Silent Bomber

Infobox VG
title= Silent Bomber


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developer= CyberConnect2
publisher= ^{JP US} Bandai
^EU Studio 3
distributor=
designer=
series=
engine=
version=
released= 30 April 1999
genre= Action
modes= Single player multiplayer
ratings=
platforms= Sony PlayStation
media= 1 CD-ROM
requirements=
input=

"Silent Bomber" is an arcade style action video game for the Sony PlayStation, and the second game developed by CyberConnect2. Silent Bomber is based on the classic top down shoot 'em up genre but with a twist, instead of shooting the enemy the player blows them up using bombs. The game was heralded as one of the fewer original games for the Playstation according to IGN. It was released on the 30th April 1999.

Gameplay

The player takes control of the protagonist, Jutah, whose mission is to attack and destroy the facilities and defenses of the colossal space dreadnought "Dante". The player can either plant bombs simply where they stand, or by launching them using the lock-on reticle. Bombs that are launched at enemies also attach to their target. Bombs can then be detonated at any time at the player's discretion. This introduces the chaining element of gameplay, where the number of enemies destroyed simultaneously awards more points. Bombs can also be "stacked", a larger number of bombs in the same place is more destructive. Jutah can only set a limited number of bombs at any one time, the set bombs must be detonated before more bombs can be set.

Jutah also has access to "material liquids", these are enhanced bombs with special effects. Napalm continues to burn after it is detonated damaging enemies within the flames, it is also more effective against biological enemies. Gravity forms a miniature black hole sucking in nearby enemies. Paralysis temporarily disables electrical devices, it also does extra damage to mechanical enemies. Material liquids can also be stacked and chained with standard bombs.

Jutah can upgrade the number of bombs he can plant before needing to detonate them, the range of his bomb-planting hologram and his resistance to enemy attack by using E-Chips hidden through-out the levels. Jutah's E-Chips can be configured at any time to adapt his skills to different situations.

In keeping with arcade style tradition, many levels end with a powerful boss that Jutah must destroy or repel to move on through the game's 14 levels.

Plot

Jutah Fate, a member of a special military unit was sent in on a solo mission deep into enemy territory on the planet Tarakhan. While on this mission, he comes across an enemy camp and is ordered to burn it to the ground. Upon doing so, Jutah is shocked to find that the camp never housed any soldiers, it was for civilians. Jutah, his faith shaken by the realization that he has attacked innocent people is then forced to completely destroy the area, killing everyone.

Jutah is arrested for war crimes and placed in prison. Seven years later, he is released to take part in a military operation due to his world, Hornet, having such a vast military shortage. Jutah has retreated inwards after the incident seven years ago and has become an emotionless killer. He refers to himself as "Nothing more than a killing machine." on several occasions throughout the game.

He is part of a covert operation to destroy a huge space cruiser called the Dante, a menacing juggernaut 200km from stern to aft. The Dante is currently heading towards the planet Hornet and seeks to blow it to smithereens using the 'Fermion Cannon' a weapon of immense destructive power. The mission also includes other war criminals and assorted felons such as Benoit Manderubrot: a political criminal, Micino Tifone: a professional spy and Tim 'Mr Escape' Palmer-nicknamed for his old career of breaking prisoners out of jail and 'volunteers' in the form of John Loss: a member of an oppressed tribe and is headed by an inexperienced CO, Annri Ohara. The operation is know as Operation Toroy. Benoit comments that they are "merely pawns in some elaborate game that will determine the fate of the world." and makes a mysterious comment as to "which player will be fortunate enough to checkmate fate?"

The team uses false security codes in an attempt to gain access to Dante but they are discovered and the main craft is destroyed by Dantes Anti-Aircraft weaponry, along with most of the smaller escape craft launched from it. Jutah and Benoit are ejected in landing pods and Jutahs crash-lands, Benoits condition is unknown. Jutah destroys the Anti-Aircraft weaponry after coming face to face with a huge, quadrupedal mechanized spider which was armed with Anti-Aircraft weapons and the main defensive force on Dante, the robotic infantry or 'HardShells' and is given a death threat by their leader, the Commander. Jutah destroys the main Anti-Air weapon but not quickly enough to prevent Annri and the rest of the team from being shot down. Jutah discovers Benoit's pod and receives a cryptic message from him.

Jutah is then given the task of annihilating the energy plant on board Dante to allow Annri to hack their systems and shut down the HardShells. Even though the hacking is successful, the HardShells are still online when Jutah moves in to destroy them, he still succeeds even after fighting the Commander HardShell again.

Annri asks Jutah for help in defending the Lander craft while it is repaired, Jutah refuses at first stating that "My directive is to destroy this ship, I'm not here for a rescue mission." Annri orders him to defend the ship, to which he reluctantly agrees, since she is still his Commanding Officer. John assists Jutah by using his machine gun to fight them off without wearing any armour, a fact which Tim calls him crazy for. John admires Jutah for jumping headfirst into battle to save them, despite Jutah's words that it was only because he was ordered to.

Jutah is then sent to travel on the cargo transport system for the Dante, the Linear Liner. During the journey, he speaks with Annri and it is indicated that she is beginning to sympathise with him and develop feelings for her and vice versa, though Jutah hides it since he is still locked in his shell. The Liner stops abruptly and Annri's transmission cuts out, he escapes via a power cable - the cable itself is as large as a building corridor - and is contacted by Benoit once again. "Does it bother you that you have lost you're commander? There's nothing to worry about, you were only following someone who was tying you down with orders. Come on Jutah, cut yourself loose. Call up those killer instincts and reclaim who you really are." Jutah encounters another quadruped machine and defeats it.

Jutah runs into Micino after escaping, who tells Jutah that she will give him Annri's location for a price. Jutah must knock out the air generators in Dante's residential district, providing enough chaos to allow her escape. Jutah proceeds with Micino's plan and runs into the HardShell Commander once again. This time however, the Commander has a few upgrades, his entire body is now as large as the room and is mounted on an enormous tank-like platform. Despite this Jutah still defeats him, much to the Commander's disbelief.

Micino sends Jutah through the Dante's water systems, an extensive tunnel network that brings water to Dante's residential and industrial areas, Jutah fights off multiple enemies and eventually comes face to face with the elite units of Dante, the 'Blue Mist' androids.

Micino contacts Jutah afterwards, telling him that Annri is being held in the maximum security area after being caught in the hacking. Jutah locates her and Annri is shocked that he came to find her after all her failures. She is in despair, feeling that she has no right to lead other people due to her inexperience. Jutah is now beginning to open up to Annri as he speaks of his past, quoted from the game herein. "Back then, the battlefield was all I knew of the world. And the voice, the voice that issued orders to me, was the only thing I could believe in. Each time I was sent into battle to kill, another piece of my soul died. I'm just a mere shell of a man now, nothing more than a killing machine." He also tells her that she only has to give him the order to fight and he will do it, to protect the operation and her.

Jutah's next mission is similar to Resident Evil in some respects. Annri sends Jutah to destroy all the bio-weapons, living creatures created as weapons of war. In a scene from a horror movie, the bio-weapons have all escaped, killing their creators and now attacking Jutah. Jutah fights his way past these incredibly powerful enemies before coming face to face with the ultimate bio-weapon, an enormous, mutant spider which attacks him. After the battle, Benoits voice speaks to Jutah. "Heheheh, that's my Jutah. Does it remind you of Tarakhan? Is it reminiscent of those days....of slaughter?" Jutah becomes enraged demanding Benoit reveal himself, to which Benoit replies. "The party will begin soon....and then. I have no doubt you'll discover the other face that's hidden behind Dante."

At last, Jutah gains access to an elevator that will lead him to Dante's bridge, unfortunately, the journey is interrupted by the nine remaining members of 'Blue Mist' and their leader the mysterious 'Colonel'. At the end of the elevator, Jutah discovers that all the people there have been brutally killed by the bio-weapons that Benoit had released. He attempts to use Jutah's past to influence him into joining him and reveling in the destruction they could both cause. It is Annri who brings Jutah to his senses and when he refuses, Benoit releases the bridge from the rest of the ship and tries to kill Jutah in the vacuum of space, revealing that this version of himself is a hologram. It is the rest of the members of the operation, including Micino (who was unable to escape because of the bio-weapons) who rescues him, John saying that it was because they are comrades and friends. Jutah is surprised by this and begins to open up even more.

Benoit has sealed himself inside the core of the Dante, where the AI that runs the ship the 'Brain' resides. Benoit still plans to destroy the planet and everyone is sealed out side of the ship. Annri hatches a plan, she will hack into the controls of an energy cannon similar to the one which damage their ship, to blast their way through the bulkhead doors. he only problem is that the control room is now a bio-weapon nest. Jutah protects Annri while she uses the cannon to get inside.

The entire Hornet space force has now amassed in front of Dante, determined to destroy it. Their attacks do next to nothing against the ship and they are all annihilated by the Fermion Cannon, which must then recharge before it can attack Hornet directly. Jutah is sent in to destroy the main reactor for the cannon, causing a chain reaction which destroys it when it attempts to fire, destroying most of the front of the ship.

Thinking that they have stopped Dante, everyone is celebrating until the Dante gives a huge lurch forward. Benoit is now attempting to ram Dante into Hornet and challenges Jutah to a final duel in the core of Dante, the Brain room. While travelling through Dantes massive corridors, Jutah comes across several holograms of Benoit, each one taunting him.-"So glad you could make it Jutah. This is the Brain Room, Dantes core. At this moment, the Dante is heading towards Hornet", "Its speed is gradually increasing. At this rate, it will pierce the atmosphere like a bullet," and lastly, "When that incandescent heat, bearing the mass of a continent, comes crashing down accompanied by countless fragments. What a beautiful sight it will be."

Jutah finally makes it to the core of the Brain room where he meets more holograms of Benoit and multiple robots created in the form of chess pieces on a holographic board which he battles against. Upon defeating the queen, Benoit appears, now in his real form, bonded with the Brain and possessing a green aura. "Just as I thought, without the King the game just isn't interesting." This leads into the final battle against Benoit, in which Jutah proves the greater, leaving Benoit mortally wounded.

With his final few breaths Benoit reveals the truth. On Tarakhan he was Jutah's commanding officer, the man who ordered him to kill so many innocent civilians, he then activates Dantes self destruct mechanism forcing Jutah to flee, his final words before the explosions engulf him are. "Survive Jutah...fight and survive."

Jutah is cut off from the launch point and tells Annri to leave without him to save everyone else. Annri orders him to come back alive, and then leaves in tears, while Jutah moves off screen, a look of grim determination on his face.

Three years later, Annri has left the military and is writing her memoirs on the operation, she still has the headset she used to give Jutah his orders. Someone enters the room next to hers and Annri speaks into the microphone. "Jutah...come in Jutah." The door opens, revealing Jutah in the doorway, the movie and game ends with Annri running to embrace him.

Characters

Jutah Fate: A genetically engineered man created by the military government TARAKHAN and based on the planet controlled by it and named for it-Tarakhan-as part of its Elite Fighter Engineering Project. He was trained as a military weapon, specialising in spying, assassination, and demolition. He lived only to destroy. Then the military government collapsed, and he was sentenced to 300 years in prison. There, he had a mental breakdown. Now, he's fighting for his freedom. (English voice: Skip Stellrecht) (credited as Henry Douglas Grey)

Annri Ohara: An elite military officer and computer specialist that graduated from the military academy at the head of her class. Annri sought fulfilment in the Hornet government maintaining planet-wide peace. But, after joining the Hornet army, she discovered there were problems with the government, as with any large institution. Annri is the only member of Operation Toroy from the Hornet Military. (English voice: Debra Jean Rogers) (credited as Debbie Derosa)

Benoit Manderubrot: An international political criminal and chess master who has joined and led seven major revolutions. Benoit assumed a different identity and embraced a different ideology for each conflict. He believes that revolution is like chess, and uses people as game pieces. He volunteered for Operation Toroy. Benoit is considered the most mysterious member of the troop, his ability as a soldier exceeding even Jutah's. (English voice: Richard Cansino) (as Richard Hayworth)

Micino Tifone: A professional spy who will do anything for money. Micino has stolen state secrets by seducing government officials with her beauty. Her strong points are her physical strength and cat-like agility, and her uncanny sixth sense. (English voice: Bridget Hoffman) (as Ruby Marlowe)

John Loss: A hero, he uses guerrilla tactics to fight for the liberation of the oppressed Nufu tribe, a 'primitive' tribe held in government "preservation". He agreed to join Operation Toroy on condition that the tribe be freed. His character is described as intelligent and quiet, but once he's on the battlefield, his bravery and ferocity are unmatched. (English voice: Kirk Thornton) (as Sparky Thornton)

Tim Palmer: The youngest member of the mission, Tim is a brilliant and resourceful pilot. He needs only a few minutes to master any vehicle. He gets his nickname "Mr Escape" from his previous career of breaking prisoners out of jail. He's a talented weapons operator and is master of the hasty retreat.

Trivia

In the four initial .hack// games developed by CyberConnect (Infection, Mutation, Outbreak, and Quarantine), there are PCs that run around bearing the first names of the main characters of Silent Bomber. Also, the character "Jutah" possesses a staff called "Silent Bomber" of which players can trade off him.

External links

* [http://www.cyberconnect2.jp/silentbomber/index.html "CyberConnect2's Official Silent Bomber Page"]
* [http://www.gamestats.com/objects/011/011837/index.html Silent Bomber on GameStats] - synopsis, videos, screenshots, ratings