Innocent Sweeper / Silent Scope 2: Dark Silhouette / Silent Scope 2: Fatal Judgement (Arcade, PS2) (2000, 2001)
Developer: Konami

Review by Faididi and Co.

Two dudes with big, long guns hanging out

Story: Above Average

Less than one year after saving the United States from terrorists, Falcon finds himself going overseas to rescue the United Kingdom from the same bad guys, who have now regrouped and are trying to unleash missiles full of deadly nerve gas upon the populace. This time, though, Falcon gets partnered up with Jackal, a roguish agent who's just as good a sniper. The story comes off clumsy with its abrupt scene transitions and its retarded plot twists. The good news is that this is all deliberate, as the game consciously pokes fun at its own absurdities, never letting up on its hilariously bad dialogue, its over-the-top acting, and its offensively outrageous characters. (Beware The Collector!)

Gameplay: Above Average

Konami's Innocent Sweeper (Silent Scope 2: Dark Silhouette, or Silent Scope 2: Fatal Judgement) can be easily compared to another rail shooter sequel, Namco's Time Crisis 2. Bringing back its respective predecessor's unique feature, which in this case is the lightrifle equipped with a simulated scope, Innocent Sweeper doubles the fun by throwing in a 2-Player mode, using linked machines. Like the heroes in Time Crisis 2, Falcon and Jackal take slightly different but overlapping paths as they move together through the 9 stages. The two heroes can team up with frightening effect, considering that the regular enemies still die with a single hit and that the bosses still get instantly wasted with one clean shot to the head.

Alas, Innocent Sweeper's 2-Player mode isn't quite as polished as it should be. Unlike the dudes in Time Crisis 2, Falcon and Jackal run on independent timers and earn bonus seconds on a completely separate basis, meaning that one hero can suck up all the bonus time by stealing kills. Furthermore, whenever a second Player joins in or continues, the game goes through a small loading period, which can disrupt the overall playing experience.

The level and enemy designs are also a mixed bag. Innocent Sweeper puts the heroes in more big action movie-like scenarios, shooting it out with bad guys at iconic bridges, sprawling castle ruins, and other semi-exotic locales, not to mention doing some of that while on moving vehicles. However, the stages are more linear in that they don't offer multiple paths, aside from Falcon and Jackal's predetermined pair of routes. The bosses are more numerous and interesting, but only a single hero can participate in the final scene. The worst part is that the regular bad guys are now freakishly accurate, despite wielding compact automatic weapons that aren't supposed to match the range of the heroes' sniper rifles.

Going back to the brighter side of things, Innocent Sweeper contains more than just the story mode. In the duel mode, Falcon and Jackal race to spot and then blast each other. In the shooting range mode, they sit down for classic target practice, trying to place as many accurate shots as possible before time runs out. These exhibition-style modes don't compare to the story mode, but at least they offer more gameplay variety.

Controls: Excellent

Just like with the original Silent Scope, the lightrifle is the big draw of this game, along with its simulated scope that helps you feel like you're wielding a real rifle. Letting you manually choose the vision modes in the scope would've been even cooler, though.

Graphics: Above Average

While the visual effects haven't improved much since the first game, the characters and the environments are still decently rendered. The flashes of lightning in the skies, the tiny bubbles seen while underwater, and the other small details are a nice touch. The alternate vision modes in the scope are impressive, especially the X-ray vision.

Audio: Above Average

The gunfire and the explosions are as loud as before, and there are significantly more vocal effects, including bits of dialogue that occur in the middle of the stages. The music is noticeably more dramatic, too, and its orchestral-like qualities fit the setting of the game perfectly.

Overall: Above Average

The unpolished 2-Player support and the unnatural accuracy of the regular enemies are flaws that can't be ignored, but they don't stop Innocent Sweeper from being an interesting 2-Player rail shooter. Fans of the original Silent Scope who are itching to play together with a friend should have a blast with this sequel.

Port: Average (PS2)

Conflicted is one way to describe the PS2 version of Innocent Sweeper. There is no lightgun support, meaning you must use a standard controller and rely on the scope view that is displayed directly on the TV screen, just like in the console versions of the original Silent Scope. The gameplay remains otherwise faithful to the arcade version's, right down to the 2-Player mode, which requires two copies of the game on linked consoles.

In sharp contrast to the console versions of the first game, this port comes with a ton of exclusive bonuses. A vast array of options lets you customize the controls and the scope view in almost every way possible. If that isn't enough, you get rewarded with more options (such as extra credits and alternate scopes) as you keep playing the game. Finally, there are additional modes thrown in, including time attacks, practice fights against the bosses, and a brand-new outdoor shooting range that even features its own ass-kicking music. Unfortunately, these additional modes are single-Player only.

The lack of lightgun support sucks, but this port's attempts to make up for that are an effort that should still appeal to dedicated fans of the arcade version. Others may be better off sticking with the PS2 version of Time Crisis 2, which is compatible with Namco's propietary lightguns, not to mention featuring a 2-Player mode that doesn't require two copies of the game.