There was just something about Konami’s Silent Scope games that had wandering arcade gamers stop and surrender their quarters so willingly.  Perhaps it was the novelty of raising that super cool sniper rifle attached to the cabinet or the feel of the trigger as you anticipate your target’s next move before you decide to squeeze off a round to take him out.  Or maybe--just maybe--gamers started playing it because Silent Scope (and its four sequels) are just that much fun to play.  Being a fan of the series myself, it came as pleasant news that Konami decided to bundle the complete series exclusively for the Xbox.  That’s right, trigger-happy action fans; Silent Scope Complete will have you sharp shooting bad guys on your favorite console.

Light gun games are nothing new to other consoles.  The PS2 has ported the Time Crisis games for use with their light gun and Resident Evil: Dead Aim actually turned out to be a pretty decent shooter.  So you see that Silent Scope Complete is a much welcome bundle on the Xbox and since it can be used with an Xbox ready light gun or the Silent Scope Light Rifle made by Pelican and made especially for this title.  I personally found a standard light gun can work pretty well but using the Xbox controller just makes for more precise (and quicker) shots.  Yet if you’re looking for the ultimate arcade feel, the Light Rifle might be a worthy purchase since its scope does actually work the same way it does in the arcades.

As mentioned above, the bundle comes packaged with all three-arcade classics as well as the newer Silent Scope EX.  All four games have different stories, but they all revolve around the same theme--terrorists are threatening the world and it’s up to you, a highly trained sniper, to take them out in a series of missions that always have you facing off with the leader of the terrorist cell at the end.  Trust me when I say that there is no real story in any of the games that will have you carefully following the plot.  In fact, if you were following the stories closely you will find that the plot is so flawed that the game really didn’t need a story in the first place.  Yet this game isn’t about story . . . it’s all about the shooting action and there’s plenty of that to go around in this game. 

One thing could be said about the Silent Scope games . . . they’re good at keeping players on their toes.  Not only do you have to deal with enemy snipers that have spotted you or moving targets, but you must also compete with the unmerciful timer that runs out pretty quickly if you don’t take out targets in a quick manner.  Killing enemies adds time to the running timer, but kills aren’t too easy to achieve when most of the enemies are on the move or duck for cover if your shot misses them.  There are also level bosses that require headshots in order to end their attacks quickly.  This isn’t an easy feat either since most of the level bosses are either too quick on their toes or are on fast moving vehicles.  In Silent Scope 3, for example, the casino level boss Shaker is hard to hit because he is on a fast moving carousel filled with hostages as human shields.

The game doesn’t take the action seriously, though, and this is part of what makes the series so appealing.  You can recover life points by finding lovely Life-Up Girls that all happen to be scattered around the level in the most unlikely places.  You’ll also go up against a number of really bizarre yet hilarious level bosses (you’ll go up against a fashion-crazed gunman to a mad chopper pilot carrying around a teddy bear).  The action, though, does become repetitive because, after all, it’s a light gun game.  Yet there are extras to unlock and changing the game’s settings does alter the action just a bit. 

Graphically speaking, the four titles look like they would feel right at home on the original PlayStation. While this does sound bad, it’s not really all that bad.  Sure the character models look extremely plain and faces through the scope of your sniper rifle look sort of square-like, but there is enough detail to separate the good guys from the bad guys.  The games also put you in various locations that look good, for the most part, but would have benefited from a visual upgrade.  You’ll notice how the graphics do improve in the later games (e.g. Silent Scope 3 and Silent Scope EX) but don’t expect too much of a change in the visual quality.  One thing that looks great though is the zooming in and out of your scope and in Silent Scope EX there are times when we follow the sniper’s bullet Max Payne-style.  

Whoever thought that badly written dialogue and poorly performed voice acting would make a game seem all the more fun?  All four games stray from the serious and keep things relatively tongue-in-cheek and totally cheesy with the purposely-awful delivery of B-movie dialogue.  If you shoot an innocent bystander one too many times, your contact guy says things like “I guess I can tell you now . . . I love you.”  The music is also purposely bad because it also serves as a distraction.  Can you seriously concentrate with bad air guitar music playing on the background?  I didn’t think so.  Just about the only thing that sounds spectacular are the explosions or gunfire.  Still, considering the game’s wonderfully silly style, the sound fits perfectly fine here.

There aren’t many shooting games that can still be as fun and as action-packed as the Silent Scope series so the nice little bundle that is Silent Scope Complete would be considered a treat by any fan.  Sure the game has lost most of its appeal over the years and the action can often get repetitive the more you play but darn if it isn’t fun.  If you’re looking for a great shooting game to try your light gun on then look no further . . . this one will keep you (and your trigger finger) busy for weeks. 

Gameplay: 7.5
The arcade-styled action feels right at home on the Xbox and makes this a pretty solid (and simple) shooting game experience.  The light gun could make for some not-so accurate shooting, which is why most gamers will probably return to the controller.

Graphics: 7.0
If you’re expecting a fully enhanced Xbox visual treatment then you’ll be really disappointed.  It’s not that this is a bad-looking game--it’s far from it, actually--but it would have been sweet to see enhancements on things like character models and environments.

Sound: 7.0
Quite possibly the winner of The Most Campiest Dialogue and The Worst Voice Acting found in a collection of four games.  The game’s music doesn’t help either but, oddly enough, the campy nature of all these things makes the overall experience all the more fun.

Difficulty: Hard
The quick-paced nature of the games really brings on the challenge even though there are hardly many moments that offer a deviation to the usual zoom-in-and-shoot formula.  Even in its easiest setting, the game’s timer (which can also be adjusted) plays a hand in making this game really hard.

Concept: 8.0
All three Silent Scope arcade classics plus Silent Scope EX makes this a great collection for those gamers who have been waiting for some light gun action on their Xbox consoles.  There are plenty of extras to unlock in this game and you can change the game’s setting to fit your game playing style.

Overall: 7.5
If fast-paced shooting action and campy storylines (complete with the Resident Evil-styled bad voice acting) is your cup of tea, Silent Scope Complete will not disappoint you in the very least.  While the series does show its age, this is still one of the most entertaining shooting games around.