Silent Scope

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Silent Scope is an arcade game series from Konami. It spans 4 games (Silent Scope 1-3 and Silent Scope EX), and the first was released in 1999. The games' most prominent feature is the Sniper Rifle gun mounted to the cabinet rather than the typical pistol Light Gun that was used in games like Time Crisis or House of the Dead. The scope of the rifle contained an LCD screen to simulate the pinpoint precision of real scopes. Also known for being one of the few arcade gun games to actively encourage headshots: They are always an instant kill, even on bosses, and confer a hefty time bonus. Games like Time Crisis gave you the most points for headshots but the SS games actively pointed this out.

The games were ported to the Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and even the GBA. The Xbox version was noted for its severely stripped-down rifle accessory.

Tropes used in Silent Scope include:
  • Attack Its Weak Point (For human bosses, a headshot is an instant kill. For helicopters, shooting at its rotor will do the trick.)
  • Boom! Headshot! (boss battles are Nintendo Hard if you do not aim for the craniums)
  • Camp Gay: The Collector, The Prince of Rose and the Phantom.
  • Catch Phrase. In #3 if a criminal has a hostage and it's a One Bullet Left scenario your partner will comment "he's taken hostages, bring him down in one shot." Pull it off and she then comments "You're the greatest."
  • Cold Sniper (In fact, in the attract demo for EX, one of the requirements for the player character's position is to be "unemotional.")
  • Dual Boss: Tom & Jerry in the first, Sho & Kane in the second.
  • Heroic Mime: The player character in the first game and EX.
  • Improbable Aiming Skills: Some of the most ridiculous examples are displayed in boss fights, like sniping the driver of a semi-truck barreling towards you at full speed, or sniping the rotor of a hostile attack helicopter.
    • It's quite possible in certain missions to hit more than one enemy with a single bullet. Don't miss anyone and you'll get greater than 100% accuracy. "Ultimate Sniper" indeed.
  • It's a Wonderful Failure: What happens if you fail the last One Bullet Left sequence of any game.
      • "The hostages are our priority partner"
  • Life Meter (In EX, this doubles as your mission timer; you can refill it by looking at beautiful women, clearing missions, and getting headshots.)
  • Male Gaze (Staring at beautiful women will give you an extra life.)
  • The Man Behind the Man: In Silent Scope 3, Robert, your commander, is revealed to be the terrorist leader.
  • McNinja: Monica the Armored Secretary in 1, Sho & Kane the Lightning Bolts in 2.
  • Ominous Latin Chanting: The music for the penultimate boss area in the first game uses this.
  • One Bullet Left (The final objective in every game. The first two stages of EX also fall under this.)
  • One-Hit Polykill: Possible if the Mooks are standing in front of each other.
  • Into Musical Theatre: The Star in #2, and #3's boss Prince of Rose. Literally and figuratively for the latter. He even comes complete with hilariously terrible voice acting.
  • Short-Range Long-Range Weapon: The player winds up making use of this trope fairly often, using his sniper rifle to take out hostile guards a few feet away.
  • Shout-Out: The first game had you fight a pair of bosses named Tom and Jerry.
  • Sniper Rifle: Obviously.
  • Sniper Scope Sway: Since the arcade machine has an actual sniper rifle to hold, complete with a zoomed in screen to allow you to use the scope, any sway and bob to your view is the result of your actual movements. As a result the real world techniques of relaxing, holding your breath, and so on apply, but since the rifle is mounted and you're typically not aiming at targets that are too distant, you don't need to worry about it as much as real snipers.
  • Sniping Mission: Every level.
  • Sniping the Cockpit: In one level you can take down a Harrier jet in one shot by scoring a headshot on either pilot - in another car chase level you can render everyone in a car ineffective by shooting the driver. This includes the boss, who attacks by trying to run you down with a hijacked semi.
  • Stealth-Based Mission: Every level to a degree; being caught (often from dillydallying for too long or missing a shot) doesn't end the game but will call the attention of additional Mooks. In one particular penultimate stage in EX, getting caught results in stage failure, booting you back to the stage select with a lot less health (or if you don't have enough, a continue screen).
  • Timed Mission: The entire damn game. Kills get you extra time. Headshots get you a lot of extra time.
  • True Final Boss: In Silent Scope 3, you face off against Robert, your commander, who's also the true terrorist leader, and can only be accessed by not continuing throughout the game.
  • Implacable Man, The Determinator: Cobra. In the first game, he actually hijacks a semi truck, Terminator style.
  • "Wake-Up Call" Boss: Both versions of Scorpion in 1, and Fox in 2.
  • When All You Have Is A Sniper Rifle: The player gets no other weapons than a sniper rifle and no backup, so it doesn't matter if it's a tank, a helicopter, a mook standing three inches away from you, or whatever else, you're sniping it to death.
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