It was the best turn based game since JA2. Except those damn "panzerkleins", which in the later stages ruined the game. They could be "patched out" however.

Loosely? Does it have anything in common with books anymore apart from gloom (or whatever is it called in english) and two sides of the conflict? :D

All the problems have already been fixed - for all games based on the SS engine. Just download the files provided here:
http://www.mediafire.com/?ufzf9ekhjwes6yd

Source:
http://www.strategycore.co.uk/forums/Silent-Storm-Sentinals-Issue-t6619.html&st=20&start=20

I really enjoyed Hammer and Sickle, liked it a lot and felt it was unfairly treated by reviewers at the time.

I keep checking back to see if GOG gets the Silent Storm series, I had all the games back in the day but would love digital downloads of them to have and to hold. They are simply some of the best turn-based combat games I've ever played.

Fully destructable environments, cool and variable options for leveling up characters, so much fun to box out of tight situations and so full of easter eggs and interesting details. I kind of like to think of this game as what you would get if Jagged Alliance and Xcom had a baby... and boy was it lovable.

Some people balked at the psudo-tech that makes its way into the traditional WW2 genre -- but they made patches to remove that if you're a purist. Me? I loved Fighting panzerkleins and aquiring beam weapons to fight nazis.

Hammer and Sickle was a gritty more RPG-esque game experience with the silent storm engine. It was still fun, and I played it to the hilt, but it was not as great as it's predecessors. It'll scratch the itch after you play Silent Storm and it's Sequel Sentinels!

Great game until the last fourth, when those stupid Panzer Mechs show up. Why they messed up a great game by introducing a badly though out science fiction angle at the last minute is beyond me.
Luckily there are mods that remove the Panzer Mechs and replace them with more historical weapons.

I actually kind of like the Panzerkleins. But then, I do enjoy cheezy sci fi. :)

Problem was the game was advertised and sold as a fairly serious World War 2 tactics game. And it was that for 85% of the game. Then at the last minute they drop in a lot of cheesy sci fi stuff.
It's a case of people being angry because they were feel they were more or less lied to by the advertising and publicity. If they would have made clear there was a sci fi angle to the game there would have been less of a negative reaction.

Also, from a gameplay point of view, those Panzerkleins were just horrible. Slow, cumbersome and boring.