Silent Assault
System: NES
Release Date: 1990
Developer: Joy Van
Publisher: Color Dreams
Genre: Action
An alien power is the menace you must destroy in Silent Assault! By fate or happenstance, you are the only person unaffected by the possession power of the interstellar demons. Destroy everything in your path over 8 levels to killing the alien scum and liberating Earth.
Run to the right, jump to avoid enemies and bullets with the A Button, shoot things you want to destroy with the B Button. There are three different guns you can pick up. The default is the bazooka, which shoots a rocket straight ahead. You can also find a machine gun, which allows for rapid fire attacks. The final was my favorite and that was the shotgun. Spread shots are pretty powerful and make mincemeat of enemies. The bullet powerup increases your rate of fire. If you pick up a grenade, it can be thrown with the Select Button to clear the screen. The metal of honor leaves you invincible for a few seconds, so pick them up before they disappear. Some enemies drop hearts, which can be used to gain your health back.
Levels are straight forward and relatively short. Ground enemies run back and forth firing their weapons. Flying enemies move in a triangle pattern dropping bombs at you. Luckily, you can shoot up as well as forward. And then there are clowns… At the end of each level is a boss. Bosses require you to avoid projectiles and hit a specific spot multiple times to destroy them. These are very easy to defeat, with the hardest part being shooting at the right pixel.
Graphics: 1.5
Everything is serviceable. There are a lot of colors used. There is some flickering, but I didn’t notice any slowdown.
Sound: 1.0
The song that loops isn’t very good and the sound effects are plain.
Gameplay: 1.5
There’s not much to do, but what Silent Assault does works.
Difficulty: 1.5
Your mission is straightforward, levels are too easy, and there’s no growth.
Fun Factor: 1.0
It’s not a particularly fun game, you just keep going through it because you don’t die. At least it’s short.
Overall Rating: 1.3
Silent Assault earns a D+. Joy Van and Color Dreams bring a game that technically works, but it totally isn’t something that is unnecessary to play.