Game Link: http://www.sniperelite3.com/
Steam link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/238090/
What comes to mind when you think of Rommel and Monty’s monumental tussle for the Maghreb? Possibly not narrow canyons strewn with tank wrecks, Petra-like cliff temples, medieval castles swarming with Axis soldiers, and secret weapons factories carved into mountains. Rebellion’s level architects and texture artists know a thing or two about creating atmosphere and encouraging tactical experimentation, but chop down the date palms, chip off the pretty zellige tiles, and still the gust-driven dust flurries and the levels could be set just about anywhere. For most of the 11 or so hours it took me to sneak, stab, snipe and Welrod my way through the eight mission single-player campaign, I was waiting for The Desert Mission, the op that would send me out onto the dunes and the rocky plains… abandon me in the Qattara Depression to brave sandstorms and shoot at mirages. I still can’t quite believe that mission never materialised.
Objectives tend to be as genre-endebted as the environments. When the Top Brass want an enemy sharpshooter eliminated, mine-laying party discouraged, or convoy observed, they call on one of your off-screen understudies. You’re the square-jawed, stubble-scalped Afrika Korps bogeyman summoned when they need a heaving hornets’ nest infiltrated, some blueprints stolen, prisoners freed, bigwigs assassinated, or thermite placed.
Before all this you have to locate your targets first. Your binoculars allow you to 'tag' your enemies so you don't lose track of them, but rather than simply placing a small marker on your screen or map, you're instead shown their full silhouette at all times, even as they then move away and obscure themselves behind layers of walls, foliage and other scenery.
It goes without saying that a little artistic licence is being used here for the sake of fun - not even the greatest snipers in the world have Superman's x-ray vision - so it's best just to roll with it.
After all, it may not be authentic, but it does make for more entertaining gameplay. Take your time to spot as many upcoming enemies as you can and your reward is a number of silhouettes wandering around on your screen, blissfully unaware you're now planning a course of attack.
However, that's not to say they're without fault. Sniping is about as satisfying as it gets, and the slow-motion bulletcam (complete with disturbingly detailed x-rays of the enemy's insides bursting, breaking and shattering) is gruesome but gratifying in a B-movie kind of way, as you can see by this picture.
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This can also occasionally happen in close quarters with your handgun - understandable given that nobody's a perfect shot, but frustrating when the bewildering lack of a melee attacks means your best course of action is to run off and hide, hoping you don't get shot in the back in the process.
Sadly, the AI - something Rebellion pinpointed as a major area it wanted to improve - still leaves a lot to be desired at times. It can be remarkable how close you can get to an enemy without him spotting you, and when he does it takes a while for him to engage.
Of the 18 or so hours I’ve spent with Sniper Elite 3 thus far, roughly a third has been spent in the company of sentient snipers. In addition to the solo attractions – the campaign and wave-survival challenge modes – there’s a pair of co-op missions and a slim yet effective selection of adversarial multiplayer game types. In ‘No Crossing’ the purest and most static of the MP styles, two teams trade cagey killshots across impassible gullies. With no danger of getting flanked or shot in the back of the head by infuriating insurgents, play basically boils to choosing a promising spot, then watching and waiting…
Sniper Elite III is not without its flaws, but these are outnumbered by the sheer satisfaction it provides when everything works as it should. The sniping feels right, the slow-mo kills are disgustingly moreish and each combat area is large and diverse enough to encourage multiple playthroughs with different methods of approach.
The Sniper Elite series has never threatened to topple the Battlefields or Call Of Duties of this world, and this third entry never really comes close to changing that. But for those looking for a less gung-ho, more methodical approach to a war game, then ropey AI aside you could do a lot worse than this.For me, I think this game deserve 7 out of 10
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