Developed by Russian based developers Nival Interactive, Silent Storm is a turn-based tactical combat game with RPG elements, in the vein of X-Com, Fallout: Tactics and Jagged Alliance 2. It's 1943 and you, as a battle-tested veteran, are chosen to lead an elite squad of special operatives on secret missions behind enemy lines. Your main goal throughout the game is to disrupt your enemy's war operations and gather valuable intelligence.

At the start of the game, you'll get to select your side (Axis or the Allies), your avatar and five additional squad members. There are over 40 different playable characters that you can use to outfit your squad - 20 for the Allies and 20 for the Axis. Each character is unique with its own background, profession, specialties and personality. You can either take a pre-fab character to adjust him or her slightly, or you can choose from a large collection of body types and then create your own face. There are six classes to choose from: Sniper, Soldier, Medic, Grenadier, Scout, and Engineer. The Sniper focuses on the use of single shot weapons, the Soldier specializes in the big, bad guns, the Medic can treat injuries and cure things like bleeding, the Grenadier is very similar to the Soldier, only focused more on grenades and heavy weapons, the Scout is stealthy killer, favoring silent killing typically with a melee weapon and finally the Engineer is your basic lock-picking and trap specialist. RPG system in Silent Storm is based on characters' attributes, including basic attributes (Strength, Dexterity and Intelligence) and secondary attributes, derivatives of the basic ones. In addition to attributes, characters have skills and abilities. Skills determine how good characters are at certain things, e.g. using firearms, engineering, medicine etc. As you progress through the game your characters will level up and you will be able to select various abilities in the ability tree. The more you use a particular skill, the better your character will be at it. The best thing is that there are no limits to what any character can do, for example a medic can handle any weapon or set explosives and an engineer can administer first aid.

There are two non-linear campaigns (Axis / Allies ~ over 24 missions in total), with an united storyline and maps that cover areas of England, Germany and Russia. You travel the world map from your landing zone to areas of interest which are highlighted on the map. There is no set order to missions, but there is some kind of plot tree based on clues. Every time you start the game, the mission randomizer scatters clues and information throughout the plot. If you succeed in retrieving such information, new missions, locations, and objectives become available to the squad. Combat is pretty rewarding and sometimes pretty difficult. The game plays in real-time mode however any destructive impact (a shot, a thrown grenade etc.) automatically switches the game to turn-based mode. Actions not connected with destroying objects (moving around, picking up and swapping things, setting up mines and booby-traps etc.) can be taken both in real-time and turn-based modes. During one turn in turn-based mode, a character can take actions which in real time would last from 6 to 30 seconds (e.g. firing a long burst takes much less time than dressing a wound, with identical AP costs). Waiting for the opposition to complete their turn might take tens of seconds or more (depends on your CPU speed) because all allied and enemy characters act taking turns, one after another. There are over 75 authentic WWII-era weapons, including different types of knives, daggers, mines, grenades, rocket launchers, pistols, SMGs, rifles, explosives and bullet types for weapons. Apart from standard weapons, your characters can also acquire such rare examples as a Shuriken, Chakra, Katana Sword, Wood Chopping Axe and many more. For players who enjoy games that employ authentic WWII weapons, Silent Storm has more to offer than nearly any other title out there.

Overall, Silent Storm is pretty addictive game. Once you have mastered the interface, your next challenge is to use enough strategy to overcome the enemy and complete objectives. The enemy AI is pretty good, not perfect, but pretty good. Let me tell you the game is very challenging (but rewarding). My only complaint is that this game lacks any multiplayer. I would have loved to be able to play against (or even cooperatively) with some pals on LAN/Internet. I'd recommend it to anybody who enjoys turn-based tactical combat games. Try the demo and if you like it then get the game.

System requirements:
Minimum: CPU 600 MHz, 128MB RAM, 3D accelerator 32MB (nVidia GeForce2MX compatible or better), Mouse, Sound card, CD-ROM, 2,5 GB of free hard drive space plus about 500 MB for Windows swap file and save games
Recommended: CPU 2.2GHz, 512MB RAM, 3D accelerator 128MB (nVidia GeForceFX/Radeon 9700Pro), Mouse, Sound card, CD-ROM, 2,5 GB of free hard drive space plus about 500 MB for Windows swap file and save games