It’s been almost four years since the last time I played Sniper Elite game and it was the Sniper Elite v2, which is one of the best third person shooter sniping game ever. One of the key features of this game is its signature slow motion X-Ray kill cam that shows how skeletons and organs fall apart when hit by a sniper bullet. Everyone loves it for its brutal shots and unique experience. Now, we got a chance to review the latest franchise of game the Sniper Elite 4 which probably has lots of improvements in comparison to the last one. Although we haven’t tried the 3rd franchise yet, I’m pretty sure that there are lots of changes to explore from the last series.
One of the newest additions to this game is its massive open world environment that varies in every mission. Set in the World War 2 and located in Italy, your enemies are the Nazis who are currently in power and rule most of the parts of Italy, and your primary mission is to kill their Boss, Adolf Hitler.
You have options and ways to finish a mission. You can play it in stealth, combat or just sniping mode. In stealth and melee, you can throw a decoy stone to distract the enemy away from the other group and stealthily kill each one of them, in this mode it takes more time to finish it. While in sniping you have to precisely eliminate the enemy in a single shot to avoid distraction and getting caught by the enemies, but it takes time and opportunity to take your shots. You may also take advantage of the new enemy tagging system in the game in which you use binoculars and tag your enemies before planning your attack, to easily tracked down enemies location. In combat, you can freely kill the enemies in gun blazing whether they are alarmed or not, all you need to do is kill them all, this way you can finish the game easily. The gore effect of the game feels the same as in the recent Sniper Elite game – those breaking jaws, exploding hearts and even shattering testicles of the enemies are still an awesome experience. When the kill cam shows up on the screen, rest assured that the target is dead.
Holding your breath while sniping your enemies also gives you accuracy and a red point guide to penetrate the enemies. But for a limited time as you will run out of air when doing it frequently, you have to rest for a bit before you go for another shot. Noise is something really important to consider when playing this game. When enemies hear a gunshot, anyone that covers the triangulate position will going to look after you, and they will turn yellow or red depending on the alarm level and it may destroy your gameplay. But, you can overcome this situation using one of the features of this game by synchronizing your shot with the other sounds like lightning, planes and other loud noises that help you distract the enemy and cover your shots. Doing this will let you avoid getting them alarmed. Of course, except for when they see the dead body falling from your shot, then they will surely find you. You can also use a stealthy melee attack to your enemy, here the kill cam effect is not a bullet, but your knife penetrating the enemies organs.
Collecting bullets and looting is one of the things you will be doing here as your ammunition is easy to run out, and you have to find dead bodies and search for loots to have more ammo. Note, one dead body is not enough as it only gives you 3 to 7 ammo each. So, you have to really save each bullet before taking a shot and make sure it’s in the right spot. Imagine going back and forth to dead bodies just to get ammo after every kill you make. You can also get some letters and collectibles when searching through the dead bodies, so if you are planning to complete the achievement, you have to do this always.
Somehow the AI enemy in the game has some problem and repeatedly does the same actions all over again which is one of the disadvantages of the game. But, don’t worry! You only notice this when you’re playing Easy or Normal mode, while it’s very rare to see this flaw in Hard mode as the enemies can quickly kill you once you’re spotted.
Co-op missions is the features I am looking for in a game as I always play coop games with my buddy and adding this feature will turn the game into more enjoyable experience. Playing as Sniper with your friend is like you’re on a real-life mission signaling each other with your buddy waiting for a perfect shot. You also have to try the wave survival mode a time killer game which makes the game repeatable.
I find the game lacks of objectives. It would be better if they add objectives like limiting the players in rampaging the enemies, by adding some limits – like killing a target without getting caught, comparing to other games like Hitman that gives you more stealth objectives to finish a mission in that way you will be rewarded if you play the game with some stealth and sniping skills not just rampaging all the way, kill enemies and done.
Overall, the Sniper Elite 4 has a vast of number of improvements since the Sniper Elite v2 regarding its new design, ambition and short-story cut-scene. If you loved Sniper Elite v2 and similar games, this game would truly blow you away in all aspect especially fun to coop game with your friends. It is an entertaining shooter game with its satisfying signature kill cam that focuses on long distance combat. Options of difficulties that caters newbies and pros, still a competent experience and one of the must play sniping simulator.