Sniper Elite V2

"Take a deep breath and pull the trigger at the right time!"





Developer: Rebellion
Publisher: 505 Games
Release Date: May 1st (US) May 4th (EU)
Platform(s): PC, PS3, X360
Genre: Shooter

Games with the World War II setting are like millions, abound, mostly the games put the player in the role of a heroic soldier facing the enemy in the frontline. Sniper Elite V2 does not escape many of the classic scenarios, however, puts you in the role of Karl Fairburne, a sniper who must act as a ghost. Most shooters today seem to support a single in-game philosophy: shoot first, think later. No major strategies, without much dangers - since, in most cases, a clumsy action can be quickly corrected by a series of desperate shots. Well, Sniper Elite V2 want to get away from this formula. Although Karl Fairbourne make the perfect "one-man army", it is likely that shooting out a La Call of Duty is not exactly the best solution.


The first moments of "Assassinate Hitler" shows the very core of gameplay in Sniper Elite V2. By targeting enemies beside a train, Fairbourne will not just go out shooting and looking for a shield to hide from retaliation. Instead, there is very little shown something original, but it certainly has a reason to exist here: a stealthy approach. Yes, you can find a plethora of familiar genres here. Metal Gear, Splinter Cell ...just to name a few. Approaching the target and press the right button to turn him down, then follow to the next - always with the hope that no one has seen.
 

The stealthy killing is not the only element inherited from the classic stealth action here. Sniper Elite V2 will also bring a similar feature (not to say identical) to "Last Known Position", (Splinter Cell: Conviction). Once you've been perceived by the enemy, they will have the impression that your character is in a certain place, which is shown by contours of the body of Fairbourne - and, of course, you may well no longer be there, ready to surprise.


The story involves 11 missions and you can approach them the way you want. The basic arsenal involves a sniper rifle, machine gun and a secondary weapon, plus additional items such as land mines and booby traps. Using your weapons effectively is essential for the survival of Fairburne. Even being a sniper, the protagonist can also perform killings and other captures the most intimate way, using, for example, a pistol with a silencer. When the situation is pressing, the best solution is to switch to the rifle and eliminate threats quickly.


The focus of the game, however, is in long distance shots. You can use the landscape as an advantage, eliminating enemies that are not within sight of the other opponents, for example. In addition, the game has a heartbeat monitor and a bar that measures your breath, two factors that directly influence the shootings. Holding your breath makes Fairburne shots are more accurate. Under pressure, your heart rate increases and shoot becomes much more difficult. When you finish an opponent using your sniper rifle, the game displays an amazing animation, which pauses the action and shows the details of the damage with an X-ray vision. The effect is similar to what is seen in Mortal Kombat, allowing the player to view the bones breaking and even internal organs exploding. These special animations should appear only at special times not to spoil the rhythm of the experience.
 

The Focus Time feature is another big difference that makes the title very realistic. By activating this function, you can see all the elements in slow motion. Your character holds his breath, the heartbeat increases and your aim is much more precise. We should also point out the real difficulty of the game. In the hardest difficulty setting, the player has an additional challenge: the wind that changes the trajectory of the bullet and prevents deaths accurately. You must calculate very well the timing and press the trigger just the right time.


Sniper Elite V2 seems to be an interesting approach to the already explored virtual world of World War II. Besides bringing a stealth element, the game explores the role of a sniper, which should bring very different results than we are accustomed. The game hits stores in May, on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.


Marco Cecilio, NoobFeed