Sniper Elite V2

Sniper Elite was one of my favourite games on the PS2, this game is basically a remake and a good one at that. This game is about taking your time lining up the shot, timing shots to be concealed by environmental sounds and, optionally, allowing for gravity, distance and windspeed for those with a greater challenge.
the game looks great and i really dont understand those saying it has poor graphics, it will impress you time after time with its great level detail and lighting.
it can seem a little easy and going stealth isnt a requirement, you can run and gun with a thompson or an mp40 if youre conservative with your ammo, although ammo crates are abundant.
Knowing this, i still found myself taking my time, trying to get as many kills as possible before being detected or patrols spotting bodies. Its a personal choice how you want to play this game.
try the demo, if you can, its a good representation of the final product.

Sniper Elite to be fair is a technically average game that just happens to be a lot of fun ! If as a child you enjoyed reading Commando comics and watching repeats of Where Eagles Dare every Christmas, then this game is for you !

The basic premise of the game is a third person, cover and shoot style game mixed with first person aiming whenever you use your sniper rifle scope. Using this awkward blend of perspectives you progress through a number of missions to try and stop Nazi scientists selling the Russians V2 rocket technology in the closing days of WWII.

Although the game is initially presented as kind of a WWII version of Assassins Creed it soon becomes clear that trying to sneak through the levels is a waste of time. There are many areas where it is simply impossible to progress without taking out all of the enemy soldiers in your way. Although this goes against any common sense as a sniper it is lots of fun to become a one man army and take out entire patrols single handed. This by the way does seem to include shooting Russians as well as Germans, which is a little harsh considering they are on your side in the war. But as elite US sniper Karl Fairburne you obviously have the future Cold War in mind ( either that or you could be responsible for starting it ! ).

The controls can be a little frustrating at times as you switch between the first person high powered scopes of the different sniper rifles to the more familiar third person cross hairs of the other weapons. I got particularly annoyed by the way unfamiliarity with the many controls often leads to blowing your cover before you are in position. This is particularly unforgiving as once the guards are alerted they keep searching for you and any subtle plan you may have had goes out the window.

The sniper rifles are clearly the focus of the game and using these succesfully is the key to the game. Sniper Elite features three basic difficulty settings, each making the ballistics succesively harder. Bullet drop and wind factor have to be taken into account for long range shots, and holding your breath and timing your shots makes all the difference between success and failure. Get it right though and you are rewarded with a slow motion animation of your bullet leaving your gun, flying towards your target and then seeing an x-ray view of the damage the bullet does as it hits your target. Yes, its over the top, but man is it satisfying !

The other weapons in the game can also be used to kill enemies but the ridiculously small amount of ammunition you can find for them makes them unreliable at best. Why the German soldiers only carry 3 or 4 bullets in every MP40 is beyond me. What is also worth considering is that although you can suffer one or two hits and still heal up over time ( similar to most FPS games ) at close range you do not last long at all against enemy soldiers. When you die you can usually start again at checkpoints liberally scattered throughout each level. However, if you quit the level before finishing there is no save function and you have to start again from the begining which is annoying.

Along with your selection of weapons you have a number gadgets such as mines and trip mines which you can use to protect your flanks. These are very satisfying when they work but a real let down when no one sets them off as you can't pick them up again. You can however find new weapons and equipment by searching dead bodies.

The general gameplay is quite challenging until you get the hang of the controls. You are expected to take on entire armies single handed and I often found myself wondering whether a certain level was ever going to end. However it is really enjoyable to get to the end and look back at all the devastation you have wrought.

There is a multiplayer option that allows for co-op play online and I understand that more single missions will be available to download in the future. This gives the game some replayability beyond what is admittedly a very linear single player campaign.

So overall I really did enjoy this game despite its flaws. Its certainly not very realistic but then again a realistic sniper game would probably involve several hours getting into position to take one shot and then sneaking out again. In this you get to plan your attack, sneak into position and start shooting - and if it all goes wrong you just try again from someplace else. At the end of each level you will certainly feel you have earned your snipers pay and your trigger finger will be itching for more.

I admit, I was slightly disappointed to begin with. Having played the Demo, which I thought was excellent, I found the first 2 levels infuriating, with enemy soldiers shooting, with perfect accuracy, automatic rifles and making shots that I was struggling to make with my sniper rifle - admittedly I was playing on the hardest version with none of the sniping aides in operation. However, once you get your mindset into "once you make that first shot, you best be prepared to take everyone down" - the game really comes into its own. You must plan your attack; where your most defended position is, and protect it using mines and trip wires; where the enemy congragates in order to plan grenade or dynamite attacks. Once they hear that first shot, the enemy attacks relentlessly.
Other reviewers have complained that the AI is too good - I would argue that with easier AI, that it would simply turn into a shooting range. The AI makes you think about the best time to make the shot - creates a nervousness before setting into motion your plan, and in essence is what makes the game frustrating, yet addictive. There are a few bugs - some of the movement is not fluid, it is incredibly difficult to plan an attack perfectly; you sometimes need to fail in order to understand where the enemy troops move to, in order to plan better. However, graphics, atmosphere and addictabilty are there in abundance. It's not fast - it's the thinking man's game - if COD is the 100m and Battlefield is the marathon, Sniper Elite is an excellent game of chess. Buy it.