[OFP] Silent Kill by Blacknite

Review by Denz

Overview

No text, just a standard picture of an A-10.

Briefing

The briefing is functional but sparse containing only the bare bones of instruction. A little background on the situation goes along way in helping the player get into the role at hand.

Mission

First of all, to be a little pedantic, I don't see how an A-10 lumbering across the valley while trying to avoid sheets of tracer coming up to meet it can qualify as a "Silent Kill". Anyway, to business. This mission is quite reminiscent of one of the BIS single missions. You have only the one objective to complete and the mission ends straight after you have done so. At the beginning, some messages from your commander or even a flight controller would have helped create some atmosphere, it is easy to work out what you are supposed to be doing but it's the little touches that create an immersive game. Once at the airfield, there is a choice over which aircraft you wish to utilise - an AH-64 or the A-10. The choice really depends on the players own playing style and piloting skill to choose which would suit them best, both aircraft have their advantages, but the mission was designed with the A-10 in mind. The author does seem to like putting players in to really tight spots and this mission is no exception. A flight ceiling of 100 feet is imposed from take-off and this is quite frustrating, more so in the A-10 as you will have to cross the mountainous coastline of North Nogova to reach your target area. The targeted convoy is moving from Petrovice to Lany and consists of a handful of trucks plus an accompanying shilka and should pose no problem whichever aircraft you chose at the outset. Surviving in the area of operations however, is the really challenging aspect of this mission. You will face an extraordinary number of shilkas clustered around your objective and along the approaches. Timing your approach is pretty vital, get it wrong and you will have to tackle the convoy near it's destination, which is a AAA outpost centered around the town of Lany, although only two or three strafing runs are required to leave the convoy as smouldering wreckage on the road. Therein lies the problem, the objective is just too easy to complete. After having survived the, at times, hellish journey the objective itself is a bit of an anti-climax. A little extra care and attention would have gone a long way before submission. I understand the author's reason for not being able to beta test thoroughly but it's the lack of those little extras, like radio messages that take a mission from being quite basic to being something memorable.

Overall

This mission provides a frustrating though somewhat entertaining 15 minutes of play- though you will face numerous attempts to complete it. Some more objectives to complete or another target to destroy would have greatly enhanced the mission. As it is though, it still provides those budding pilots amongst us with a suitable challenge for their skills although once you have completed it you are unlikely to play through it again.