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Every now and then people like to reminisce about the old times. Yes, when we get nostalgic we think back to when we were kids, when life was good, when we could see the game and a movie all for under a dollar.

Ok, I don't think back on any of that stuff. When I feel like looking back at the past, I remember the times when action games were good. Ok, so not every action game these days is horrible, but I still don't feel like the action world has fully adapted to 3D. Fortunately, Bandai isn't afraid to bring us a unique title with a silly slogan. It's Silent Bomber, and he's silent... But deadly. And I'm not making that up, unfortunately. It's on the poster. Gameplay:

Gameplay is the area that Silent Bomber really shines. Although the missions vary a little, your job is basically to blow up anything that moves. The interesting twist is that the character you play, Jutah (pronounced like Utah), is armed only with bombs. These bombs can either be dropped at your feet or launched at an enemy. Once deployed, the bombs sit harmlessly until you press the triangle button... then your enemies are in for an interesting surprise. Jutah is equipped with a lock-on device to help plant bombs. You have to paint your target with a beam to get the lock, but after that you can run around and face any direction you want, and you can still plant bombs. This is essential because generally by the time you have the lock, the enemies are shooting at you.

One of the nice aspects of Silent Bomber is its wonderful variety. Some levels are played top-down, some at a side-view, and some are at a big diagonal. The different viewpoints help spice up gameplay and keep it from getting boring. It also has an excellent difficulty level, so that even if you get stuck in one area you will be able to beat it if you play it through a couple times.

Yet another thing that's different in Silent Bomber is that simply touching an enemy doesn't hurt you! Wow, what a shocking concept! Enemies that actually have to attack you in order to do damage! Hopefully some other game companies will learn from this.

On the customization side of things, every level has a number of E-chips that you can find by blowing things up. By collecting these, you can improve the number of bombs you can lay, the range of your throw, or the strength of your shields. Get as many E-chips as you can, because these upgrades can really help, and letting the player decide what to improve (and letting them swap all the E-chip upgrades around before every level) adds a nice personal touch to the game.

Silent Bomber, more than almost any other title, feels like an arcade game. The fluid movement, large enemies and enormous boss characters, and constant action all work together beautifully to generate that arcade feel. It's a chemistry that you can't plan on, but any game that is lucky enough to have it is a sure winner (with the proper promotion, of course).

Longevity:

Silent Bomber has a pretty good longevity. The continue points are very well placed so gamers won't get too frustrated from playing through a really hard part only to die right before the continue point. At the same time, it presents a good challenge that should keep most gamers mashing their buttons for a decent amount of time, especially if they want to pass the levels with a better grade than a D.

Controls:

Silent Bomber supports analog controls, which I strongly recommend if you actually want to get anywhere... Most enemies aren't nice enough to line up on a 45 degree angle. The controls are pretty tight, but I do have two complaints.

The first is that if you activate your lock-on beam and just run around, then decide to turn the beam off by releasing the square button, you launch a bomb in that direction. You have to waste precious time detonating that bomb so you can pile a full complement onto the enemy that's chasing after you.

The second is that the jump jets require you to press the jump button twice in a row, but the second press needs to come too close to the first. I often find myself in sticky situations that I can jump out of, but I need more time in mid-air to position myself... As it is I usually just zip right into the wall.

Graphics:

The graphics during gameplay are nice, and a couple years ago they would have been considered absolutely amazing. These days, they are considered to be very high quality, but not revolutionary. It is a nice surprise to find that the framerate remains high at all times despite the pretty graphics.

The fluid graphics are part of what gives Silent Bomber the arcade-like feel. The enemies are all quite large, but everything moves around the screen with a lot of grace and speed. It's hard to describe what it is about arcade graphics that makes them feel like the arcades. It's not just pretty pictures. It's that little something extra that says that someone really made an effort to integrate the graphics into the game seamlessly.

In particular, the boss characters are each very unique and extremely large. Again I find myself realizing that anyone can make a screen-sized boss character, but not everyone can really make that character add anything to the adrenaline-pumping fun. This title definitely succeeds in gameplay graphics where others fail. It even has unnecessary eye candy, such as when Jutah takes the lift up through the spaceship. The cityscape in the background is quite breathtaking, and the perspective is displayed quite accurately.

The only graphical problem that I found was in the cutscenes. The lip-synching was nothing short of a joke. It was clear that no effort was made to make the characters look like they were actually talking, especially the big, fat, blue leader of the bad guys. I would have expected this kind of stuff from a first-gen game, but this is just horrible at this point in the Playstation's life.

Sound:

Every game has to have a weak point, and in Silent Bomber it's the sound. There are only a limited number of musical selections, and while they are OK, they're nothing special. If you thought the music was bad, then you're going to get sick when you hear the voice acting because it is nothing short of horrible. Granted, it seems like they actually wanted it this way, with every voice actor over-acting and yelling so they can be heard, but it's beyond me why. The story was mildly interesting, so I wanted to watch the cutscenes, but boy did those darned voices make it tough.

Overall:

Overall Silent Bomber is an excellent game with a little bit of sub-standard window dressing. The important stuff is all in there, namely adrenaline pumping gameplay and good, fast graphics to support it. If action games for the Playstation have been boring you, then maybe you should give Silent Bomber a try. I just wish someone could explain to me how sound that bad could be packaged with a game this good.