Silent Scope 3

Silent Scope 3
Developer(s)	Konami
Publisher(s)	Konami
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	NA October 15, 2002 JP October 17, 2002 EU January 10, 2003
Genre(s)	Rail shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer

Silent Scope 3 is a rail shooter game developed by Konami. It is the third installment of the video game series, Silent Scope. It was released in October 2002 only on the PlayStation 2 game console.

Storyline

The game opens with Falcon raiding a drug smuggling ring at a harbor. He also battles with Cobra once again. The reason for Falcon working with Marine Colonel Robert is that the terrorists have kidnapped cloning researcher Dr. Scott, and hope to use that cloning to do a genocide plot. Falcon's objective is to capture the terrorist cells. He first heads to a research lab to rescue hostages that are meant to work with Dr. Scott and fights a flying assassin named Mosquito. The terrorists try to retake the weapons that were seized at the port out to see, but Falcon intervenes and shoots down and armed plane piloted by Smith. He next infiltrates a casino fronted by the terrorists for cash operations. Falcon also has to fight the caisno's owner, Shaker. The terrorists then try to blow a dam bringing along a mercenary named Bull. Col. Robert also hears of profits being made for oil, as terrorists are drilling for it. Falcon shuts down the operation and fights another sniper named Ray. The weapons that would've been exported were produced at an ironworks factory that was overtaken by the terrorist gang. The sniper infiltrates and captures the factory then fights a rocket launcher assassin named Charly.

Finally, at the enemy base, Falcon infiltrates and fights through guards and trying to find the kidnapped doctor. When he meets the Big Boss, the villain informs him Dr. Scott served his purpose and is no longer reliable. The Big Boss sets the base to self-destruct and sends his fastest assassin, The Stinger out to fight Falcon. After the battle, Falcon chases the Big Boss to a launch bay and has to stop him before he escapes.

At the end of the credits, if the player completed without continues, Col. Robert congratulates Falcon on a successful mission. falcon feels he failed to secure the doctor, but is told Dr. Scott is at Robert's lab finishing up the clone weapons project. The Marine Colonel then admits the truth, when the doctor was kidnapped, the government started an investigation. Robert was worried when they found out about the clone weapons. The colonel, the true villain behind the terrorist organization, stepped forward to neutralize the threat as the Commanding Officer. with the government to believe the threat has been eliminated, Robert could freely plan for world domination. Angry at being used, Falcon has one last sniper duel with the colonel.

Gameplay

As like the other games in the series, you primarily control a large sniper rifle. One rather notable factor of this home console version of Silent Scope 3 is the fact that a gun controller is not featured. The arcade version of this game, Silent Scope EX, is included in the game. The main objective is for your character to continuously head to different areas such as at the top of the building on rails as to set a specific vantage point. While at this new vantage point, you will be tasked to silently shoot the various enemies that appear before your scope. There is a constant time limit, and killing enemies adds time. After the first mission is completed, you have the freedom to choose any such alternate mission, but it needs to be completed in order to finish the game. Different levels of precision are also available, in which you are allowed to either lock on to your enemy or not. R1 and L2 can also be useful by changing your set vantage point.

Reception

The game received mixed reviews, with a 61/100 score on Metacritic and a 62/100 on Game Rankings. GameSpot's review concluded "A decent adaptation of the arcade series, and offers a sometimes enjoyable but extremely brief experience." IGN's review lamented the loss of appeal of the game due to the lack of the arcade accessories and stated "A cookie cutter light-gun game offering little to nothing more than the content of the first two games."

References