A vast number of games have plunged us unsuspecting 21st century gamers into the depths of WWI and WWII with great success. Almost all of them are FPS style games but our good friends at JoWood have developed an RTS/RPG combo and set it smack bang in the middle of WWII. So naturally I picked up my sub machine gun, loaded up on grenades and put my German shooting boots on.

Lesson 1: History.... 9am – 10:30am
For once it isn't necessary to ramble on about the background to thie game because if anyone out there managed to stay awake in their history lessons you should already know. The game features missions based in all of the main countries that participated in World War II and is set in 1943. Establishing an elite team of crack professional soldiers and equipping them with realistic WWII weaponry it's your mission to take on the enemy forces and generally obliterate anything in your way. The environment is fully interactive, so if its there you can blow it up. The game uses a basic point and click method to move around, mixed with a turn based combat system. When there are no enemies in sight you are free to roam with no restrictions, but as soon as you enter combat the moves become limited.

In actual combat reactions are as important as planning and strategy, unfortunately reactions are not a huge part of Silent Storm and this is also where the game loses some of its realism. Once a player's turn has ended he is a sitting target and it is not my view that when an enemy opens fire on someone that that person would stand there and let them shoot. The method chosen for the combat in Silent Storm has worked previously on such titles as Commandos and to go back a bit further to classics like Cannon Fodder, but both games were unrestricted in move times thus calling for real strategy and planning, as well as reacting to the game environment as it unfolded.

As the game progresses and the missions get longer and harder, the sitting and waiting for your turn becomes more and more tedious, almost to the level where it made me want to quit from the game.

Lesson 2: Computer Graphics.... 10:45am – 12:00
The game almost comes into its own with the graphical representation of each character; and details taken from the character bio picture are mirrored in the on screen depiction, providing each character with their own features and attributes. It is also the RPG style development of these characters that bring a new angle in the genre. As the missions and game progresses, so do the characters, and the more they take part in the missions the better they become. Improvements to your characters such as their accuracy and the effect injuries have on their performance, for example, can be altered as the game progresses.. As well as this each character has their own set of skills, and a specific group must be selected for each mission based on the brief and the type of combat involved. As tempting as it may be, a very large gun is not always the answer.

With regards to the in game environment the game is presented well and the surrounding scenery and props are highly realistic. The buildings are crafted to resemble those of the period. The introduction of the interactive environment also brings a different level to the game and requires the player to think more tactically about how s/he is going to approach each situation. Smaller details like trees and grass makes each level individual and makes the game that little more enjoyable to play.

Lesson 3: Debating... 1:00pm – 3:30pm
Combining genres within video games is not always beneficial to designers and gamers alike but works successfully in Silent Storm. Without playing about too much with either game style expected in RPG's and RTS', JoWood have developed a new concept and made it enjoyable. It is unfortunate that they have chosen to develop the combat in such a way that it has taken away some of the realism in what is a wholly an excellent WWII sim.

Personally I found this to be too major a flaw in the game to ignore and must say that it ruined the game for me. I did find it too tedious waiting for each turn and the lack of opportunity to retaliate and react was frankly annoying. The character development brought a new dimension to the game but did not hold enough of an interest to block out the obvious failings. It's not often that a title comes out from our good buddies JoWood that fails to take the News0r office by storm but this left nothing more than a bit of rain.