Silent Storm developed by Nival Interactive is a flawed but fun game. It is a 3D turn-based tactical combat RPG which is set during WWII. One of the interesting features is that you can play either side in this great war as the Allied forces such as the United States or the Axis powers which includes Germany. Each side has its own part to play in the 24 campaign scenarios that you will come across. Similar in style to the Jagged Alliance games from years ago, Silent Storm brings its own excellent qualities, with abetter graphics engine and many diverse options for playing.

Those new to playing these types of games will enjoy the included helpful tutorial as it allows you to learn the basic functions of movement, using weapons, and engaging the enemy in combat. Once you begin playing the game you will be able to choose between six different professions: medic, grenadier, soldier, sniper, scout and engineer. Many RPG elements come from the way your characters can gain experience in combat and be able to learn from as many as 50 different abilities. In many scenarios your tactical skills will come into play as you must select the best team for the job and be able to employ the unique skills of each of the different members on your team. Some scenarios will have you retrieving valuable information from the enemy, invading an enemy base, to locating a vital character and other similar objectives that reflect possible missions that your team would have gone through during WWII.

The graphics engine does a fine job in creating many of the varied areas you will come across, such as outdoor areas you must traverse to enemy bases you must invade. I also enjoyed the character animations such as when an enemy dies in combat. I also liked how virtually everything is destructible within each of the environments you travel across. One of the major complaints I have against this game is the camera used for viewing the game world. While not the worse camera used in a game, I felt I was often fighting more with it than the enemies in the game. You do get used to the way it functions in the game but more work could have been put into it. Often you will be looking down upon an area when the game suddenly changes the view that you were using. I also thought the story could have been much better. I did not feel as if many elements came together to tell a compelling story set during WWII.

Although I had my own war to fight with the way the camera works in the game and found the story lacking, Silent Storm makes up for all of this through its very intense and excellent gameplay. It’s the gameplay more than the story or other elements that will attract many of you to playing this game. Do I use a sniper here? Do I bring out the medic now? Do I use the grenadier in this area? You will constantly ask yourself these types of questions as you make the tactical decisions and pick the right team that will ensure victory.

Many elements such as movement will take away from what is referred to as AP or action points so you should be careful to decide whether you will move forward, heal yourself, or attempt to shoot the enemy with the amount of action points you are given in each turn. You won't be able to accomplish all of these things in one turn so you must choose the one that will benefit you the most. You probably can't comprehend the excitement of using a sniper rifle to bring down your enemy or use the enemy's own vehicles against them in combat unless you witness this yourself in the game. This is just a small sample of some of the excitement with the sniper rifle, wait until you use all the other 70 weapons in the game. Nival Interactive did a commendable job with the gameplay and I am sure it is something you will enjoy as much as I did if you find these types of tactical RPG games set in WWII to your liking.

Encore Software did well in publishing Nival Interactive’s Silent Storm. It brings back many of the addictive qualities that made the Jagged Alliance games so much fun to play with its own special playing style. While lacking a great storyline and a camera in the game that could have been so much better, these are things that can be easily overlooked when you consider all the fun gameplay options available to you. Silent Storm is indeed a good effort from Nival Interactive and a 3D tactical turn-based RPG with gameplay that many will find quite enjoyable!

Final Grade: 82%

Minimum Requirements: • Windows® 98/ME/2000/XP • DirectX® 9 • CPU 600 MHz • 128 MB RAM • 3D graphics card, 32 MB RAM • Sound card • CD-ROM • 2 GB of free hard disk space

Silent Storm Website