One man is a combat hardened hero with nerves of ICE... The other, wrongly imprisoned, burns for REVENGE... _but_ the only thing that they have in common is that they are both SNIPERS. ---Excerpt from Konami's "Internet Ad" for Dark Silhouette Dark Silhouette: Silent Scope 2 A Guide on how to become a Professional Sniper For the Konami Arcade Game Compiled by Agent Falcon (real name Mark Kim) Revision B.0.3c Location of Final Assembly: Downers Grove, IL USA Date of Final Completion: August 13, 2000 (No time given) Date of Public Release: August 13, 2000 (No time given) Copyright Information --------------------- Unpublished work trademarked (tm) and copyrighted (c) by Mark Kim. All Rights Reserved. This file is SHAREWARE and is strictly for entertainment use. In addition, this file can only be HTMLized by the sole owner of the file (Mark Kim), regardless whether the content is good or bad. To top it all off, this file can only be shown at the following websites: * Verasnaship Interactive (http://www.verasnaship.net) * GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) * Secrets of the Game Sages (http://www.gamesages.com) * Nemesis (http://www.faqdomain.cjb.net) It is a criminal act to reproduce and/or retransmit this file in any way, shape, or form (regardless of the medium) and it shall be a criminal act to to use this file at a password-protected site where either user accounts are utilized and/or money is made through these accounts. It is a direct felony to use this file for any profitable (even if you fail to make any money out of it), promotional, and/or commercial transactional purposes (including but not limited to giving this file as some sort of bonus, gift, or any other means to generate any money out of this document). It shall be a severe criminal act to incorporate any or all of this file into any gaming guides, game sites, magazines, or any other profitable and/or commercial transactional means that exists (including reprinting, OCR-ing, and the like). To conclude about this, it shall be a direct criminal act to make any money out of this document. Currently, this document is being maintained and is the sole property of Mark Kim, and this file is protected by all applicable copyright, trademark, and patent laws in addition to all International Treaties. Any breach of copyright, trademark, and/or patents (which includes but not limited to plagiarism, stealing, laming, pirating, or otherwise) and/or using this document for any other purposes other than personal and private purposes, and/or illegal mirroring of this file (other than the five aforementioned URLs as described in the beginning of this disclaimer) is a direct violation of all applicable copyright laws, International Treaties, Patent Laws, US Title 107, and the Berne Copyright Bill of 1976. Violators and Transgressors shall face severe civil and criminal penalties through the maximum extent possible by law. Mark Kim acknowledges and respects all copyrights, patents (pending or not), and trademarks whether if it's mentioned or not somewhere in either the FAQ Text File and/or site as no copyright infringement was intended. If for any reason I MUST USE any copyrighted resource, then credit will be given at the Acknowledgements Section for the common part. Note that whenever I give credit, I WILL NOT REVEAL ANY E-MAIL ADDRESSES AND/OR OTHERWISE in order to protect the privacy of the people for whom I give credit to. This file has been carefully written by Mark Kim in respect to all copyrights, patents, and trademarks. THIS DOCUMENT IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTY. MARK KIM ASSUMES NO LIABILITY FOR ANY INCIDENTIAL AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN CONNECTION WITH, OR ARISING OUT OF, THE FURNISHING, PERFORMANCE, OR USE OF THIS DOCUMENT. Silent Scope, Dark Silhouette, Fatal Judgement, Innocent Sweeper, the characters, events, and other Silent Scope-related material are original products, registered trademarks and copyrights of Konami. All Rights Reserved. Metal Gear Solid has been released by Konami Computer Entertainment under supervision of Hideo Kojima. All Rights Reserved. Konami owns the patents, trademarks, and copyrights for both Silent Scope and Silent Scope 2. The Hendsoldt Scope, PSG-1, and the MSG-90 Sniper Rifles are registered trademarks and copyrights of the Heckler and Koch company of United States of America and Heckler and Koch of Germany, GMBH. All Rights Reserved. All weapons mentioned in this FAQ whether described in detail or not are owned and guarded by the United States' respective weapon storage departments of various Law Enforcement, Military, and the CIA Agencies. You are encouraged to practice and support Gun Control in your community. I'LL MAKE THIS SIMPLE: THIS FILE IS MINE AND THERE IS NO UNAUTHORIZED USE OF IT!!!! I DIDN'T WRITE THIS FILE SO THAT YOU CAN MAKE ANY CRAP MONEY OUT OF THIS WORK!!! I DIDN'T WRITE THIS FILE SO THAT SOME SORRY CRAP-WRITER CAN JUST PLACE ANY SINGLE DROPLET OF THIS FAQ INTO A COMMERCIAL PUBLICATION, SLACK-OFF, AND GET PAID FOR IT!!! AND I DIDN'T WRITE THIS FAQ SO THAT SOME COPYCATTER CAN JUST CLAIM CREDIT FOR IT, WHICH IS CONSIDERED STEALING AND PLAGIARISING. ONLY FIVE WEBSITES ARE ALLOWED TO MIRROR THIS WORK BECAUSE EITHER I OR ANY OTHER FAQ WRITER THAT I KNOW HAVE TRUST IN THESE SITES (a.k.a. The websites I've mentioned in this copyright header). I don't want to waste my voice anymore on this paragraph, though. It is to remain in one piece, free of charge, and in its original state at all costs. ======================================================================== GENERAL INFORMATION Make: Dark Silhouette: Silent Scope 2 Developer: Konami Japan Publisher: Konami Arcade Available Screens: 27-inch Monitor Controller: Light Gun with Simulated Scope Usual Cost per game: 4.9 Dave and Buster's Chips AAMA Classification: Very strong Life-like Violence. Not appropriate for minors under 18 years of age. Release Date: First or Second Quarter 2000 Genre: Light Gun Number of Players at once: Two Dark Silhouette cabinets can be linked so that 2 players can play at the same time on certain modes. Features: Continue Feature Other notes: This game is known as Fatal Judgement: Silent Scope 2 in some parts of Europe and as Innocent Sweeper: Silent Scope 2 in some parts of Asia. ======================================================================== HISTORY OF THIS FAQ April 21, 2000 -------------- Namco and Konami are now face-to-face against each other for "the best light gun game there is". Konami contended against Namco with Silent Scope back in 1999. Although Konami is now focusing through their BEMANI line of games, Konami was kind enough to release Dark Silhouette as their ongoing effort to contend with Namco's light gun games. Both Namco and Konami remain light gun rivals as of today. April 23, 2000 -------------- Managed to refresh my memory when playing more Dark Silhouette at Dave and Buster's just now. The guide on how to best Oslo, the Sequel is up right now, although Fox is a pretty tough boss and requires even more time and money to play before I'm able to beat him without a single continue. Fox's patterns are just downright confusing and hard to memorize. More on this later. April 30, 2000 -------------- As always, corrections to this FAQ is always welcome as far as strategies are concerned. The Freight Hijack scene is included with this update as well as some minor tweaks to selected parts of this FAQ. Now here's the real pain: Cobra the Iron Man is back and he's cheaper than ever. He wants to see that you max out your credit card by hiding himself behind an innocent bystander and eventually throwing innocent bystanders so that he can suck up your pockets in a flash. Don't let that happen to you. Read this update and find out for yourself. For the next update, I'm planning to include the Ancient Scenery Shootout so that you don't have to waste too many tokens on this real pain stage requiring that you find even more camouflaged enemies than before. May 12, 2000 ------------ Celebrating the recent resignation from Dominick's Finer Foods, I've managed to come clean with an update that *should* include the part where you're forced to fight enemies through...Sorry!!! You'd better read through the document in order to discover what the surprises will be!!! At first, when I browsed through http://www.konami.co.uk for Silent Scope 2 Info (before I was lucky enough to play it the first time at Dave and Buster's), originally, the cold-blooded mercenary's name was supposed to be Raven. However, when I browsed through Konami Europe's website (knowing that they have a Silent Scope 2 section in their website), they said that the main characters in the game were Falcon and Jackal (who was supposed to be named Raven in the pre-production version of the game). Really. The cold-blooded mercenary's name (regardless of the subtitle of the game) is confirmed to be JACKAL. On Solo Units, you can select either Jackal (Sniper 1) or Falcon (Sniper 2). On linked units, the left cabinet plays as Jackal and the right cabinet plays as Falcon. May 15, 2000 ------------ Moderated parts of the Cobra strategies due to legal considerations. May 29, 2000 ------------ Added the final parts of the game. The first part of Level 7 is a time waster because some enemies are really hard to see in certain angles. Also, to add to your worries, I have discovered that whenever an enemy is hiding behind a window, he becomes even harder to see. I've wished that in the first part of the level that either Jackal or Falcon would've used either Thermographic or X-Ray Scope instead of Normal Vision because the enemies are pretty well camouflaged within the background. Falcon will have a super-hard time with the first part because he usually aims from a longer distance than Jackal. Hopefully, there will be challenge enhancement codes that will enable you to play in real-time sharpshooter mode (No spot markers or Infrared Sensor Assist), All-Time X-Ray Mode (You will play the game in X-Ray Mode all the way), Night Vision Mode, Thermographic Mode, or even playing a scope device all the way during the game with real-time sharpshooter mode enabled. While the bulletproof glass in Silent Scope 1 is only there to make sure that you have only one bullet left, killing the Big Boss in Dark Silhouette only...SORRY!!! You'll have to read on to hear what I mean!!! Enough ranting. Onto the update. May 30, 2000 ------------ AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!! Bugs founded on this document!!! As much as I try, I make sure that this document is free from bugs. Well, I have to update this document even though it's only minor. Hey, less or even no bugs is better than nothing if I can say... July 5, 2000 ------------ Sorry for the lack of updates recently. I was busy participating on the Operation Alpha Tournament. Another reason is because I am trying to get all FAQs updated so that it will show that Nemesis has my direct permission to mirror all of my Arcade FAQs but I'm always behind like GameFAQs. :( Too much in a hurry to explain now. July 7, 2000 ------------ PSG-1 information available, but on a credited basis. Go to Heckler and Koch's site (http://www.hecklerkoch-usa.com) for details regarding about the PSG-1. You are to be advised that the PSG-1 (according to Erik Germanis) costs about $15,000 USD, with scope, supressor, and all the tactical espionage equipment included. The PSG-1's high expense places it out of reach for about 90% of the many anti-terrorism agencies but hey, no other gun has more pin-point accuracy than the PSG-1. While no sniper rifle can have absolute accuracy, the PSG-1 is a good blend of accuracy and power, allowing a Sniper to dispose terrorists in a secretly and timely manner. My Dark Silhouette review (posted as an HTML File at GameFAQs as of current) will be included with this How-To Sheet in the next update. July 8, 2000 ------------ Measly, minor update. August 13, 2000 --------------- Updated this document, but I'm keeping the changes a surprise. ======================================================================== CONTENTS OF THIS FAQ * Newsflash * Reasons for writing this file * Description of Dark Silhouette * How to play the game * Story * Hints * The Prologue = Taking out the trash = The two snipers meet in a flame war * Oslo Showdown, Part 1 = Outside the base, sniping through the snow = Inside the building = Duking out with Tanya * Oslo, the Sequel = Our Snipers skiing downhills = After the Downhill Skiing Scene = Fox the Butcher * The Airplane Hijack = Fighting through the plane = The return of Cobra the Iron Man * The Ancient Lands of England = Jackal taking off without Falcon's permission = Falcon warning Jackal not to take off without permission = Meeting the Collector * Concerto Con Terroriste = Please be seated, Jackal and Falcon = Let the show begin = Who's that?! * Ridding the remaining terrorists = Sniping right through a hotel-like building = Duking out the two vehicles = Inside the building = Inside their hidden base = The toughest fight in the game * The Big Boss seduces our heroes = Jackal and Falcon forced to fight each other * Showdown at the Big Ben = Overthrowing the Big Boss = Determinining Laura's Fate: Sniper Time once again * The Sniper's Rifle * Frequently Asked Questions * The Do's and Dont's * How to suggest fixes * Resources of this Document * Acknowledgements * One Final Warning ======================================================================== NEWSFLASH Please be warned that this FAQ can only be shown on the following locations: * Verasnaship Interactive (http://www.verasnaship.net) * GameFAQs (http://www.gamefaqs.com) * Secrets of the Game Sages (http://www.gamesages.com) * Nemesis (http://www.faqdomain.cjb.net) Instant legal action will be taken if for any reason I see this work mirrored on any site other than the above sites (which is also mentioned in the Legal Disclaimer and near the end of the document). Please let me know if this work is at another site other than the listed above. This has been a policy ever since I've adopted this and I will always use this policy in my future works. I'm not trying to be mean but for the interest in having only latest versions, this is necessary. I appreciate your cooperation in this matter. As always, newer versions of this FAQ can be found first at my own web site located at http://www.verasnaship.net. If you have any fixes or any other tralala you want to share with me, then use the convenient e-mail form at http://www.verasnaship.net/emailme.html. I grant you permission to e-mail me at the aforementioned URL as described herein. E-Mailing me directly to my mailbox using an E-Mail Client is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. Now please be aware that any fix suggestions are subject to verification. All tactics and strategies will be test-driven by myself. If my analysis comes that the fix suggestion isn't effective and/or cost efficient, it will not be noticed on this document. As with Silent Scope, Dark Silhouette is NOT SUITABLE for minors under 18 years of age due to very strong life-like violence. More likely, Dark Silhouette will only show up at the high-end gaming locations, namely Jillian's, Dave and Buster's, and GameWorks. Some true coin-op arcades might have Dark Silhouette, but please check with your operator if your favorite arcade will get this one or not. This document, like all Video Game FAQs on the Internet, must be viewed in a monotype font or the alignment will not be correct. If the alignment isn't correct for any reason, then please follow these procedures: 1. On Netscape Communicator, click on Edit, then Preferences. 2. Click on Fonts at the Appearance Section 3. At the Fixed Width Font, select Courier New, and select size 10 point font. 4. If you see this sample bulk of writing aligned correctly, please proceed: 1234567890 ********** It is strongly advisable that you *do* view this document through the DOS Application Edit.COM or through the Apple Text Viewer SimpleText for alignment purposes. If you are planning to view this through the Windows Interface, then you are highly advised to open up WordPad and then open up the Text File. Set the font face to Courier New and set the font size to 10. ======================================================================== REASONS FOR WRITING THIS FILE I have finally got my hands on this super-practical followup to Silent Scope at Dave and Buster's at Addison, IL USA. Dark Silhouette can be filled with a lot of sniper puzzles requiring that you secretly and swiftly eliminate enemies through even more disturbing environments. Not only that, some of the enemies are "camo-ed" into the background, making naked screen sighting more difficult. A strict time limit really pushes you to memorize all the patterns. One time-waster could mean the end, forcing you to improve game after game. Also, accuracy and speed play an imporant role in Dark Silhouette. The more accurate you are and the quicker you can jack the terrorists, the better you will be. You'd better browse through http://www.konami.co.uk for some serious details regarding about the game's story. There is an official site dedicated for Dark Silhouette. Over at Europe, it's called Fatal Judgment. Click on "Fatal Judgment" and then check out the story. There could be several reasons why this game could possibly require two snipers instead of one. Now that there's a 2-player Dark Silhouette at GameWorks, all I need to do is to find a very good sniper and update this whenever I can get my memory refreshed. As with Silent Scope 1, Dark Silhouette is somewhat a military-style, sharpshooting simulation game played by many real-life military personnel at the United States. The Scope feature of the game is regarded as the most innovative aspects ever in a shooting game. However, as you become faster and better in the game, just like in real-life sniping, your nerves begin to twitch. Get used to all of your Nerve Twitching in the game. It's really important that you limit your caffeine intake before you board to your arcade to play this game. Dark Silhouette is not easy to play not because of the scope and the strict time limit (as with the original, but it's a bit more linear than the first game), it's how fast and accurate you can beat the game. Dark Silhouette gives you the real feeling of tactical espionage, "the sniper's way". Enough ranting, let's get it on. ======================================================================== WHAT IS DARK SILHOUETTE Dark Silhouette is a professional sharpshooting sequel to Konami's smash arcade hit, Silent Scope. Dark Silhouette shares the same sharpshooting gameplay and concept (Look through the scope to ensure that the bullet counts, and make all bullets count to supress the terrorists at all costs) as with the original, but all the similarities end with the gameplay. For the most noticeable change, Dark Silhouette features a link option allowing two players to play at once. Two Dark Silhouette cabinets can be hooked up for two-player action. Knowing that people would like to see who's the better sniper of the two would be, Konami has axed out Time Trials in favor of a brand-new Duel Mode. Although one player can play Duel Mode to see how well he or she can detect the target, Duel Mode (while both players are playing) is a lot better because you can now see who's the better sniper of the two. The key in Duel is simple: Find the other sniper and nail him to score one point. The sniper who scores the most points at the end of Duel Mode wins the Hardcore Sniping Exercise. The storyline is many miles better than the original. The original's storyline was plagued with the overly-used First Family rescue mission. Dark Silhouette fixes the game's story problem by featuring a full-strength terrorist army attempting to use forbidden chemical weapons to destroy a nation's security that you need to stop. There are about 8 or 9 stages of gameplay with 7 to 8 bosses to duke out. Unlike Silent Scope, you have to play _all_ the stages. There is no choice in terrorist infiltration this time around!!! While you never needed the assistance of Thermographic and X-Ray Modes, you will need them this time around because both modes allow you to detect enemies behind the walls. This is a really cool feature because now you can nail the enemies hiding behind soft walls. You won't see too many support markers as opposed to the first Silent Scope. Only by wasting time (and quarters) will you be able to "spot the target". Konami has done this because the spoiler sights really hurted replay value. Aiming in this game is NOW done like you would with the Hotel Imperial stage in Silent Scope!!! Find the target and wipe them out before you waste too much time!!! You will be asked to see how well you perform your sniping duties in even more disturbing environments and even greater distances. There are 2 new chase scenes as well. More disturbing environments include snow, fog, jungle scenery, and the like. Well, let's stop ranting about Dark Silhouette. Enjoy the game. ======================================================================== HOW TO PLAY THE GAME As with Silent Scope, Dark Silhouette features 3 modes. However, the modes are even more interesting than in Silent Scope because you're no longer required to select Time Trials as part of your game menu. Without any further dues, Dark Silhouette features Story Mode (The game will follow in accordance to the better story), Shooting Range (See how accurate and fast you can be destroying 45 targets!!!) and Duel Mode (the creme de la creme of the game. See how good your sniping skills are in 3 difficulty modes). How to play: Insert the desired amount of coins and press the start button. ------------------- For Single Cabinets ------------------- Right after you hit the Start Button, you will be prompted to either select as Jackal the Loose Cannon (Sniper 1) or Falcon the Government Dog (Sniper 2). After selecting your sniper, you will go to the Game Mode Select Screen. From the Game Mode Select, aim the muzzle at either Story Mode, Shooting Range, or Sniper Duel. If you wish to select Sniper Duel, aim the muzzle at the left for Easy, middle for Medium, and right for Hard. ------------------- For Linked Cabinets ------------------- Right after you hit the Start Button, you will be asked whether you want to accept Linked Play or not. If you wish to accept Linked Play, then aim the muzzle at the left side. If you only want Solo Play, aim the muzzle at the right. Linked Play allows another sniper to "butt in" under certain provisions and guidelines. Solo Play locks out all 2-player games. For linked cabinets, the left cabinet will play as Jackal the Loose Cannon and the right cabinet will play as Falcon the Government Dog. If you wish to switch sniper characters, you'll have to switch cabinets all along. Once you make a narrow decision whether to accept linked play or not, you will go to the Game Mode Select Screen. From the Game Mode Select, aim the muzzle at either Story Mode, Shooting Range, or Sniper Duel. If you wish to select Sniper Duel, aim the muzzle at the left for Easy, middle for Medium, and right for Hard. NOTE: LINKED SNIPER DUEL CAN ONLY BE ACTIVATED IF BOTH SNIPERS SELECT DUEL AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE GAME. Story Mode Objective: To prevent terrorists from using forbidden chemical weapons that is targeted to threaten the security of the UK at all costs. Although this is your main objective, you'll find out that there is more than meets the eye when you dig deeper into the game. Shooting Range Objective: To destroy 45 targets in 150 seconds under the following conditions: * You will be going up against 10 Scoring Targets (similar to that in various Police Stations). Aim at the middle for the best possible score. You will be facing 5 standing targets and 5 moving targets of this kind. * You will then be asked to shoot down 5 Watermelons. Although this is kind of easy, it's really hard to find the watermelons that are scattered pretty far from you. The nearest watermelons are easy but the farthest are hard to track because you won't have any marker assistance unless you waste enough time. That is why you need to memorize the locations of the targets to waste the least possible time. And I'm planning to use the Digital Camera that I recently purchased as of this update to tell you where to point the marker. Please keep in mind that if for any reason I wish to do a PDF File, then you are to be warned that all tips will assume that you are using Falcon as your sniper character. The tactics will be different if you are using Jackal as your sniper instead. * You will then be facing point boards that are similar to real-people, except that they have point values. If you hit the targets at the head, then you will get a lot of points. If you hit somewhere at the White Area, you will get no points. You will have to face these targets under the following conditions: Targets that stand, targets that slightly move, and targets that move insanely fast. * You will then see how well you can judge from criminals to terrorists. The targets that you are only allowed to shoot at are guys with Shotguns, mobster-like men using old-fashioned Machine Guns, women who's carrying SOCOMs, and guys who are pointing guns at Innocent Bystanders. Shooting any Innocent Bystanders will reduce your score and will count as a Missed Shot. You will be asked to judge whether the target is "guilty" or not on these conditions: Standing, Slightly Moving, and Night-Vision. YES. You will need to know how to use Night-Vision with the training package. * Now you must shoot the target right at the Apple for the finale. Don't shoot at the beautiful lady, just aim and hit the apple of the target so that your score will increase. Duel objective: To see who's the better sniper of the two people (Falcon the Government Dog and Jackal the Loose Cannon) through 3 difficulty levels. You will have a time limit, but your real goal is to win the Search Exercise at all costs. This mode can be played alone but it's more interesting if two players are playing at once. This way you can see who's the better sniper of the two. The sniper will score 1 point if the sniper is the first one to "tag" the other sniper. The sniper will score 3 points if one of the sniper's shots tags the other sniper's head. The first sniper to score 3 points wins the round. The sniper who's the first one to win 2 rounds wins the match. The sniper who's the first to win 3 matches will win the Search Training Exercise. Note: The default setting for the amount of matches required to win the Duel is 3 matches. This switch may be changed anytime by your local operator. Either way, you still have to win 2 rounds to win a match. For example, I have to win 3 matches (best of 5) to win the Duel at Dave and Buster's whereas I need to win 2 matches (best of 3) to win the Duel at GameWorks. Falcon and Jackal will not be using real bullets for this mode--instead they will be using "training lasers" that will not cause any harm during this mode. Note that when you look at the scope and fire, your shots will actually be red beams. There are 3 difficulty levels for Duel: * City: You will be sniping around the outside of the London streets, through a beautiful London hotel, and even a merry-go-round. Although this scenery is rated "Easy", it's pretty much a nuisance because your opponent is usually camouflaged whenever he's aiming right inside the hotel. Be aware if you're aiming right inside the truck because that's when your opponent will be able to find you with ease. * Forest: Ahhh!!! You'll be practicing your sniping skills throughout the ancient sceneries of England. You'll have to see how well you can find and "tag" your opponent through one of the game's most disturbing backgrounds because your opponent will be extremely far away and camouflaged within the scenery. In certain instances, you'll have to aim and "tag" your opponent while riding in a boat. This exercise is rated "Medium". * Air: Probably the hardest exercise in the Duel Package. You will be asked to find and tag your opponent under the following conditions: Aiming at your opponent's helicopter while you're standing on the ground, aiming at the bridge where your opponent is standing still while you are riding the helicopter, aiming at your opponent's heli while you're riding a pickup, aiming at your opponent's pickup while riding a helicopter, and finally aiming at your opponent's heli while you are riding a helicopter. It's really difficult to score a hit since the wind current and the vehicle movements will force you to play a game of wind anticipation. Try to anticipate the wind current by looking at the scope (to see how the bullets fly around) and when you got the rhythm down by memory, tag them. It's really hard to score a point because of the wind current and the vehicle movement so you're basically playing a game of wind anticipation for this one. Note: In the event of a dispute by both snipers, the computer will do a possible "coin flop" to see whether Jackal's or Falcon's choice will be accepted. How to attack: Look at the "naked" screen to point the muzzle at the desired "piece" you want to extend your view at. To attack at the piece of screen image, look into the scope, aim with the crosshairs, and press the trigger to fire. Please be warned that sometimes bullets won't "get their man" as you will be asked to see how well you can aim and "make your bullet count" while moving as well. Always keep your cool while aiming because it's really easy to twitch-up at times. Once you shoot 5 bullets, the magazine will reload. You cannot fire while the gun is reloading. Shooting is done the traditional sniper fashion meaning that you can't rapid-fire your weapon--It's one at a time once again!!! Limited Lives in Story Mode: You will start with a certain amount of lives at the start of the game. The game ends when either time runs out or if you lose the allotted lives. One-life Life box penalties are imposed if you hit innocent bystanders. Provided that you do _NOT_ hit either of these two people, you will gain useful bonuses if you ogle at the following: * Nurses: If you ogle at them for long enough, you will regain one whole life box. There is not too many of these sexy ladies this time around so try not to lose too many lives. * Waiters: There are at least two of these in the game. If you look at them for long enough, then you will get 10 more seconds added to your clock. NOTE: You won't lose lives if you hit your partner by accident but your accuracy streak will reset if you hit your partner by accident!!! This is important to know because the skiing chase scene at the start of Oslo Part 2 can be frustrating for Falcon because Jackal is blocking a good aim for about 46% of the time. Limited Time in Shooting Range: You will start the Shooting Range game with 150 seconds. The game ends if either time runs out or if you have destroyed all 45 targets in a row. In Shooting Range, you will be "graded" through the following factors: * Accuracy * Innocent Bystanders accidentially shot * Longest Accuracy Streak * How well you can score * How fast you can clear Shooting Range Thus after completing Shooting Range, you will be rated from the following grades: * F-Public Nuisance (you suck) * E-Amateur (Keep up the practice) * D-Rookie (You don't belong over there) * C-Sniper Third Class (Room for Improvement) * B-Sniper Second Class (So-so) * A-Sniper First Class (You did well but there's one more step up to the top) * S-Professional (Exceptional) * SS-Ultimate Sniper (Now that's like it!) Try to make sure that you earn no less than a Sniper Second Class. Any achievements at Professional means that you're finally learning something in Dark Silhouette. Duel Regulations: You will only have about 80-90 seconds for each round. The round will end if time runs out. The match will result in a draw for the most likelihood if both snipers have won 1 round a piece. The sniper who wins the most rounds when time runs out will win the match. Snipers will have to switch positions whenever one sniper scores a point. The first sniper to score 3 points (You will score 3 points for Head Hits) wins the round. The sniper wins the match if he/she is the first one to win 2 rounds. The game ends whenever the following occur: * One sniper becomes the first sniper to win either 2 or 3 matches, as outlined by the Duel Match DIP Switch by the discretion of the operator. * The allotted number of matches has been exceeded as outlined by the Duel Match DIP Switch by the discretion of the operator. The sniper who won the most matches when the allotted number of matches has been exceeded wins the duel. A draw occurs of both snipers won the same amount of matches when the number of matches exceeds the maximum amount of matches. One correction to make with the Cabinet's Instructions: The cabinet says "Shoot the enemy's vital parts for certain death and bonus points." This is totally wrong. For a one-hit kill during boss fights and double the point value for killing enemies, kill the enemy at their head. Not only head shots save a lot of time during boss fights, but head shots will also double the amount of points you have. Also be warned that your score is based on accuracy. As with the original, the higher your accuracy streak, the better your score will be. This is the formula to determine how many points you will be earning for every shot: * (Base value of enemy * Current Accuracy Streak) * 2 (if the kill was a head shot) This is indeed a challenge--keeping your accuracy cut-clean while moving as fast as you can. If FOR ANY REASON YOU CONTINUE THE GAME, then the score will reset ALL THE WAY BACK TO ZERO. Be smart and proud. TRY NOT TO CONTINUE. This way, if you can see a higher score by the time the game ends, then you will know how accurate you will be. The only time you need to continue is whenever you need to learn the game. Also, when you are prompted to enter your name, THE GAME WILL ONLY RECOGNIZE THE SCORE FROM THE ENDING GAME. For example, if your highest score was 452,000 and if your game over score was 33,900, then the game WILL ONLY RECOGNIZE the 33,900 game. This proves that you need to improve game after game in order to become the fastest, and most accurate sniper at your arcade. ------------ DIP SWITCHES ------------ Like Silent Scope, Dark Silhouette features these DIP Switches which determines how difficult and/or easy the game will be: Keep the High Scores at Power Off: This DIP Switch will determine if the High Scores are going to be saved right after the power is turned off. Of course, the operator reserves the right to reset the high scores even if this option is turned on. If the Save High Scores at Power Off is turned ON, then the scores will be saved once the power is turned off. If the Save High Scores is turned OFF, then the scores will always reset when the power of the game is turned off. Kudos to Craig Durnen about this one because this is also shared from my Silent Scope FAQ. Blood Control: Like Silent Scope, Konami included this "Violence Control" option so that operators can control how much violence can be shown throughout gameplay. The switch for Violence Control is BLOOD, which determines if you will see blood and stained walls throughout gameplay or not. If the Blood is turned ON, then the blood will spurt out when you kill your enemies and the walls will be stained with lots of blood. If the Blood is turned OFF, then instead of seeing blood when you kill an enemy, you will see sweat instead. Also, with Blood turned off, you won't see any stained walls. This helps the arcades determine whether we will play an uncensored game of Dark Silhouette or not. Another rant I've carried from my Silent Scope FAQ. Later on, I discovered that it's called Hit Indicator instead of Blood. If it's RED, then you will see all the blood. The options are Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, and Flash. Granted, all the Kid-Friendly arcades has this setting at Flash. Violence Control: Both Silent Scope and Dark Silhouette shares the same DIP Switches. The official name for this DIP Switch is Head Shot Indicator. This determines if you have made a head hit (once you hit foes at the head) or not. If the Head Shot Indicator is turned off, then you won't even know if you have wiped out an enemy with a head shot or not. Having the Head Shot indicator turned off really makes it hard for you to know whether you have jacked a foe at the head or not. Having the Head Shot indicator turned ON will enable a player to know whether he or she scored a head shot or not. Also, when the Head Shot indicator is turned on, when you have killed a Boss character with a Head Shot, you will see a shattered skull meaning that you have done a one-hit kill on a boss character. For Dark Silhouette, head shots are now essential because the Boss Characters now take 10 bullets to destroy instead of 5 bullets in Silent Scope, plus Bosses here are now even better time-killers than in the first Silent Scope. Please be warned that the "Sack of Potatoes" trick from Silent Scope (slamming a boss continuously with oodles and oodles of steady flow of lead) doesn't work in this one anymore. The bosses move faster and they tend to escape once they get hit once or twice. Act quickly or you might waste money just to kill these bosses. Later on, I discovered that Head Shots are influenced by a switch called Violence. If the Violence is MILD, then you will not know whether you made a head hit or not. If the Violence is STRONG, then you will know whether you made a head hit or not. If the Hit Indicator is set to RED, then the blood will stain right at the walls. Yuck. Altering the Violence to STRONG is OK but I would like to have the Hit Indicator set at Flash so that the Violence isn't too strong. About the Realtime Window: There is a DIP Switch that will determine if the Help Scope will appear at the upper-left of the screen all the time or not. If the Help Scope switch is turned ON, then the Help Scope will appear ALL the time, ruining all the luxury of having to look into the scope. Notice as opposed to the original Silent Scope, turning the Help Scope ON will also turn off the Scope mounted on the gun. Whereas turning the Help Scope OFF will turn on the Mounted Scope on the gun. Also with the Help Scope OFF, you won't be able to see some help from the top-left of the screen. When I spoke to a Dave and Buster's Technician on their view about this DIP, they told me that if the scope vision is shown at the top-left screen all the time (and during gameplay), then the game won't be any fun to play because this takes all the luxury of looking at the scope away. When I spoke to a Namco Amusement Zone worker at Lombard, IL USA, this employee told me that although having this DIP turned on ruins replay value, it will help little kids aim with the crosshairs because they are not big enough to look at the mounted scope. The mounted scope comes with a "scope saver" that turns off the scope to save power when it is not moved after 1 minute. I highly recommend that you have the Help Scope TURNED OFF. This way you'll be forced to look at the scope to aim all the time. For some bizarre reason, GameWorks has this DIP turned on. The mounted scope is turned on as well at GameWorks. MI Orikasa told me it's not called the Cheat Scope at all. It's called the Realtime Window. This determines whether there will be a simulated scope at the top-left window or not. If it's turned ON, then there will be a Scope Window at the top-left hand of the screen. If it's turned OFF, then there will not be a Scope Window at the top-left hand of the screen, forcing you to use the Scope for steady aiming and discreet take-outs. Please be aware that if you have this turned ON, then people can increase their speed by using the naked screen alone but concentration will decrease because you will become nervous during the boss fights and whenever trying to commence "make the bullet count" sessions. The mounted scope increases your concentration IMO and when used efficiently in conjunction to the Naked Screen with Realtime Window OFF, then the mounted scope can become a versatile friend. Scope Contrast: These options determine how bright the mounted scope will be. The ease of Mounted Scope use determines how bright the mounted scope has been set. I had a difficult time keeping my accuracy at acceptable levels because the scope brightness was rather poor during Night Vision Mode and at times when I have to aim at the first part of Level 7. Fortunately, Pocket Change's Dark Sill machine had a bright mounted scope so that aiming with the mounted scope is extremely easy. Time Limits: Both Silent Scope and Dark Silhouette has this option to determine how much time extension you will get. I don't know how many levels of Time Extension is included with this switch but all I only know that the harder the Time Limit Difficulty is set, the less time you will have. I was able to confirm this when I contrasted a Dave and Buster's Silent Scope machine to a Brunswick Zone Silent Scope machine. Number of Lives (Brand Spanking New): Both Silent Scope and Dark Silhouette has this option to determine how many lives you will be given at the start of the game. The default for this DIP Switch is 3 life boxes. For the Silent Scope machines at GameWorks, you start the game with 4 lives. In Dark Silhouette, you start with only 3 lives. There isn't that many beautiful ladies in Dark Silhouette, so try to avoid taking hits and ALWAYS AVOID HITTING INNOCENT BYSTANDERS AT ALL COSTS. Number of Matches required to win a Duel: This determines how many matches a sniper has to win in order to win a duel. For example, if an operator requires that snipers win 3 matches to win a duel, then there will be a best of five, winner of three duel. The default setting for this is 3 matches. GameWorks has this setting at 2 matches. Do you have any fixes, then please provide feedback to me by pointing your browser to the following location: * http://www.verasnaship.net/emailme.html WARNING: If you choose to send UCE, flame or troll me over, or spam me, then I reserve every right to take matters to your ISP to discuss your irrational behavior. Here are the Factory Settings: Hit Indicator: Flash Violence: Mild Realtime Window: OFF Lives: 3 Time Limit: 4-5 (Not sure) Save at Power Off: ON There are many reasons why I have to tell all operators to turn the Realtime Window off: If the Realtime Window is ON, then they will be using the Naked Screen to BOTH CALIBRATE AND TO AIM for less effort but IT WILL DECREASE CONCENTRATION. Why does enabling the Realtime Window decreases concentration? Because boss battles require accurate aiming at times and should you be able to use the Naked Screen during these battles, then IMO you might get nervous, resulting in reduced accuracy and frustration. This is why having the Realtime Window OFF is a lot better: If you can use both the Naked Screen and the Mounted Telescope fashionably, then you can be very fast and deadly. Using the Mounted Telescope can really help you concentrate to make sure that the bullet count shot after shot. So why is the Scope mounted on your Light Gun for? ======================================================================== SCORING SCHEDULE Note: These are the base values of the death of all enemies. The point value will be based upon this formula like I said before: * (Base Value * Current Accuracy Streak) * 2 (if the kill was a head shot) All enemies: 100 points Destroying a Power Box: 800 Points Destroying a Security Sensor in Level 5: 100 points Destroying the Mines: 800 points Destroying the Infrared Security Sensors in Level 7: 800 points Destroying the Surveillance Cameras: 800 points Hitting the hook carrying the girder: 800 points Hitting the Rotor: 200 points Blowing up the Rotor: 800 points Blowing up the explosive box: 800 points Downing a lightset at the Opera: 800 points Wounding Tanya the Living Flame: 100 points Killing Tanya the Living Flame: 400 points Wounding Fox the Butcher: 200 points Killing Fox the Butcher: 800 points Wounding Cobra the Iron Man: 300 points Killing Cobra the Iron Man: 1200 points Damaging The Collector's tank: 200 points Destroying the Collector's tank: 800 points Wounding the Collector: 500 points Killing the Collector: 2000 points Wounding Star the Opera Singer: 700 points Killing Star the Opera Singer: 2800 points Destroying a Launch Device: 2000 points Stopping the Bus Driver: 3000 points Wounding Sho the Lightning Bolt: 700 points Killing Sho the Lightning Bolt: 2800 points Wounding Kane the Lightning Bolt: 700 points Killing Kane the Lightning Bolt: 2800 points Wounding Falcon or Jackal during the Duel Fight: 100 points Killing Falcon or Jackal during the Duel Fight: 400 points Wounding the Big Boss: 1000 points Killing the Big Boss: 4000 points Splitting the Handcuffs: 500 points Your accuracy streak will reset if for any reason you do the following: * Miss * Hit an innocent bystander (you will also lose one life) * Hit your partner * Destroy a debris with your Sniper Rifle * Hit anything other than enemies or traps of sorts Please correct me if I'm wrong at any point of the scoring schedule. ======================================================================== STORY OF DARK SILHOUETTE Dark Silhouette features a story which is far and away better than the first Silent Scope. Another reason why I would go to Dave and Buster's to play Dark Silhouette. ----------- The Prelude ----------- April 4th, 1999. Just about 4 months before Silent Scope took place. Agent Falcon was ordered to take out the terrorists who are planning to steal the UK's military secrets at all costs. Nobody knew who Falcon was (except that he defends us when we least expect it). Falcon's objective was straightforward: wipe out all the terrorists before they get a chance to steal all of the UK's military secrets. Eventually, Falcon succeeded in preventing the terrorists from stealing the UK's military secrets. Unfortunately, this mission was _NOT_ completed without any boo-boos. During the process of preventing the terrorists from stealing invaluable military secrets of the UK, two cars crashed into each other at the middle of Westminster's Tower Bridge. It was assumed that the car clash was to be used as a basis for the Terrorists' hopes of stealing these military secrets. Even with the Car Crash at the middle of Tower Bridge, Falcon triumphed. However, Falcon couldn't do this without the help of a loose cannon named Jackal. About to start a flame war, Jackal warns Falcon not to interrupt with his work. Right as Falcon starts a flame war with Jackal, a mysterious psychopathic terrorist popped out of Tower Bridge (via a helicopter) warning the two snipers about ruining his plans. He vows to get his revenge against the two snipers for ruining his attempt to steal the UK's military secrets. The military secrets have been secured, but Falcon was forced to talk with HQ regarding about the mission. He wanted to know why Jackal came to help him out. He also wants to know why he can't work alone for this mission. He warns HQ that he refuses to work with any freelancers whatsoever. However, HQ tells Falcon that "he will do as he is told". Although Jackal is extremely dangerous and cannot be trusted, Jackal is as good as Falcon is. Also, Jackal has shown interest in protecting the UK for an unknown agenda. --------------------------------------- Konami's Silent Scope, released in 1999 --------------------------------------- 4 months after securing those precious documents with some mysterious gripes, Falcon was given a brand new order: The President of the United States and his family has been kidnapped by a full-strength Terrorist Army and are demanding freedom for their dictator in exchange for their lives. The US Government needed to solve this matter quickly and secretly. The United Kingdom answered to this terrorist action by dispatching Falcon into the streets of Chicago to wipe out the terrorists and to save the President and his family at all costs. However, it took Falcon about 8-12 hours to complete as he had to fight Scorpion, Cobra, Hornet, and Monica (not to mention that he had to rescue the First Lady and the President's Daughter one by one) before he rescued the President by landing a head shot that would determine the fate of the United States. The United States hailed Falcon as the first "Sniper Hero" because unlike the common sniper, Falcon was skilled in the art of Sharpshooting Espionage--making the bullets count in order to infiltrate high-risk Terrorist Actions. Although this has nothing to do with him, Jackal continues to protect the UK for an unknown purpose... --------------------------- AND NOW, DARK SILHOUETTE...