I have a bit of a quandary when it comes the third person shooters, as I’m always slightly nervous about them but for the life of me can’t think why. It’s not the quality of games; the Gears of War series and Ghost Recon: Future solider have shown themselves to be truly fine examples of the breed. Is it the camera angle? I occasionally get motion sickness with some FPS titles but never an issue in the third person. Is it that I’m just a COD fanboy and anything not made by Infinity Ward or Acitivision can suck balls? No, definitely not that because I suck at Call of Duty. With all this in mind, I chose to be brave and have a go at the latest release from Rebellion Developments and 505 Games; Sniper Elite 3.

Following on from the excellent Sniper Elite V2 you are American sniper Karl Fairburne, and for the most part you are alone in world war two Africa. Plot-wise you are hunting down various targets and Nazi generals, across a number of varied landscapes (more on that later). The game is only occasionally interspersed with cut scenes, choosing instead to offer hints on your potential progress as you scout out buildings and targets across what seem to be endless maps. All the while you are accompanied by Karl’s clichéd gravelly voice and the whispered German voices of the enemy.

 

 

Happily the series’ now famed Kill-Cam makes a return which if you’re not familiar with it, I would urge you to pop it into Google. It can be rather graphic, as a successful snipe will result in a slow motion cinematic followed by the gory glory of seeing the bullet take out various organs in all their x-ray finery. As I am at heart a massive child, I am yet to get tired of the pop up message ‘Testicle Shot 45XP’ each time I take someone out. If however you have a shorter attention span than me (unlikely), you are able to skip these cinematic moments, but in all honesty I can see why you would want to.

The reason of this is that Sniper Elite 3 is all about patience and strategy. You can run and gun if you are a ham fisted yob, but the emphasis and therefore the real reward comes from taking your time, laying traps and taking the shot without being seen. This is achieved by giving you what actually turns out to be enormous levels to play in, all of which are largely open plan and sandbox by nature. This lends to a gaming experience not entirely dissimilar to some of the earlier Hitman games, which is a highly favourable comparison indeed. The open nature f each level gives you something important; choice. That means many strategy options, many routes to take and ultimately this means that there’s significant replayability. For the trophy hunters amongst you, this means you’re unlikely to get bored working your way back through the levels to try and collect all the achievements and unlocks, of which there are many.

The addition of co-operative play is an interesting one as well. Overwatch mode pits you as either the sniper or the spotter; one armed with a pair of binoculars, picking out enemy targets to be taken down by your sniper rifle wielding buddy. This offering is particularly entertaining actually; there’s a genuine emphasis on actual co-operative gameplay which is often forgotten or neglected in games today.

 

 

There’s an awful lot to like about Sniper Elite 3. I’ll be honest, I’ve been playing through looking for something to complain about in my review but at each point there’s something enjoyable to be had. The obvious issue that I found is the enemy AI; the eternal issue with games where stealth is involved is that if they hear you, they search for a bit, then give up and go back their everyday lives. Sniper Elite 3 is no different, often with almost comical results. What was going through that German soldiers mind when he decided that his mate’s testicles (naturally) just spontaneously combusted and there was definitely no need to go and investigate that bell tower over there. Similarly, the four or five soldiers who decided that the shuddering crack of sniper fire they heard a minute or so ago was no longer an issue, and it was probably cool to go back to sitting around chatting were pretty impressive in their ignorance. You may ask yourself why we still get this in modern games, but what’s the alternative? GENUINE realism? You get one shot and then everyone drives off in a van because, I don’t know, there’s a lunatic with a sniper rifle lurking about in the long grass trying to look inconspicuous? You take the rough with smooth and it doesn’t impact your ability to enjoy it, and it allows you to lay out some pretty epic traps. It’s hugely satisfying sneaking up behind some guards, throwing a rock into some bushes for them to go investigate, dropping a landmine then moving on; hearing the sound of a distant explosion a few minutes later makes you feel like a badass.

I would recommend Sniper Elite 3 if you’re looking for a proper old school gaming experience. Call of Duty, Battlefield and Titanfall all have high tempo in your face action, but this offers something more; there’s genuine strategic elements that are quite rare in modern gaming. Because of this you get something else; longevity. You can play it again and again and never do the same route twice, meaning you’ll get many hours of fun out of it.

 

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