Rant: Sniper Elite

[Hottentot]

WARNING: Wall of text ahead!


OK, I just have to rave and babble now. I recently purchased Sniper Elite, as I had heard a lot about the game and it was very cheap too. And I'm not usually into writing texts like this, but Sniper Elite just tickled the ranting nerve in the back of my head, so there it is. Before anyone thinks I'm attacking the game, please read the last paragraph. You might be as surprised as I was when I started thinking about it.

It all started in developers' brainstorm for a new game. I can vividly picture the conference room dialogue in my mind...
"Okay guys: we need to make a game. Something wildly original, but yet popular enough so that it sells."
"Hey, I know! Let's make a World War 2 game! Everyone loves WW2!"
"That's, like, SO yesterday!"
"Nonono, dude, listen! First of all, we set it in Berlin in 1945..."
"Berlin? But, uh, that's like so that there's only those Gerries and Ruskies fighting and they're both, like, usually the bad guys..."
"Nonono, listen to what I have to say! We make it so, that there's like, you know, an American special operative in there and he is really well trained and stealthy and special and cool and all kinds of stuff!"
"Uh, okay, I guess it sounds better. What else?"
"Dude, this is the best part! You know, like, you're a sniper and you go, you know, snipe bad dudes with like a sniper rifle! Bang! Headshot, man!"
"Hey, yeah, snipers! Everyone likes snipers, because they are, like mysterious and lone wolves and that kind of things. Yeah!"
"Right, dude, and then we make it so that this sniper dude, he, like, sneaks around Berlin and blows stuff up and kills bad guys and stuff."
"Cool! What should we call this game?"
"Uh, how about Sniper? You know, because it has a sniper?"
"Yeah, that's great. I think we can add the word 'elite' to it too. So, you know, people know they are playing like really the best of the best of the best of the..."
"Dude, that is, like, SO AWESOME!"


Actually it is. Ridiculous story not withstanding, I was really intrigued by the chance of playing as a sniper in the ruins of Berlin. As long as no one realizes how much potential Stalingrad would have, this setting is the next best thing as far as WW2 goes in this sense. The game seemed very promising too, as apparently it wasn't all arcade, and attention had really been paid to make sniping more than just point and click killing it is in most other games. And a few screenshots and videos I looked at showed that elevation also played some role in the game, plus there was a nice bullet camera to spice the action up. And I got what I wanted, I admit that. The game delivered everything it promised. Unfortunately it also delivered a feeling that it had been developed by different people than those who named it.


The idea of the game is novel. You are an American special operative in ruined Berlin, trying to prevent the Russians from getting what's left of the German nuclear program. You get thrown in the middle of a war and try not to get shot by either side. Or something. The backstory didn't really make me want to pay attention to it, but that's how it usually goes in games like this.
You know what else is novel? Your sniper rifle. In a game called "Sniper Elite", it's a really interesting design choice to make the rifle a mere novelty. Basically it has more focus than the other weapons (pistols, automatic weapons and various explosives). When you take aim, you will have to take gravity, wind and your own breathing into account before firing a shot. A good shot is rewarded by a camera following the bullet all the way trough the target's head and there is suitable amount of gore too, though definitely not overdone.


I was excited when I did all that for the first time. I was thrilled when I saw the bullet flying trough the air. And I laughed out loud when after the shot a white text on my screen said: "Long range headshot! (35 meters)". I thought it was a joke.
Turns out it wasn't. In the game every shot over 30 meters is apparently considered a "long range shot". And like that wasn't amusing enough, most of the shots you get a bullet camera for range between 30 to 50 meters. The game's manual states that the WW2 snipers considered a headshot from 300 meters and a torso shot from 600 meters a good standard, but it appears the developers didn't read their own manual. Not really surprising, as the manual leaves so many questions unanswered that I had to go to the Gamefaqs to be able to even understand some basic functions.

Okay, granted it's a cramped and ruined city you are playing in, but this is just plain silly. Speaking of the city: it's full of houses you can't get in. Actually, the ones you can use, are usually marked on your map anyway, so there is no real point in exploring or seeking for good vantage points. On the other hand, I like it how the game often gives you a good view down the long streets. Even though you are still on the ground level yourself, it's easy to keep the enemies on the bay from somewhat improvised positions.
That is, from all the glorious 30 to 50 meters, of course. Which is easy enough to do with a machine gun anyway. Like in any good arcade game, you get a machine gun, lots of ammo, and don't really have to care if you stand or go prone, stay still or run screaming from the bottom of your lungs: "come get some!" Granted, you don't get a bullet camera and you don't really need to aim with the crosshair in the middle of the screen, but if I could ask the developers one question, it would be: why should I care?


I believe that's a question to which I wouldn't get an answer, as more often than not the sniper rifle and the whole concept of ambushing enemies in the ruins of Berlin is not just a novelty: instead it's practically impossible or at least the more inconvenient route. Take one mission for example: my first task was disposing all NKVD troops from a metro tunnel (why all the Russian troops in the game are NKVD is beyond me, but not the point). I did that and got new orders: the enemy was going to set up in the town square and I had to prevent that.
I took a look at the map and saw there was a beautiful sniping position in the second or third floor of a house overlooking the only two bridges that crossed a river in that map. Counting 1+1 in my head, I of course headed there, established myself a great position in a window and waited. And waited. And waited...
Until I realized that the mentioned town square was actually on the other side of the stupid river and the enemy was not coming to me, but I had to go there and get them. Battling trough enemies that had spawned from out of nowhere of course, and whom I naturally couldn't see from my perfect sniping position either.
Well, at least in that mission I still got to use my sniper rifle. Soon after that I got to the lovely metro tunnels again. The game has you running trough a tunnel full of Germans and even though you do have your rifle, your best bet is just machine gunning them all. Sounds really like a mission that a game called "Sniper Elite" should have.
Technically I think it could have been done in stealthy manner too, as you do have a silenced pistol with you. It's great for stealth kills, at least when the game agrees with your idea of stealth kill. I was mildly confused when I shot a German soldier in the head with a pistol and saw the bullet hit him in there, but didn't see him falling. I was flabbergasted when I shot him again and still he didn't drop. And I couldn't help laughing when he turned around and started shooting at me. Other times the pistol works like a charm, other times you can empty the whole clip on one enemy and still he doesn't even get wounded. It's the same thing with the sniper rifle, actually. If you don't get the fancy bullet camera, then it's not unusual to see an enemy getting shot in the face and boldly continuing the charge. That adrenaline sure does some wondrous things.


The enemies are as idiotic as you could expect from an arcade game, but at least they can run in other directions than straight at you. Every now and then. Mostly they just run at you, take cover behind a corner and fire bursts that kill every living being in the 50 meters radius of you but won't even scratch the intended target. Their capability for logical thought is like me playing chess. When they see an open street and three of their buddies in there, shot dead, their natural reaction is to charge in the same direction and hope the sniper either ran out of ammo, went for lunch or died of boredom.
The enemies are also very talkative, which I find nice. I was once infiltrating a building and heard a Russian boldly shout: "I hear someone!" I of course immediately became alerted and started proceeding more slowly, waiting for him and his buddies pounce on me at every corner. Seconds turned into minutes and I proceeded. At the end of the building I found a Russian officer alone, standing in a corner, staring at a wall and still shouting: "I hear someone!"


Slightly more challenging opponents are tanks. The game developers apparently saw Saving Private Ryan a few too many times and thought it would be cool to make you improvise. Okay, fair enough. Too bad they thought of just one way to do it. Well, technically many of course: with T-34s, you can shoot at their fuel tank and they go boom. Every now and then you are blessed with a panzershreck and again the tanks go boom. But your most common way of destroying a tank is to throw good old ACME dynamite at it and shoot the explosive with your rifle. The only time I was stuck in the game was in a very early mission, when I just couldn't follow the thought process of a game developer and kept looking for a proper weapon to blow the tank up, still believing this game is somewhat realistic.


Also, in a game called Sniper Elite, it is natural that you also meet enemy snipers. These are actually pretty nicely done. Often I have found myself taking cover behind anything available and wondering where the heck that shot came from. The satisfaction is great, when you actually find the enemy and put a bullet in between his eyes. Which is not always easy, as the snipers are programmed to shoot just once and then take cover. It can take a good while before they shoot again, so occasionally I have been fooled into believing they can't see me anymore and have tried to leave the area carefully. Bang! Wrong answer. I just wish two things. First of all, there should definitely be more enemy snipers and the player should be made to look for them. And second: they should really be able to hit the broad side of the barn when standing inside it. I want the enemy snipers to be a threat, not a nuisance.


Actually, I'd say all the enemies are just a nuisance. The real threat is your own character. Seriously. For a super extra special secret stealth operative this guy is a real moron. Take the tripwire grenades for example. Great device for the devious minds. What better way to ambush an enemy squad than to have it blow up with a well placed boobytrap? And as you operate alone, the tripwires are great for guarding your rear when you snipe from a vantage point. In theory.
Unfortunately, due to the serious incompetence of our hero, the tripwires are good on paper only. If you try to defend your position with them, you are practically trapping yourself in there. You'd really think that in his super great military education he would have been taught to, I don't know, step or jump over his own boobytrap wires instead of tripping on them. But no. You set a wire and it stays there forever. And so do you, if you didn't leave a big enough gap to squeeze yourself trough, because apparently a wire at the height of a man's ankle is too big hurdle for our elite sniper to conquer. The same goes for any other obstacle, such as small fences and open windows.
In fact, forget about the explosives altogether. Want to empty a room full of bad guys? Well, not that you as a sniper should be doing it anyway, but if you have to, use the machine gun. Or the pistol. Or, I don't know, a smelly sock or something. But for heaven's sake, don't touch the grenades! No matter how well you aim, there is always something it can hit on the way and bounce back at your feet. An invisible wall, if nothing else. They seem to be Germany's latest secret weapon, currently being tested in Berlin, and I have to admit they work surprisingly well at stopping a clever enemy from attacking you from anywhere else than the front of your well entrenched position.


So. Is Sniper Elite a bad game? Absolutely not! I'd even say it's a good game! Heck, I have rarely been this entertained by a simple game. I don't care if the game makes me happy because it's a great masterpiece of design genius, or because it's so ridiculously stupid that half of the time I can't stop laughing to actually play it. Almost every moment playing Sniper Elite makes me think that someday I want to sit down and write an AAR of the missions, because each one of them is full of pure hilarity, mostly unintended. Or then intended: most of this rant's points could probably be countered by saying that I just don't know how to play the game properly. But it's still fun.
Besides, I have concentrated on the negatives. Sniper Elite still offers many good moments too. The game has some well scripted sequences and sometimes it even leaves room for your own improvising and ambushing. Yes, it could have been better and yes, "Sniper Elite" is a bad name for a game where the sniper rifle is just one weapon among the others, but it's not a bad game. As far as playing a sniper goes, I prefer the Far Cry series, but Sniper Elite is still a very amusing game in it's own right and definitely worth checking out especially now, when it's few years old very cheap in many places. I got mine for something like 4€. A bargain if you ask me. I would have to pay more to go to a real comedy show and unlike a comedy show, Sniper Elite is always there for no additional price when I just need a good laugh spiced with comic book action. Just switch your brain off, enjoy the ride and it's great.

[Oberon]

Reminds me a bit of Soldner and the unintended fantastic gameplay that produced.

[ajrimmer42]

Originally Posted by Oberon

Reminds me a bit of Soldner and the unintended fantastic gameplay that produced.

Soldner was awesome, just wish they'd hurry the **** up with the Community Edition, they confidently said it was going to be released "next week" about 3 years ago... If it was that close to release surely there can't be much more to do on it ffs.