Silent Scope Hands-On

Konami recently stopped by our offices and gave us a chance to play Silent Scope for both the PS2 and the Dreamcast. While there's no sniper rifle peripheral, Silent Scope feels and plays almost exactly like the original, with the exception of a few additions.

The control is handled fairly ingeniously - you default to a zoomed-in mode and use the analog control stick to move your scope about. To get a better view of the area you hold down L1, which zooms out and lets you move your aim faster than you would in the zoomed-in mode. You can use the X button to fire any time. I'm really glad that Konami chose the zoomed-in mode as the default mode, as you spend the better part of the game zoomed-in, and having to hold the button down when shooting would have made it more difficult to draw a bead.

Silent Scope on the PlayStation 2 is identical to the arcade version - all the graphics, sounds, and modes are represented exactly like they are in the arcade game. Konami representatives told me that there are several proposed additions to the PS2 version, but warned that the development team is working hard to ensure that Silent Scope will be a US PS2 launch title - and that some of the extra modes may not make it. However, one of the new modes already in the game is the outdoor shooting range. Just like in Silent Scope's indoor shooting range option, the outdoor range option has you on a range with a timer, shooting cutout targets. In the outdoor range you're looking through windows, cars, and other obstructions in an effort to identify and dispose of enemy targets. This mode is very cool, and some of the cutout targets are hysterical.

I had the opportunity to compare the PS2 version directly with the DC version, and I could notice no discernable difference in graphics. Even though the Dreamcast's analog stick moved the target a bit faster than the analog stick of the PS2 version, the sensitivity options for both modes can always be changed from the options menu.

The PS2 version of Silent Scope is a perfect port of an excellent arcade game. While the game is fairly short, the addition of new modes and the new rewards system - a system that limits your continue credits and awards you additional credits for particularly difficult shots - should increase the replay value somewhat. If the game is completed in time for the US PS2 launch, Silent Scope should be a worthy addition to the PS2 launch lineup.