Developer: Gameloft
Price: $6.99
Version: 1.0
App Reviewed on: iPhone 4
Oh Sam Fisher, how we all miss him so. Sure, he may have have already had a Splinter Cell game hit iOS last year, but now Gameloft thinks they can go around and make a knockoff of a game that they ALREADY RELEASED! Lawsuit fodder aside, the accomplished publisher decided to take another shot at the stealth action genre, and thus Silent Ops was born. Is this a mission that is worth accepting, or is the risk greater than the reward? This review will self destruct in 3, 2, 1 … just kidding.
Donning the suit of their own personal super-spy, players can chose from three different operatives to play through the game. Every step of each mission features enough surprise to turn a certain Bond character’s brain to mush. Mainly these selections of exposition are nothing more than a buffer in between stages and objectives, but at least the creative team attempted to make things interesting.
At first glance, Silent Ops looks like a garden variety stealth action game, with the notable exception of the usually always stellar Gameloft visual presentation. Environments are varied, textures pop, and characters stand out well in the world. It is too bad that the controls and mission variety don’t share the same level of polish.
The first and most obvious issue are the stealth navigation mechanics. Where the shooting and combat systems seem both well thought out and simple to execute (no pun intended), the process of sneaking up on someone while staying in cover is clunky to say the least. This sharp contrast in ease of use leads to far more missions that should or could have been stealth showcases being turned into nothing more than a glorified shooting gallery.
We can appreciate spy action as much as the next guy, but the lack of depth and overall polish to the controls and mission variety make this a hard game to get behind. Silent Ops has several ideas that could have been great if they were focused on more thoroughly. Hopefully the development team behind this game can get another shot at a sequel eventually. There is quite a bit of promise in between the title and credits, the problem is that potential can’t justify the oversights. Hit delete on this mission before it blows up in your face.