I only ever played Sniper Elite 2, so I’ve got minimal experience in the series.  However, the series keeps getting new releases, and while I’d prefer they move into the modern setting like some of their other entries, I also figure the series must be getting better… right?  And how’s that co-op campaign work?

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GAMEPLAY

…sniped I did as much as I could…

I played this game entirely in co-op with a friend.  And in that lies some solace: the idea of a one-man team taking out small armies Call of Duty style really doesn’t sit well with me given this game flourishes its sniper realism.  And therein lies a mixed bag: half the time it’s just gunning down small armies, and the other half is sniping.  The sniping is sublime, albeit quite a bit too easy to pull off.  But outside of that, you’ve got just about as generic as a 3^rd person shooter can be.  This isn’t helped by objectives that are simply “go here, press button to interact”.  In fact, I was glad I played in co-op both for the shenanigans and the fact that it kept boredom at bay.  Moving into multiplayer does not improve the situation: the survival mode is quite literally an exacerbated killing of small armies, the most generic part of the game.  The multiplayer itself simply serves to demonstrate the weaknesses in the shooting mechanics: latency issues, wonky movement and aiming, and just some overall unpleasant fuckery.  I would be lying if I said anything outside of sniping was any good because it simply is as mediocre as it gets.  And sniped I did as much as I could, focusing my time on doing the most enjoyable thing the game has to offer.  Speaking of my time…

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CONTENT

Bringing a friend is quite possibly the best decision…

Reaching the credits doesn’t take long, and after about 7-8 hours, you’ll see the credits roll.  There isn’t much reason to revisit the campaign which leaves you with the mediocre multiplayer.  It’s definitely on the lighter side of content, so unless you find enjoyment in the multiplayer despite there being far better options out there, that’s all you’re going to have left.  Bringing a friend is quite possibly the best decision you’ll make playing through this game.

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PRESENTATION

…I didn’t get ever get tired of [x-ray sniper shots].

There lies some solace here, of course, because you no doubt know this game has x-ray sniper shots.  When the conditions are right, the screen changes to give you a nice “bullet time” view of your sniper skills.  And I must say: I didn’t ever get tired of it.  It’s not quite as gruesome as it could be, given that Mortal Kombat’s x-ray sets a far more detailed and interesting standard, but these cinematic cuts add just that touch of feeling like a sniping badass.  Unfortunately, it pretty much ends there.  The world itself is dated looking, primarily due to the lighting engine, facial animation and voice acting leave quite a bit to be desired, and there’s not much redemption in the story itself, either.  If I said, “cookie cutter”, you’d pretty much understand the entire thing.  There is a decidedly low budget feel to pretty much everything outside of, yup you guessed it, the sniping.

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CONCLUSION

The one-man army idea is starting to wear rather thin…

Bring a friend, it just makes more sense.  The one-man army idea is starting to wear rather thin, and this game fatigues this concept to decidedly mediocre levels.  The sniping is the highlight of the entire experience.  I mean, duh, right?  It’s in the name.  But unfortunately, the other things it does all fall too far below modern standards and just end up hurting the overall experience.  From going “CoD” all up on enemies in both campaign and multiplayer to subpar animation and storytelling, the truth is that the entire package screams “average”.  It really is, then, only worth one thing: the fun of sniping the absolute shit out of Nazis.

I give Sniper Elite 5…

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