Sniper Elite V2 – Not much sniping, and nothing elite about it

Ever enjoyed the tense nature of those war films about snipers? The trepidation, the build up to a gunshot, the desperation of being found and the panicked escape? Pretty cool yeah? Well, this game is none of those things.

Velcome to a whole vorld of disappointment

Sniper Elite V2 (with the oh so clever use of a rocket name to imply both a sequel AND that the game is about rockets!) is a successor to the vaguely successful “Sniper Elite” of 2005. You play as an archetypal gruff American soldier who drawls his way through godawful narrative scenes that ramble on about German scientists giving the secrets of the V2 rockets to the Russians. Your mission is to stop this happening because FUCK THOSE COMMUNISTS! AMIRITE GUYS? MURRIKA FUCK YEAH! I mean… I know that the Americans viewed the Russians with some suspicion but… The enemy of my enemy is my friend? Anyway, after the whole propaganda opening to each level plays out you get thrown into the action in bombed out cities, factories and the other standard WW2 levels that every game of the genre needs to have to fill its similarity quota. The aim of each mission is to pick off a VIP or steal something valuable whilst “sneaking” around and shooting Nazis.

Ok so… not exactly anything really original here, but at least we get to be crafty and hide and stealth around yeah? Nope. You’d think in a game called SNIPER elite there’d be a fair amount of sniping. Not so much in this game, most levels are designed with tight corridors or areas where sniping seems pointless and you have to use your machine gun. And as for the sneaking bit… well that’s right out the window too. Most areas are impossible to pass without killing everyone in them, you even get points awarded for how you murdered people which feels incredibly tacky. Not only does it seem like an unashamed grab at the Call of Duty audience but it also defies the logic of being a Sniper where sometimes NOT killing someone is more beneficial as it might not reveal your location.. may mean you can slip past…etc.

But Sniper Elite V2 seems determined that you will kill EVERY SINGLE NAZI. The levels are designed so it is almost impossible to sneak past without killing EVERYONE. The game mechanic of throwing rocks to distract soldiers is distinctly broken as half the time the men don’t care and for the rest of the time even when their back is turned they still notice you creeping behind them. And God help you if you do manage to get the slip on a few men, if you fire a shot within 10 miles of them they will come running to you thus making the effort of sneaking past them pointless.

X-ray bullets available at all shops now!

The much praised slow-mo kill-cam is interesting the first few times but after a while becomes tedious as the Germans scatter to handy hiding spots where they stick their heads out just enough to get a shot at them, handy that aint it? The only fun comes from shooting soldiers in the balls- childish but funny. The AI in the game seems incredibly broken, in numerous instances I’d cleared an entire section of soldiers and yet would still be “discovered” (heralded by the annoying blaring of dramatic music) and soldiers would pour out of buildings miles and head straight to my position.

This is a game that feels half done, broken on release, and desperate to revel in the joy of murder akin to the recent Call of Duty games. There is barely any tactical or strategic element to this, it’s just aim and shoot aim and shoot. Apparently there’s some DLC where you ge to shoot Hitler, but even that bonus can’t save this game. It’s disappointing as it could easily have been a competent sneaky/sniping affair that rewards craftiness instead of mindless slaughter. Instead we get thrown into a world of chest high walls and broken gameplay that maybe should have been left with the firing squad. Feuer Frei.