Sniper Elite V2 Review: Calculating The Perfect Shot

Sniper Elite V2 Review: Calculating The Perfect Shot

Sniper Elite V2
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
505 Games
Shooter

Sniper Elite V2 is a third person shooter that takes place during World War II. You play the role of a Sniper who’s been assigned a special task to eliminate important targets. It is you and you alone as you go out to accomplish your mission. To be a successful sniper you will need to sneak your way into position, set up mines to cover your back and to stop those who get in your way as you execute your mission. The storyline is simple enough as you begin each mission, but it’s also interesting enough to push you along. I really enjoyed the set up of the story and the way I was able to perform my tasks in-game. The missions also play out well and can be a lot of fun. There are also some enjoyable tasks to complete. For example, on one mission you will need to set up explosives on a bridge and then carefully make your way to the high point to shoot the explosives at the key moment of the story.

The gameplay is a blast. There are three difficulties to play through and I decided I wanted to experience the hardest. Well, that’s exactly what I got as this game is no push over. It is your job to get into position, but you will want to do it as quietly as possible. You can’t stand straight up to walk or run without being heard, so you will need to crouch and slowly make your way through each area. Believe me, if you try to run they will hear you! You have to be extremely careful with every move you make and I liked that aspect of the game. It isn’t hard for an enemy to put you down, in fact, it is quite easy – at least when you play on the hardest difficulty. There are some missions that have a lot of background noise and when this happens an icon will appear on your screen letting you know that you can make noise. So if you want to time your running just right with the background noises, then you can do so without being heard.

Another great and challenging part of the gameplay is that you are alone. This means that no one has your back, no one except for your lovely little trip mines that you’ve set. There are trip mines and regular mines to use and set up, should you need them. There will be many instances where you will enjoy having them at your back. This includes a mission where you have to hold and defend a particular area. Also, there are times you will want to hide in a building and clear out the area in front of you. You can use mines to secure your position incase enemies try rushing in on you, and they will do just that.

When it comes to the weapons that you carry with you, your sniper rifle is your greatest asset. You do have two other weapons in addition to the sniper. This includes a silent pistol which is great for stealth attacks. There will be moments where stealth play is key to being successful in the mission. You can also sneak up on enemies and tap the X button to perform a stealth kill. Also, you are able to move the enemy bodies out of site from others allowing you to remain unknown. The other gun is a machine gun that’s not very accurate but will get you out of trouble in close range combat. However, if there is an enemy that’s slightly further away, it can cause you problems.

Another great thing about playing this game on the highest difficulty is that it uses full sniper simulation which calculates in gravity, wind and distance for your shot. There is no lining up your shot perfectly in the center with this game, you will need to know the wind direction and calculate how far away the target is before pulling the trigger. It’s still rather easy to guess the distance and it displays the wind for you on the top of the screen. But it’s a lot of fun to guess how far off the center you need to be in order to execute a perfect sniper shot. Another aspect of the shot is that you are able to control your breathing which allows you to steady your shot. It uses a meter so you can only hold down the button so long before you need a break. Also, if you take a bullet it will be some time before you are able to steady your shot again. I absolutely loved the mechanics used in this game as it makes the experience a heck of a lot of fun.

Visually the game looks solid, but I wasn’t overly impressed. One of the game’s most notable features though is the x-ray kill cam. Each time you perform a head shot or a vital shot it will use an x-ray kill cam to show you just how the shot killed him. It’s a graphic feature as your bullet pretty much destroys the enemy, but it’s interesting to see just how perfect your shot was that got the guy. It will show the entire shot which includes the lead up until impact.

There are also 4 online co-op modes for you and a friend to play and that includes the main campaign. The other three modes are also enjoyable and includes fighting off waves of enemies and using team work to accomplish goals. Oversight was probably my favorite online mode away from the campaign. In oversight a sniper will oversee the playing field as the other guy is on the ground performing tasks. It’s up to the ground troop and the sniper to work together to successfully accomplish the mission.

There was only one time I complained due to being wrongly detected. Somehow the guy on the other side of the wall noticed me when I wasn’t visible nor did I make a sound. It wasn’t that big of a deal; I just went back to my original position and fought it out the hard way. There was one other thing I didn’t like. The enemy is always and I mean always, yelling “kill the sniper!” That’s being nitpicky, but really, they say that and a couple of other lines way too often. The rest of the game is a very solid and enjoyable title. If you are a fan of shooters or like the idea of the game, you should absolutely check it out! It has a lot of good and fun moments plus it’s incredibly challenging in a realistic and fun way.

Score: 8/10

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  1. I haven’t heard much about this game outside of this review. I like that they chose the WWII setting- it seems like these days a modern setting would fit the market trends better for a game like this. I approve.