Sniper Elite III (2014)

The 3rd Sniper Elite mainline entry is a tactical third-person shooter, set in the North African theater of World War II. And the setting itself is not a very common approach to WWII games, most of them tend to focus on other periods and places, but it is clear why this was the chosen one for this title, it is a perfect place for a sniper game. It shifts away from the more constrained levels of earlier entries and embraces large, open environments that reward observation, patience, and smart positioning. You are encouraged to scout areas with binoculars, tag enemies, and plan routes before taking a shot, which reinforces the fantasy of being an elite sniper behind enemy lines.

And while this is my 2nd Sniper Elite game, I can safely say that this is a complete evolution compared to the V2 previous title. The sniping mechanics are the highlight, once again, bullet physics take wind, gravity, and distance into account, making long-range shots feel earned rather than automatic. The iconic X-ray kill cam returns in full force, graphically showcasing successful shots in slow motion and adding a unique sense of impact to precision kills. Environmental elements, such as generators, explosions, and sandstorms, can be used to mask shots, further deepening the tactical layer of gameplay. This makes up for a much more dynamic gameplay, compared to previous entries, you have a lot of options to enhance your stealth capabilities.

Though at the same time, you have far more enemies, not to mention it adds a lot of vehicles for you to deal with, on every single level, which forces you to be creative in your executions. Stealth is generally well implemented, you are able to eliminate enemies silently, set traps, or avoid confrontation entirely. The open-ended level design allows for multiple playstyles, whether focusing on careful sniping from afar or methodically clearing areas up close. It as some coop features, but particularly I never touched this aspect and decided to face this title as a single-player game instead. I usually tend to go for the stealth approach, but there are some levels which requires more patience than others due to the lack of resources to mask your shots. One of my favorite features is the loadout system, even though it is somewhat limited, it enhances replayability and freedom to how you approach each mission.

And this approach helped a lot to mitigate the very slow pace these games can sometimes have, which although I tend to appreciate, it can sometimes be tiring if you don't have enough creative ways to approach combat. One of my biggest complaints is the artificial intelligence being one of the downsides, and not one isolated to this title, it has already become a trait of this franchise. And while I understand that this aspect is a very hard one to be implemented, it is still one of the most important ones for games that consider themselves to be of the stealth genre. And for a sniper game, it for sure needs to be faced as a stealth game, first and foremost. The enemy AI can also be inconsistent, sometimes reacting unrealistically or failing to properly respond to threats

The story is minimal and largely forgettable, serving more as a backdrop than a compelling narrative. Close-quarters combat and cover shooting feel serviceable but lack the refinement of the sniping mechanics, and mission objectives can become repetitive over time. Overall, this game is a focused and enjoyable experience for people who appreciate slow, deliberate gameplay and tactical freedom. While it doesn’t excel in storytelling or technical polish, it succeeds in delivering a satisfying sniper-centric experience that stands out within the WWII shooter genre. If you liked the previous entries to this franchise, there is little to no excuses not to play this one. It is definitely not a must-play, or a ground-breaking stealth shooter, but it still makes me want to play the other titles of this franchise.

Playtime: 20 hours

(campaign 10 hours, DLC 5 hours, replaying first part of campaign 5 hours)

Intro

The Sniper Elite games are third-person shooters with heavy emphasis on stealth and sniping. SE3 features a campaign with 8 missions, a DLC campaign with 3 missions and a replayable, partically randomised mission in which you target Hitler.

The Good

• Brutally murder Nazis and Italian Fascists.
• When sniping you get a slow-mo kill-cam showing exactly how you obliterate a fascist's skull/organs/eyes.
• Core gameplay is really fun.
• Four difficulty settings.
• You get to see how ridiculous a P. 1000 Ratte would be.
• The final sniper mission is quite tense.
• Different tools (mines, etc.) provide variety.
• Really nice use of audio to break up the silence and set the mood.
• The story and the main character's gruff voice are awful.

The Bad

• The story and the main character's gruff voice are awful.
• The main campaign is only 10 hours long. Not really worth the €28 it normally costs.
• The "season pass" is even more ridiculous. They want €30 for 5 hours of missions and some weapons/skins that should've been in the base game.
• The loadout menu is kinda clunky, especially how it resets modifications if you switch rifles.
• The terrain is a bit too restrictive at times.
• Prone movement is really clunky.
• You can get really disoriented moving after unscoping/unbinocularing because of delays.
• Enemy spawns are often a bit too close or weird. Like a big, loud tank magically shows up 10 meters away without me hearing it from several kilometers away?

Conclusion

Sniper Elite 3 is just a nice, simple little game. You don't have to use mods, read wikis, whatever. Just install it and shoot fascists. It's not great, but it's fun and only has minor flaws. Definitely worth the €7 i got it for on sale.

As far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a sniper. That's why I was delighted to finally try out this series. If there's a silent way in, and a quiet way out, that's usually my preferred route to take in video games. In Sniper Elite you can do both. It's so much fun to sneak around, setting up traps, breaking necks, stabbing backs, mapping out the perfect order of assassinations of your nazi foes...and if the situation gets hairy - you can always shoot your way out, and that's fun too.

You can customise your loadout and there's plenty of replay value here with different trophies and difficulties, as well as co-op and multiplayer (which I didn't try). The story is forgettable, but the sniping is violent and satisfying, and the environments is something fresh and different, and if you love the slow, methodic play, there's hours of fun to be had.

That is to say, this is not a miss, but it's hardly a bullseye. the reviews for this on steam are way overrated though. This is not some game that ages like a fine wine. It's a third person game that overall has a generic feel and main strength is it's engine and the ability to support co op and multi modes.

Overall I liked this game and found it worth the time, however I did not love this game and it didnt impress me as much as my previous stint in Sniper Elite V2 or the one weekend i played Zombie Army Trilogy (before shelving it, decied to save it to play with a VR headset.)

SE 3 very much feels like SE2 v2 (from what i can recall it's bin a bit) You even have the same kinda DLC of assassinate hitler.

The game has a lot of strengths and enough jazz in it to be interesting. As someone who will play just about any stealth game to the end (no matter how bad it is) I thought this game mixed enough things together in it's blend to be both pretty accessible and provided enough openness, strategy/planning and other things to not be boring.

A lot of things are very simplified however, and it brought to mind some of the softer design aspects of Hitman absolution that got streamlined. Very much like SE 2 this doesnt quite feel like hitman or even Alekhine's Gun. Most of your environmental interaction consists of things you can shoot. Gas cans strewn about, a crate of ammo, an overhanging rock, etc. Blast something up to hide your shot and stay concealed a bt longer.

The dynamic of this gameplay is a bit creative and interesting but it's also kind of hokey. The goofiest thing about it is kicking those gas generators so they sputter and cough every half minute so you can sit next to one and fire shots that wont be notice. I find mysel always looking for that generator. The sniper nests dont really have any tactical advantage (they are like designated spots the devs make you look for but you can shoot from anywhere just as well really) The collectibles in the game are pure filled, the secondary objectives you can simply ignore (and dont provide any interesting in game event or reward whatsoever) also make this game feel a bit thin. the bigger levels and maps are noticeable, look and feel nice in the engine too but not sure how i feel about them. On one hand It's nice to be open rompy spaces but it also means you have a lot of ground to cover and you have to really trawl through the game if you're goin' stealthy. You dont have to worry about 'Running into trouble' because you can easily switch to Plan B 'Run like hell' if discovered and then slowly take them out when they forget about you. (kinda hokey!)

I think the one thing I disliked the most was the UI and how it shows you the customization effects of the upgrade/parts you unlock. Very hard to tell what's going on especially if you are comparing different customized Rifles.

There are a lot of weapons and customization options, more than V2 but its quite hard to really assess or compare them, which really grinded my gears playing it. I could have played the whole thing with maybe 2 rifles, (something faster fixed zoom close up, and something more distance and multizoom) and not noticed much of a difference. the upgrade system is kind of weird and arbitrary. a brass scope for one rifle will yield bonuses and maluses that are different for a brass scope on another rife. totally makes sense!

The AI is also really dumb, and you can tag them and see through walls, it's also almost impossible to actually get hits if you dont use the slo mo/hold breath 'ability'

Glory kills are every bit as good as I remember. not sure if anything is different. It's what makes the series good, IMO.

Story is generic and lame. Ending is a cliff jumper for sure. the dlc were creative ideas for missions/maps but otherwise underwhelming.

Worth playing i suppose if you like the series, but if you are new to it, i'd say Either roll ahead a few clicks to right to a newer one or roll it back a few clicks to the left to SE2 v2. This game does feel slightly dated and a bit phoned in. It's chief merits exist in it's established engine and rather big rompy levels (not sure it really fits the mood of this game at times) but that's not something you'd appreciate these days just jumping into it.

looking forawrd to the stealth genre and that of the 'sniper stealth shooter' in the future. where it goes and what ideas people will come up with to make these kinds of games more creative and interesting. The more I play the more I like them and think that as a genre/mechanic it's really grown and just keeps getting better.