Silent Storm

Rating:
Summary: Excellent gaming
Review: Remember the days when Turn-Based gaming dominated the scene? Civilization, X-COM, etc. Such great games. Soon, though, Warcraft 2 and Command & Conquer came, displacing turn-based strategy and ushering an era of twitch strategy, gaming that rewarded high-paced multitasking instead of deep thought.

Silent Storm is a throwback to the Turn-Based days, and a very welcome one. Many developers came close to returning, but bowed to the market and instead released unsatisfying games that had "real time with pausing." That's no way to release a squad tactics game.

The first thing you notice about S2 is the engine. It's a beautiful engine, though it requires a bit of horsepower. Rag-doll physics are in full effect, and highlighted as the fatal shots are often zoomed in upon.

The gameplay itself is perfect until the balance is ruined near the end, but you'll have had so much fun getting there that it won't bother you too much. There's also a great deal of time to invest in this game, and a great deal of personality to shine within it.

Not that it's all perfect aside from the ending. The 3D camera can be a problem at times as manipulating it becomes a task. Also, the ground is no longer tile based as the case in Jagged Alliance 2 and X-COM, so taking baby steps can sometimes be a hassle. You'll see perfect cover a short ways away but be unable to position yourself behind it.

If you want a chess-like duel of squads, though, this is the only satisfying fix still on the market, and it's highly recommended. This game will use your brain and your cunning, which is an excellent compliment.

Purchase this game.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent gaming
Review: Remember the days when Turn-Based gaming dominated the scene? Civilization, X-COM, etc. Such great games. Soon, though, Warcraft 2 and Command & Conquer came, displacing turn-based strategy and ushering an era of twitch strategy, gaming that rewarded high-paced multitasking instead of deep thought.

Silent Storm is a throwback to the Turn-Based days, and a very welcome one. Many developers came close to returning, but bowed to the market and instead released unsatisfying games that had "real time with pausing." That's no way to release a squad tactics game.

The first thing you notice about S2 is the engine. It's a beautiful engine, though it requires a bit of horsepower. Rag-doll physics are in full effect, and highlighted as the fatal shots are often zoomed in upon.

The gameplay itself is perfect until the balance is ruined near the end, but you'll have had so much fun getting there that it won't bother you too much. There's also a great deal of time to invest in this game, and a great deal of personality to shine within it.

Not that it's all perfect aside from the ending. The 3D camera can be a problem at times as manipulating it becomes a task. Also, the ground is no longer tile based as the case in Jagged Alliance 2 and X-COM, so taking baby steps can sometimes be a hassle. You'll see perfect cover a short ways away but be unable to position yourself behind it.

If you want a chess-like duel of squads, though, this is the only satisfying fix still on the market, and it's highly recommended. This game will use your brain and your cunning, which is an excellent compliment.

Purchase this game.

Rating:
Summary: Not my favorite
Review: Silent Storm is a fairly good game but as others have said there's quite a few bugs. I put up with the bugs in Sacred because I loved the game but this Encore game is not my favorite.

Rating:
Summary: Best new turn-based tactical game out there
Review: Silent Storm is not an innovative game. It borrows all its elements from its predecessors - X-Com, Fall-Out BOS and the late UFO. What makes S2 such a great game is its level of execution. Putting it simply - it's very well done. It is very easy to learn but still has nice depth of play. The AI is nice if not very creative. The verity of environments and equipment is good. But most important, the graphics and sound are superb. This game offers loads of fun to all you frustrated turn-based fans (I know you're out there) and gives new hope to this flickering genre.
You can choose to play either the allies campaign or the axis campaign. The story line is okay but doesn't really matter. This game is about squad based tactics. So if you loved BOS, this game is definitely for you. You manage a squad of up to 6 soldiers with some level of specialization. The game starts real-time and moves to turn based once combat is initiated. Except for your hero, the rest of the squad is replaceable, although this is somewhat problematic as the pool of recruits does not grow (or improve) as you gain experience.
The environment is beautifully detailed and completely destructible (yeah baby!). This feature alone opens a whole new set of possible tactical solutions to some otherwise tight spots. The excellent sound also helps understand what's going on and anticipate enemy activity. These add up to an extremely immersive gaming experience.
The two elements missing from this game are the economic factor (you get all your equipment for free on top of being able to loot the levels) and base building (notice I'm actually wishing for a WWII style x-com...). Nevertheless, this is still a great game and I can't wait for the release of the sequel - Silent Storm Sentinels (S3)

Rating:
Summary: Best strategy game since Jagged Alliance 2 , hands down...
Review: This is without a doubt the best tactical strategy/RPG game Ive played since Jagged Alliance 2. You simply owe it to yourself to buy this game, it brings hours of amazing joy...