Sniper Elite Review (no fat)

Game Description

WWII and Vietnam have been really over used themes in FPS games lately. There were many titles in this category some really good and some of really bad quality. Sniper Elite’s action plays out in the WWII period too but from a different point of view. This is not the first game where you take the role of a sniper but in Sniper Elite the definition of sniper is taken to a new level.

In this 3rd person shooter you are an American elite sniper working undercover as a German operative in Russian territory. The campaign takes you through 28 missions. You will have objectives like assassinating high rank officials, espionage or rescue captured allies. Most of the missions are challenging and completing them can take a while so finishing the campaign can take 15 hours or even more.

Sniper Elite Gameplay

This game is more strategic, methodic and slower paced than most shooters. You will have to approach carefully without being detected then snipe targets from long distances. Similarly to Splinter Cell you have a meter that shows how visible you are, this way you can move undetected more easily. Depending on the difficulty settings, hitting a target from long range can be fairly easy or excruciatingly hard in case you turn on wind, heart rate, shortness of breath and other difficulty options.

Given that you are in the WWII era you won’t play around with high tech toys. Your sniping arsenal consists of Gewehr 43, a 7.62mm Tokarev and a Mosin. And each has a gravity and wind table! But during missions you won’t be able to snipe away all the time so in order to survive close range encounters you’ll also have access to a P-38 silent pistol, MP40, DP28 and even anti-tank weapons to deal with heavy targets. You can also use binoculars to look around and get some information about enemy positions.

Because you are a sniper you won’t be able to resist a lot of damage if detected. A couple well placed shots and you’re dead. This can cause frustration to less patient players because you will die many times in most missions until you find the good hiding places and figure out how to deal with your targets. Most of the time you will have to move around in a crouched position or prone, if possible, to have minimal chances of detection. The sounds of footsteps or soldiers talking with each other can help you evaluate their positions more effectively.

The impact of your shots on enemy soldiers is portrayed very realistically. If you shoot them in the leg for example they will fall on the ground and scream for help. The enemy AI is very good. Soldiers help and support each other and they are also very good at detecting you. Maybe even too good, so it’s not easy to successfully hide from them. If you land a critical hit or head shot the camera switches to bullet view and you can see the impact of the bullet from close. This doesn’t lack blood and flying “pieces”, especially in case of a head shot so it’s clearly not a game for the faint of heart.

Sniper Elite Multiplayer Modes

If you finish the campaign or you simply don’t like facing the AI there are several multiplayer options to choose from. First there is a co-op mode where you can play missions along with a friend. There is also an up to 8 player online multiplayer functionality with game modes ranging from the classic Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch to the more interesting Assassination mode where players split up to a Russian and a German team. Similar to Counter-Strike the Germans have to guard some civilians while the Russians have the mission to eliminate them.

Sniper Elite Graphics

The graphical presentation of the war torn areas you will fight in is very detailed and realistic, the only problem is that it gets repetitive after a while. There are some missions in interesting locations but most of them take place in very similar settings.

Sniper Elite Summary

Sniper Elite is definitely an interesting game. It can be a refreshing experience after playing many standard shooters. You’ll be dead before you know it if you try charging at the enemy, unlike some of the shooters around today.

There is no lack of quality in Sniper Elite, it’s a challenging game with all the ingredients to capture a shooter fan’s fancy. What can inversely impact your preference for the game is the fact that it can get a little too tough at times and requires a lot of patience along with method. If that doesn’t put you off, this is one game you should have in your collection.

Sniper Elite Cost

At the time of this review, the game retails for $39.99US.