When it comes to visuals, Silent Storm has details to spare. The game is all about details, from the lush forest environments to cobblestone walkways -- if you can think of it, you can probably find it. Characters also feature fluid animations and show off a nice amount of variety. Even weapons are meticulously detailed, right down to the spent shells flying from the gun during combat. The real beauty of everything is that the detail remains constant no matter how close the camera is to the action. Little annoyances like blurry textures and jagged edges are virtually non-existent. However, the visual splendor comes at a price in terms of hardware. With all of the bells, whistles and other eye candy turned on, the framerate takes quite a hit. Even on my system, which is above the minimum requirements for the game, I wasn't able to turn on everything and even then I had a few skips in framerate.
The best part about the game's environments is that everything is destructible. Thanks to an amazing physics engine, environments and characters react realistically to your in-game actions. The damage modeling is great and really adds to the appeal of the game. Throw a grenade at a wooden wall and the wall will splinter and fall apart. This adds a completely new level of depth to the game since you can use the damage to your advantage during missions. If you need to get into a building, you can simply blow a hole in the wall and walk on in. The ability to damage environments does come with a few drawbacks. Given that everything can be destroyed, it is possible to take out elements, such as stairs, that are key to completing mission objectives. When characters finally die, they fall in a manner that is consistent with how they are killed and where they are on the field. In other words, if you shoot someone who is standing by a window, not only will the enemy fall, but if he falls in the right way he'll tumble out of the window and come crashing to the ground.
Sound and music compliment the visuals, but aren't as over the top as you might think. Effects such as gun shots are your standard fare. While they don't add that much to the presentation, they still do an excellent job. Voice work is a little hokey and sticks out as one of the few disappointments in the game. Dialog consists of some of the cheesiest lines ever written and can grate on your nerves over time. Music gives you some ambient music to save you from dead silence, yet stays out of the way.
