Silent Storm: Sentinels Review

Scream! I know you want to.

After the success and appraisal that the Russian-based development team Nival Interactive achieved with Silent Storm, the team decided to present us with its expansion pack named Silent Storm: Sentinels. The expansion starts right after the Second World War. It follows the adventures of a team of Spec Ops veterans, dubbed The Sentinels, whose main purpose it is to remove all possible threats to world peace and stability. In this particular case, the threat is represented by an organization named Thor's Hammer. You find yourself in the middle of a war against terrorism and espionage. (How fitting. - Ed.)

I'm sabotaging in the rain, just sabotaging in the rain!

I'll make good fertilizer for these here flowers.

This expansion is in every aspect similar to the original game. It does however offer improved quality of game play, as it introduces new characters missions and weapons (mostly weapons developed right after the war, like AK-47, Korobov TKB-408, Sterling SMG, RPD machine-gun, Smith-Wesson M-459, Volksgewehr, RPG-2, etc.). Unfortunately, the expansion pack has no multiplayer mode. Regardless, Silent Storm: Sentinels has quite enough material to keep you busy for a while...

"Put a hole in' 'em!"

One thing at a time, ladies and germs; when you start the game, you will first be offered a choice between the tutorial and the campaign. If you have no experience with the original game, it is highly recommended that you go through the excellent and highly informative tutorial. If you happen to be the creative type, you may even design your own missions in the mission editor. This game is a strategy in every sense of the word. You will have to think hard, as the AI tends to be quite intelligent. The game takes place in real-time until it comes to a fight, when it turns to a turn-based mode, which gives you sufficient time to decide what you want to do. This isn't as simple as it sounds, as you always have a certain number of action points at disposal. These points define what can be achieved within a single move (you cannon move, shoot, reload and heal in the same turn).

When you complete the tutorial, you will be more than ready for the campaign. The start of the campaign will offer you the choice of four characters - the British scout, with great strength and agility, coupled with outstanding camouflage abilities, a German soldier, who is extremely proficient with automatic weapons and a lot of hit-points, the US sniper (girl), lethal at long range, but useless at close range, and the Russian bomber, specializing in heavy weapons, bazookas, but a bit clumsier than all others. What this means is that each character has their good and bad sides, meaning that some are more fitting for certain type of missions than other. Well, as soon as you chose your avatar, the scenario picks up at what already became a cliché in games - you're knocked out and wake up in a dungeon with this guy named Boris and a group of heavily armed guards standing between you and freedom. The introductory mission is easy and is only there to prepare you for the perils to come (in case you decided to skip the tutorial). After this, you are ready for the real thing. Boris naturally refuses to reveal anything about what is going on, and after the mission you end up in the headquarters of an organization dealing in severing espionage connections, finding and delivering secret documents, exterminating moles, and other activities that inspire your creativity, agility and heart's desire. Well, this seems to be your lucky day, as the organization decides to take you as one of their own, provided you prove your skills and loyalty in a simple mission in Switzerland. All you have to do is acquire some secret documents from your contact and deliver them to your boss. Naturally, something has to go wrong, and you will soon find yourself in a restaurant, imprisoned by a bunch of nervous, well-armed Swiss people (funny thing that; you'd reckon the Swiss were nice and peaceful folk living in chocolate houses on the top of a mountain).

This is where you prove your worth. The game is not appealing solely due to the great AI, but also due to interesting missions and the clear and intuitive interface. The interface contains two control bars. The upper bar holds a game options menu and mission goals (apart from the main mission goal, you will frequently receive optional goals, which provide you with additional resources if you complete them). The hero also manages to write a diary in all this mess - the info you find here is not that important (but it adds to the realism of the game). The top bar also contains an important button that allows you to leave the mission area, which you can use if you complete the mission and there are no enemies in your direct vicinity. This comes very useful if you are low on ammo and health and there still are enemies around the map. You can only heal yourself to a certain extent within the mission, but you have to return to your headquarters if you want your character to recover completely.

The lower bar contains the number of action-points remaining, the window with two weapons at your disposal and a list of available moves. It also contains the inventory button. You have to take care of the inventory, as there is not much room in your backpack. You cannot wear a katana, a bazooka, a Colt, a machine-gun, with ammo for all, and a med-pack. Still, at the end of the mission you will be able to take all you find on your way, which is useful as it is the only way to acquire some otherwise ridiculously expensive weapons. You can also sell everything you don't need once you return to headquarters.

"Give my grandparents my regards."

Speaking of the headquarters, it can offer you different services once you become a Sentinel after finishing the first mission. You can visit the commander to collect your fee or choose a new mission; you can also visit the medical center where you can talk to the nurse if you need healing or the doctor if your entire team has to be hospitalized. There's also the gunsmith to trade with, as well as your stash where you can save things you do not need to carry around all the time. You can also go though the doors leading to the hangars and the airplane that will take you to your next destination. All this has been designed very well and it helps to blur the lines between the game world and your immediate surroundings.