PlayStation 2

Silent Scope 3

Silent Scope 3 doesn’t necessarily revolutionize the gaming experience the game does, however, offer a fine continuation to the already classic series. Plus, with an entirely new exclusive game and the complete arcade EX version, sniper wannabes will have their scopes filled for a long time.

Three strikes and you're out, Konami. Silent Scope III is a cookie cutter light-gun game offering little to nothing more than the content of the first two games. Slightly better sound quality, more moving targets, and a harder set of missions will either have you engaged or quickly returning this game in frustration. Our strong suggestion is that if you must play this game, rent it, and only rent it.

If you're looking for something substantial with a lot of replay value, Silent Scope 3 isn't your best choice. But it you like arcade shooting action, give it a try.

Talk about bad timing. Silent Scope 3 was released during the midst of the sniper shootings in the Washington D.C. area. Somehow, however, the game managed to remain in the background during all of this, and when I first fired a couple of shots in the game, I was pretty disgusted that someone could do the same to a customer of a gas station. I soon came to grips with the game, though, by realizing that what I was doing wasn't real. That's because some of the situations in which the developers put the player into are just impossible. I doubt any sniper has ever shot accurately from a hang glider or a helicopter. Yet this game is full of challenges just like those.

Roligt precisionsskjutande så länge det varar, sedan får man ta värvning som riktig krypskytt. MINUS att man måste vara psykopat för det. Sånt är livet.

One of the few games that has continually been able to survive in the dying arcade industry is Konami's Silent Scope series. Featuring a life-size sniper rifle replica in the arcade machines, the Silent Scope arcade games have always provided ample gaming experiences for arcade goers. When the PlayStation 2 launched, Konami tried to transfer that unique arcade game experience to home consoles with the PS2 version of Silent Scope 2. Unfortunately, the game's short length and the absence of a sniper rifle controller, like the one in the arcades, made the game only worthy of a weekend rental, as opposed to a full-fledged purchase. Now Konami has released Silent Scope 3 for the PS2. Unluckily for us though, Silent Scope 3 suffers from many of the same problems the previous versions have had.

Another sniper game? Well, Konami seems to be intent on making this series nothing more than a cash cow, and that is fine. Konami did it to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and after four years nobody gave a crap about the series, so they have some experience in this sort of thing. Now, in the third installment, you really can't do much more except try to make the game more interesting, and try to keep the game as varied as possible. To a certain level, Konami has done that, and we admire that. This game has more variety than the first and is more challenging than the second, but it still isn't the best of the series. Why? No innovation, of course.

The major fault of Silent Scope 3 is that it's more of the same, just memory and repetition. You play the levels over and over again, learn where the guys pop-up and then try to get your cursor over there in time to shoot them. This game doesn't do very well without the gun itself, and the somewhat shoddy port job doesn't help matters, watering down the arcade experience into a mediocre rental. Even if it were possible to train a killer through video games, whether by skill or mental conditioning, any would-be assassin is more likely to grow bored with Silent Scope 3.

Silent Scope 3 for the PlayStation 2 is an adaptation of the arcade series of gun games. The arcade versions of Silent Scope all feature an elaborate sniper rifle-shaped light gun that you use to shoot at various targets from long range. A small screen is actually mounted in the scope of the gun, giving you a functional close-up of a small portion of the main display, and simulating what it's like to shoot from long range. Of course, when the game series was brought home to consoles, no rifle came with it, which inherently removes a great deal of what made the arcade series popular and fun. Relegated to gamepad controls, Silent Scope 3 still makes for a decent adaptation of the arcade series, and offers a sometimes enjoyable but extremely brief experience.