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f13.net  |  f13.net General Forums  |  Gaming  |  Topic: 5 second game review: Silent Storm 0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
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Author Topic: 5 second game review: Silent Storm  (Read 4393 times)
Arcadian Del Sol
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on: June 16, 2004, 07:08:37 AM

Its good. Buy it.

the full review being on my unlinked website, but it contains 25 additional seconds of detail that you may not really need.

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schild
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Reply #1 on: June 16, 2004, 07:10:20 AM

I won the copy Div Devlin was giving out at Game Rifts. I haven't installed it yet. I may though. The question is, HOW good is it?
Arcadian Del Sol
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Reply #2 on: June 16, 2004, 07:47:57 AM

I'm presently in the business of negotiating payments for reviews that are longer than 5 seconds. You'll just have to read between the lines or email me a freelance contract.

::smileywink::

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Sky
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Reply #3 on: June 16, 2004, 09:20:49 AM

I'm all over that game when it hits the bargain bin.
WayAbvPar
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Reply #4 on: June 16, 2004, 09:30:32 AM

The demo was fun as hell; I just don't have the time to properly enjoy the full version presently. Hell, I haven't even gotten off the first planet in KoToR, and I have had it for months!

When speaking of the MMOG industry, the glass may be half full, but it's full of urine. HaemishM

Always wear clean underwear because you never know when a Tory Government is going to fuck you.- Ironwood

Libertarians make fun of everyone because they can't see beyond the event horizons of their own assholes Surlyboi
Rasix
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Reply #5 on: June 16, 2004, 10:06:17 AM

Silent Storm is a very good game.  It really is the spiritual successor to Jagged Alliance 2 even though it lacks some of the depth (which didn't add much).   The combat model and area design are in every way better.

The problem is, the game falls apart a bit at the end.  Not because of a bad, rushed end. Not because of some stupid plot hole. Not because of a horrible bug or unbeatable level.  It falls apart when they introduce what I assume is a major selling point for the game: exoskeletons.  

The game goes from being a really cleverly balanced tactical rpg to a game of robot killing.  They either really didn't spend enough time with the robots in QA or just had to rush the game out the door because the game just takes a turn for the worst.  

A) They move really slow. Makes turn based combat take forever.
B) Most have poor range.  Makes the above even more agravating.
C) They're really big and bulky which makes indoor maps painful and aggravating with them
D) They're near invincible to all weaponry except for the exo sniper gun and laser fire (I believe some exo only rockets hurt them also).
E) They're only improvable through skills far down in your tech tree, which means you now get to grind out levels.

The exo's just jolt the game in a way that isn't comfortable.  It's like playing a racing game where you're driving a ferrari for the first 75% of the game then all of the sudden you're forced to drive a Ford Expedition for the rest of the courses.  

There's other minor annoyances in the game.  Sometimes the voices get annoying. For instance if a character is bleeding, they'll bitch every turn they bleed.  But also sometimes the voices are very entertaining, which makes me reluctant to turn them off.

Now that the bad is out of the way, I'd still recommend getting this game whole heartedly.  It's very very fun for those of you like this genre.  It takes aspects of JA2 and just improves upon them.  If it used elements of Fallout Tactics in regards to vehicle use, it'd be a near perfect game.  (Hopping into a captured panzer would be love).

The combat model is great.  Your standard turn based fare works very well here.  You can aim your shots at different body parts. You can snipe. You can let lose a full auto burst of death.  You can sneak behind the enemy and unload a fully clip of silenced submachine gun death or chuck some throwing knives at them.  You can throw a high explosive into the side of a building and watch the brick wall blow away revealing the now mangled interior and the remains of Klaus who was standing too close to the window.

Another good part of this game that was sorely lacking in JA2 is the availability of cover. There's plenty of it and plenty of good ways to use it. Standing in the middle of a big field having a 6 or 6 sniper war isn't always for the best (I hear Wildfire addresses this some for JA2).

The gun variety is varied and cool. Plenty of pistols, rifles, submachine guns, machine guns, bazookas, grenades, etc etc etc to keep you the Axis or Allies until your eyes are bone dry.  The classes are well done, each has their strengths and weaknesses. Although I'd argue beyond lock picking the engineer is fairly worthless.

The voice acting is well done and comical.  Playing different nationalities really enforces this. The graphics are really good for this genre and add well to the overal atmosphere.  The lighting, explosions are all superb.  However, the game is kind of a resource pig and big explosions can bring your computer to a crawl.

Like all games with my onboard sound I had some problems, but I just tend to accept this and move on.  Voices will cut out after extended periods of play (still don't know why the fuck this happens, but it happened in SC:PT also)

Overall, I'd give it an 8/10 but a high eight.  Only the end portion of the game is to my dissatisfaction.  If you like the squad based, tactical rpg this is really the best out there.

PS. Sorry for the wierd flow to this poorly written, semi-review.

-Rasix
Alluvian
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Reply #6 on: June 16, 2004, 11:41:05 AM

I have had this game since it was released in Europe Sept/Oct of last year.  I agree with pretty much everything rasix says above.  The game is still on my hard drive, and it is the only game that is still there from that time frame.  I have not even actually finished the game.  The exoskeletons annoy me.  I play a few missions with them and then restart the game with the other faction and repeat.

I hear the expansion pack/sequel is already well on it's way and that it mercenary based, adding on some of the money issues that I think is missing from JA1 and 2.  I have not checked their boards since december though, so this could have changed.

Great game if you like turn based.  The turns start taking awhile later in the game as the odds stack against you, but I don't mind so much until I get trapped in exoskeletons.
schild
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Reply #7 on: June 17, 2004, 06:52:15 AM

I was gonna play through it today (ahhh, the life of a recent grad) but the goddamn game won't install the last 3% and just kicks out the cd and uninstalls everything it just did.

Frickin' JoWood.
Alluvian
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Reply #8 on: June 17, 2004, 07:04:57 AM

You own the game legit.  It won't install.  Pirate a copy that WILL install.  That is my logic.  100% guilt free and even legal as far as I am concerned as your personal backup copy.
schild
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Reply #9 on: June 17, 2004, 07:05:36 AM

Or - fuck JoWood, I'll give it to someone I don't like, pirate it, and never buy another one of their games again. I HATE CRAP LIKE THIS.
Alluvian
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Reply #10 on: June 17, 2004, 07:16:23 AM

It could be just a bad CD.  I have not heard of others having problems installing, but then again I have not read their forums much.

If you stop buying from a company because of 'shit like that' you should never buy another bioware product.  NWN was riddled with more install problems than any game I have ever seen.  They had like a 50 page post filled with install issues back when that game came out.  My wife could not install cd2.  Neither my cd nor her cd would work on her system.  We had to manually transfer files over the lan.  Then manually copy over registry entries.  Game would not run, so I had to uninstall my game, search for some software that tracks registry changes, install that, reinstall my game, then recreate the registry changes I missed the first time on my wifes computer.  THEN the game would run.  Whole process took about 10 hours due to the fucking INCREDIBLY slow install speed of the game and the fact that it would fail in the last 90%.  Plus the bioware fucking feedback help to a 50 page thread amounted to "clean any dust of the cd and try again".  What would we have done without a lan?  Pirate a second copy I guess.  Maybe rip it and put it on something like daemon hoping a virtual cd would work.
schild
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Reply #11 on: June 17, 2004, 07:21:36 AM

All the Bioware stuff has worked for me.

JoWood has just continually left a bad taste in my mouth. I.E. Arx Fatalis, Aquanox, Gothic II, Spellforce....It may just be residual buildup of hate towards them. Essentially all of my experiences with their games start out good, and when I finally make myw ay through the majority of the game I just have no will to play, uninstall, and never play it again.

I may try installation on my laptop later today. Only because I'm a whore for the turn based strategy.
Alluvian
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Reply #12 on: June 17, 2004, 08:01:07 AM

Well, aquanox was just an awful game, heh.  And I never understood the draw for spellforce.  It seemed confused on what kind of game it wanted to be so I never got past the demo.  I liked the demo or Arx because it reminded me of Ultima underworld.  Unfortunately that included the fact that it looked like shit.  Will buy it if I see it in a bargain bin.

But why the hate for Jo-Wood?  Aren't they just the publisher?  They might have something to do with the packaging or the install (so if you historically have installation problems with them I would understand), but Silent Storm is developed by Nival Entertainment.

I like them.  They make games that are very NOT mainstream.  I bought both Silent Storm and Etherlords 2 from them in 2003.  I have greatly enjoyed both games.  They are niche products, so not everyone will.
schild
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Reply #13 on: June 17, 2004, 08:03:04 AM

Here's my big problem:

I'm SURE I would enjoy Silent Storm.

I'm tempted to email them and ask for a replacement cd (I *really like having pressed hard copies*). Has anyone ever tried this?
Alluvian
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Reply #14 on: June 17, 2004, 08:09:22 AM

Try it on your laptop first.  If it fails there too then you can be pretty sure it is bad cds.  As it is now it could be some kind of NWN bioware thing where the cds are fine but they just don't like certain computers.  That is far more fucking annoying.

After that, you don't really have anything to lose be emailing Jo-Wood or Nival, I am not even sure who... I guess the publisher.

I have been lucky and never gotten a bad cd in my life, so I have no experience in these matters.  I would think they would replace the cd if you mail them the bad one, but make sure first.
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