Sniper Elite V2 – It’s A Bit Hit And Miss

Have you ever wondered what kind of damage a bullet can cause to human body? No? Well me either, but it’s a good way to get your attention. In case you did wonder, then SNIPER ELITE V2 from 505 Games and Rebellion is the one for you! Set in the last days of World War 2, in Berlin, you’re a sniper called Karl Fairburne. Your main mission is to infiltrate and bring down the Nazi war machine by tracking down various scientists captured by the Russian and German armies. Of course this involves much sneaking around and hiding.

SNIPER ELITE V2 is a remake of REBELLIONS 2005 game, SNIPER ELITE. It  is a curious game because you can’t go in guns blazing. You actually have to assess your situation and act accordingly as there are many hidden dangers, including other snipers and an endless amount of enemy soldiers. This game does remind me of earlier games that involve sneaking about (like Splinter Cell) and it does have a retro feel about it. OK the scenery is a bit block like and you are limited when it comes to free roaming. I am sure there will be many purists out there who will be only to eager to point these facts out, but to me this is an enjoyable game.

The great thing about SNIPER ELITE V2 is it doesn’t try to be anything more than a sniper game. The story is pretty basic, there are no overlong pretentious cut scenes, it’s in your face action all the way. The only thing I did find annoying was the save points were too far apart. There is nothing more annoying than after sneaked around for 15 minutes, you get killed and have to start all over again! Speaking of getting killed… you only take a few hits and it is game over my friend, so be careful out there.

The big selling point of this game is of course the "X-RAY KILL CAM" which is a slow motion shot of your bullet traveling through the air and smashing into your targets body with a peel away effect that shows in graphic detail the damage your bullet has caused. You can shoot any part of the anatomy, and of course you can shoot off a targets wedding tackle in all its gory detail (awesome).

SNIPER ELITE V2 has a certain creativity about it that makes it stand out from the others. With different methods of accuracy, you can hit the targets ammunition belt and cause an explosion, or take out that sniper by exploding the gas canister that just happens to be right next to him.

The whole game is just one big killing playground and it doesn’t take itself seriously at all. So all you war buffs out there, don’t expect any kind of historical accuracy in this game. It’s not Call of Duty or Battlefield, it just does what it says on the box.

SNIPER ELITE V2 is quite tactical though. With your binoculars you can tag your enemy ready for that long distance shot. The odd thing I did notice though is if you shoot one guy the one standing near him doesn’t notice that his mates brains are all over the floor. You do have a variety of weapons including trip mines, land mines and dynamite, all of which you can use to set traps for your enemies. Plus the ability to throw a rock to bring out guards to investigate is a nice touch.

It would have been nice to have more free roaming within the game as I have been killed a few times because I couldn’t climb over a rock due to an "invisible wall". Not being able to open doors is a pain as well.

The co-op modes are pretty good with the opportunity to play through the campaign with a friend, which makes for more interesting gameplay. There are also several other modes like "fire fight"which is basically taking out wave after wave of enemy soldiers; "bombing run" (which is a bit boring), a sort of treasure hunt; and "overwatch" where each player is given a different role within a mission.

Summary

I personally like SNIPER ELITE V2 mainly because it doesn’t pretend to be anything more than a good old fun shooting game. OK it’s not visually stunning like say Call Of Duty, and there are a few glitches that can be distracting. But overall this is an enjoyable game with a good 6 hour campaign and plenty of on-line action. I give SNIPER ELITE V2 an 8 out of 10