatible or better)
* Sound card
* CD-ROM
* 2.5 GB of free hard drive space plus about 500 MB for Windows swap file and save games

Overall:
Silent Storm seems sure to please those thirsting for a top quality turn-based tactical squad game. Even at 90% completion, this game has set the bar for other developers of this genre to shoot for.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Couple bugs stop this from being a masterpiece, March 3, 2004

By 

Kang (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Silent Storm (CD-ROM)

First and foremost...wow! Rag-doll effects and skeletal animation in a TBS? Get outta here! And when the adverts say you can destroy anything, they ain't kidding. Each surface and material in this game has their individual penetration probability and structural points. Damage a brick wall with enough machine gun fire, you create a hole you can see through. Your teammate on the other side of wall spotted an enemy but ran out of Action Points? Your teammates can shoot thru the wall and nail him! Sniper atop a wooden lookout posts? Destroy the wooden lookout post, and down he comes! Locked door? Shoot it open!

There's so many different way you can accomplish your mission due to this outrageously destructable enviroment. Once you calm down somewhat from the glee of having total destructive power, you also see the developers didn't gimp out on the actual game either. Underneath all the glitz and glamour of the graphical engine lies a very solid TBS game.

There are literally hundreds of weapons you can lay your hands on, from 6 shooters, to the tommy gun, even having advanced futuristic plasma weapon at the second half of the game.

Now that you all are shocked, and some totally outraged by the inclusion of laser weapon, let me post the negatives as I see them.

1) I bought the game thinking this was going to be historically accurate (to a point) game, with weapons, enemies, allies, and situation grounded in World War II era. What I got was laser weapons and mechanized suit of armor in the game. I must say, though, the inclusion of such didn't ruin the game as I have feared wnen I heard of them online.

2) unit skill bugs - this is a game killer for many people, and it's only fair you know it before you purchase it. The game has skills that increase after every use, and also has units (you can have upto 5 hirable units in your squad from 16 available to choose at HQ) you can hire. So you choose your 5, go out on couple mission, increase in skill and level. But the units you didn't hire...their skills are MUCH better then the ones you did. Until about level 6 or so, you won't notice much. But when you come back with your level 10 squad, you'll see that the level 6 (unhirable gain level depending on how far you have gone in the game) units you didn't hire has MUCH, MUCH higher skills then your own. Heck, an unhired sniper had better medical and engineering skill then my medic and engineer! And the gap only widens as the game progresses. Worst of all, since engineering and medical skill is used only rarely, they will NEVER increase to a point of usability. My level 12 medic STILL can't use a damn morphine injection kit (not exact name or description)! And my engineer? Hell, he doesn't even know how to use a wire cutter! And never once did I sucessfully unlock anything with his picklocking.

That bug puts a damper on the game, and you are forced either to ignore the super units at HQ or train (tho you can't really train medical and engineering skill due to limited supply of their items) them to usefulness. I chose the latter as I had a bit more free time then your average person.

There are other minor bugs (as with any other PC game), but if you can somehow get over that skill bug, what you have is the best TBS game out for a long time.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stop looking! This is the ultimate turn based strategy game!, January 1, 2004

By 

L. YEE (kuala lumpur, malaysia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Silent Storm (CD-ROM)

First thing first. This review is based on the UK release of Silent Storm by publisher JoWood. The US folks have to wait till January 2004 to get this superb game.

I have always like turn based strategy games. Games like that are true strategy games because they let the player strategize how to win a combat with limited resources. Games like Warcraft and Command and Conquer are called real time strategy but in my opinion, I don't see much strategy in those games... one can win by building good defense, accumulating lots of units and swarming the AI with those units. Strategy? Not at all!

In my 15 years of gaming experience, I love two turn based strategy games: X-Com: Enemy Unknown (aka UFO Defense) and Jagged Alliance. These jewels were released around 1993/1994. They spawned a cult of faithfuls but sadly, they never reached the mass players. But these games never left my hard disk. I still play them whenever I am bored or when there are no new games in the store.

All these years, I have been wondering why no one will take the advances in 3D graphics and make a turn based game set in a 3D world... a world where everything is destructable - walls, doors, windows, trees, trucks, etc; a world where the action takes place in a building with multiple storey - for example, a sniper can hide in the attic of a 3 floor mansion and snipe any intruders.

Heck, with a capable engineer, you can demolish the whole 3-level building to dust, killing all the enemies (and destroying the furnitures at the same time) with the weight of the building on top of them. That is how destructable the terrain is!

I have always wonder when I can get to play a game where the gameplay is not predictable and you can replay the level again and again and again without getting bored; a game where there are many classes you can play: either as a scout like Tom Clancy's John Clark or as a sniper or as a Rambo-esque machine gunner - with each class having a Diablo 2-like skill tree in which the player choose which area the soldier should improve in; and finally a game where you and your friend's experience of the game are totally different and you get to regale your combat story over a glass of beer and hear in amazement how your friend achieve a mission objective in a totally new way that you have never even considered and can't wait to rush back home to try this new tactic.

These are what you get from Silent Storm, a game which sets you and 5 operatives in a World War 2 era. A game where you get to play either as the Allied or the Axis troops and yet not a historically correct World War 2 depiction which creates a new level of intrigue and creativity.

Silent Storm is a true turn based strategy game set in a 3D world in which firing a salvo of ammunition on a wooden door does not "remove" the door from the world but splinter it pieces by pieces, with the sunlight filtering through the holes into the darkened room, killing the poor medic who was hiding behind the door. Your sniper can then come out of cover and fire through these holes in vengeance.

Truly an amazing game which I believe will last in my harddisk for many years to come. The game comes with a map editor and 4 modifications, most notably are Inventories affect action points and Headshot always kill. I can imagine more player made modifications in the years to come - how about a Mafia era modifications? Or a Star Wars mod? Or a AD&D's Dragonlance mod? Or a Samurai mod?