A few days ago we showed a trailer for some interesting DLC for 505 Games’ upcoming WW2 shooter Sniper Elite v2, and following that news of being able to stop Adolf in his tracks they’ve released the demo onto the PSN and XBL. Intrigued, we downloaded it and gave it a couple of plays through, and quite liked what we found.
The level provided gives you chance to try your hand at a good range of gameplay dynamics – you’ll be sneaking around buildings to find decent vantage points to take out enemies, sprinting away from enemy fire into cover as well as creeping up on dozing guards to try out a stealth kill. Gun play is varied too, with your sniper rifle and machine gun both getting an outing, plus the chance to use a range of explosives to cause chaos in the ranks. The mission involves taking out some street patrols, laying explosives to disrupt a convoy and killing a key character before he escapes. So with a name like Sniper Elite you’d expect plenty of sniper action, yes? You won’t be disappointed.
From the very start you’ll be aiming at long distance foes. Depending on the difficulty you choose you’ll have to worry about gravity and wind direction affecting the shots you make, giving this a far more realistic challenge than just sitting at the far end of a Call of Duty map waiting for someone to run across your direct line of sight. Get the shot right, and you’ll more often than not be treated to the tracking of your bullet as it sets sail. While this eases off during times of busy fighting, the effect this has is great. Taking out someone from a loooong way away and seeing your bullet slice through a lung in slow motion (complete with brilliantly disturbing x-ray imagery) won’t get boring for a fair while.
The gunplay feels good so far, and the machine guns have a nice weight and power to them. A game like this will hinge around the cover system too, and so far this feels pretty good. There are still times when you think you’re in cover but still get shot, but that tends to be a poor choice of cover rather than the system itself. Getting out of cover has a very Mass Effect feel to it, either dashing from cover or leaping over the item you’re hiding behind.
The game looks good too, with typically war-torn buildings smouldering around you. The only odd thing we came across was the noise your footsteps made as you ran round an empty street – there was an almost metallic echo, although it seemed to subtly blend with the background music so might be intentional. Who knows.
But so far, so good. We’ll be reviewing this quite soon so keep an eye out for that, but as things stand this is a very promising change of pace from your average shooter. A cross between sneaking and shooting could work out brilliantly, and we’re looking forward to seeing exactly what’s on offer in the final game. Give the demo a go, you won’t regret it. Meanwhile, take a look at a walkthrough by the devs of one of the levels from the full game.
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I did enjoy the demo, but only for the slow mo kill shots. There was still some issues:- graphics generally, some textures were so smeared and flat, it felt in places old or low budget. The controls were also a little frustrating sometimes, only a couple mind, but I think it felt a little clunky third person. I keep wishing there was a “switch to less clunky first person” button but sadly no lol. All in, it has potential and I must be fair in that it’s a demo and not final. But let’s be realistic, are they likely still due to overhaul graphics/controls at this stage?! All in the vital kills were awesome, but I can see the reviews stepping way down from COD and Battlefield.
I just hope reviewers differentiate between COD and this. It’s not meant to be COD after all. The demo might be based on an old build, they might use better textures too when it’s built for release.
I didn’t think it looked too bad, not a world beater but it does a job to make you appreciate the situation you’re in. A good roundup of the demo this, nice one.
@Andy – totally agreed
The original Sniper Elite wasn’t a graphically beautiful game either, so I really wasn’t expecting this one to be. Where the original shines, and where I hope this one improves upon, is the gameplay. The patience needed to play, especially on the highest difficulty setting, along with gratification of scoring long distance shots after careful planning is what set this game apart from other shooters.
I enjoyed the demo, as it reminded me a lot of the original game. I will agree, however, that the controls are a little clunky at this point. I’m hoping there is a customizable controller configuration in the retail version.
All in all, this game should be a nice pick up for anyone who is like me and appreciates a game that tries to blaze its own path, not copy and paste the formulas already used by other games within its respective genre. This, along with Ghost Recon Future Soldier for a change of pace, will be the only shooters I buy this year.
After installing this demo, I got the impression the game was 5-10 years old. The player is extremely limited in where they can go, what buildings they can enter, and what walls they can climb. For example, a door is half open, and you cannot pass through. You can climb through certain windows, but cannot pass a waist high road barrier.
The game has a great concept, but the players landscape is extremely limited.
4 stars out of ten
I was so disappointed, but only because it could be so good.
They call it a simulation but it’s nothing of the sort. And by this I mean the ballistics are linear too. For example, if your taking an long shot as required by the script then gravity and wind do apply, but if you take an extreme shot where the script doesn’t require it then the bullet just does nothing. I did this with the German soldier waiting in your final destination, I went to the other side of the map to kill him, and wind and gravity had no effect.
It has terrible A1 – I mean really, really, really bad. The enemy snipers are so stupid it’s pathetic. The foot patrols stand out in the open begging to be shot even after 5 of their mates are laying about with their brains on the floor.
It’s very linear. There is no real planning(for the demo mission anyway)involved. It’s a stealth game that involves very little stealth and thought.
Could have been a great game.
I mean terrible AI. Doh!
I absolutely love the demo. The walking is a little clunky, but everything else overpowers the negative aspects. And I personally thought the AI was great. Much better than other shooters I’ve played.
I just preordered the game and I cannot wait for it.
So far, from the demo, I give it an 8.7 out of 10
Maybe even a 9…
looks ace on pc version of the demo , waiting for it to come down in price on steam