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Light gun games have come a long way since the days of old Exidy arcade games, like Crossbow and Crackshot. These days, it's all about taking out perpretrators or monsters or zombies with the pull of the trigger, or occasionally taking target-related challenges with Namco's Point Blank series.

But Konami's taken a different, and more realistic, approach to the gun game with the introduction of Silent Scope. With the game, you take the control of a sniper and look into a mounted sight on a sniper rifle to line up your enemies on a screen, then open fire when you get the clear shot at them. From there, you target your next opponent, trying to save hostages and eliminate the threat before they eliminate you. Of course, the game is controversial in the eyes of some parents (not to mention the city of Indianapolis), but its incredible presentation and skillful gameplay are commendable and make for an entertaining test of your reflexes.

As for the home release, well...Konami has released Silent Scope for the Dreamcast and it's just not the same. To avoid further controversy from the parents and the legislate, Konami opted not to release a home peripheral for the game. It wasn't a matter of supply issues, mind you- remember, back with the release of their hit arcade game Lethal Enforcers, they produced a light gun called the Justifier. What they've done instead is included the option of actually showing the scope action on-screen with the press of a button.

Does this work? Well, check out the breakdown below for more details...

Visuals:: Don't ever say that Konami didn't try their best for an arcade conversion. The game looks exactly like it did in the arcade, with a simple (but effective) 3-D graphic engine in place and well-animated polygon enemies. The scope works fine on-screen, as you can see up-close details on these enemies nicely and take them out on the arm, leg, or even the head (for the bonus "head hit"). Later levels show better detail as you go along, but there's no revamped features for the Dreamcast here, like better animation or schnazzy presentation screens. The exploding watermelons in the game's training mode, however, blow up real good. Gotta give props there. Not bad, considering what it is.

Audio:: Cheesy rock tunes play in the background, and an audible captain shouts orders at you from the police scanner. It's pretty much the same as it was in the coin-op, so no real complaints there either. The sniper effects sound rather lifelike, though.

Gameplay/Control:: Here's where the game really begins to falter. The gameplay seems way too touchy here to really get a bead on your enemies quick enough. Take, for instance, the boss battles at the end of the first level. Whether you're taking on the jet, the bazooka-toting boss on the skyscraper, or the guy running through the stadium with the President's daughter over his shoulder, you just can't get a lead that well. Either the scope in question goes too slow or it goes too fast, and most of the time you end up missing the moving targets. This becomes frustrating in later levels, especially in the game's Night Vision level, where you must take out foes with your night vision and some quick shots. It's hard enough just locking on (the game's demo mode shows how "easy" it is...jeez), but you gotta stay in a good angle to hit 'em, too. Ugh. A lock-on system of some kind, or more preciseness in the scope, would've been appreciated here. The training mode can help you modify, but, let's face it, it would've been nice to have at least some support of the third-party light gun peripherals to make this game a better experience. Boo.

Extras:: There's multiple paths to take, but the game is far too short to get any long-term enjoyment out of it. Furthermore, there's only so far you can get in the game's training mode before you can accomplish anything. No competitive two-player mode, no secrets to unlock, and not nearly enough bikini women to peep. Ugh. You'd think Konami would've included Dark Silhouette: Silent Scope 2 as a bonus game or something...

Overall:: Although the game's presentation is very faithful to the coin-op, the overall game just lacks in terms of sharp gameplay and extras to keep the most agile snipers coming back for more. Silent Scope is for the hardcore only, I'm afraid, or for those of you who thought Lethal Enforcers was the greatest Playstation game ever made. And if you think that, um, might I introduce you to this purty little GunCon package from Namco?

Score:: 5.0/10