Who would have thought that in 2005, the Sniper Elite of the PS2 would become a trilogy and especially that the license would count in the overloaded landscape of shooting games? So certainly, the title of Rebellion is not really to be placed in the category of FPS, nor in that of TPS. He is rather eyeing in both categories and for this third part, he is no exception to the rule. Truth be told, the game stays straight in these boots. While Battlefield, Call of Duty and company have attempted World War II and then modern conflicts and even bank robberies, the Sniper Elite series focuses on the confrontation between the Allies and the Axis. While the two previous parts – we will ignore the zero Nazi Zombie episodes – took place mainly in Europe, the conflict is moving to North Africa where the Germans are secretly manufacturing a weapon capable of crushing the Allied forces. This is obviously where you come in to sabotage the plans of the Afrika Korps. And who says "Sniper Elite III", says "sniper", also says "elite" but especially "sniper". The elitist aspect will be to your credit depending on your marksmanship prowess. Starting with the difficulty mode which will define both the life of the game and its intensity. Four in number, the difficulties will obviously influence the address of the enemies, the on-screen aids (visibility indicator, marking, mini-map, etc.) and above all the realism of the ball. On this last point, it is important to know if you want your shots to behave the way Call of Duty, that is to say that no matter the distance the bullet goes straight, or if you prefer the way of Battlefield with a gravity which affects the trajectory of the ball while having a less stable aim, or finally if prefer the realistic side with in addition the wind which influences your shots and the impossibility of saving. As for those who want to be in control of their settings, the developers have thought of slipping in a custom mode to adjust the game as they see fit.
KNOW HOW TO MAKE YOUR HOLE
In fact, by increasing the difficulty you will also increase your pleasure in slipping into the skin of a sniper. Know how to plan each shot and scrutinize the terrain and the position of the enemies beforehand. Think of an emergency exit from elsewhere. Sabotage a generator to camouflage each of your shots and especially adapt to the change of situation because you can be as discreet as possible the sound of the detonation or a freshly chilled soldier will alert the Afrika Korps. For those who play in "Soldier" or "Sniper Elite" mode, an indicator will display the degree of vigilance of your enemies. A shot will put them in working order towards your position. Two shots and your position is revealed. It's up to you to move after each shot to hide your position. Be careful, however, not to be seen during your escape, the open areas and the light will make you detect much faster than the shade, a crouching position or tall grass. You have to think of everything and know the terrain well. Luckily binoculars help you mark enemies, explosive objects, and the mini-map shows objectives and other interactive elements. And finally, thanks to these open levels Sniper Elite 3 offers several ways to surprise his enemies. The good old sniper technique remains the most enjoyable, but it's up to you to kill an enemy with a knife from behind, bury a mine or throw a good M24 grenade. And since the maps are relatively large, the developers have stashed a whole bunch of hidden objects to pick up, secondary objectives and challenges to increase the playability and replayability of the title for lovers of trophies of all kinds. And let's not forget the Survival and Observation challenges which, coupled with the "Story" mode, allow you to have fun in cooperation with a friend. Moreover, it will be more obvious to find a friend than a very full multiplayer game when you want to play online in deathmatch or in “King of the Distance” mode, in a team or for your own face.
The good old sniper technique remains the most enjoyable, but it's up to you to kill an enemy with a knife from behind, bury a mine or throw a good M24 grenade.
But let's especially come back to this gameplay halfway between FPS and third-person game. If it has the merit of giving an identity to the game and it is not free from flaws. By playing the analog stick to peer at a street corner or see over a balcony, the camera allows us to flush out certain enemies, but as soon as we press the trigger to switch to rifle scope mode, it It is not uncommon to zoom directly on the wall, which regularly forces us to take dangerous trips. Especially since the timing is often essential and in the euphoria, each bullet fired in a hurry forces you to wait a few seconds for our sniper to catch his breath. Breath and heart rate affect the stability of your aim. Avoid running like crazy before aligning your targets. But once all the right conditions are met, what a pleasure to see the ball go in slow motion and reach its target with an X-ray camera of the most beautiful effect. Certainly this is not new in the Sniper Elite series but the charm is still as much. Hearing the cracking of the bone, the spongy flesh being shredded and the blood exploding gives all the interest to the game, especially since the developers, these vicious little ones, add a layer of it with bonus frags depending on whether you aim for the head, the lungs, heart, intestines or testicles. Chain two enemies in a row with a ball and you will increase your bonuses. A long distance shot, the same! And it also works with vehicles. In addition to making us happy, these bonuses increase the level of the hero, as well as the objectives and the missions fulfilled, which will unlock new weapons, additional equipment.
However, to the pleasure that x-ray frags can give us, we are stuck with an Artificial Intelligence that is really not to the point, which seriously harms the game.
However, to the pleasure that x-ray frags can give us, we are stuck with an Artificial Intelligence that is really not up to the point, which seriously harms the game. The enemies are confined to their traditional rounds and will return to them even after a shootout sequence as soon as they lost sight of you. When they come across one of their colleagues who died in combat, they care but no more than that. Even in the face of traps, some of which are particularly visible, they will not have a credible reaction rushing headlong into them. Therefore, by showing patience, we advance not without difficulty in the game by defying the inequality of its graphics. The game is not ugly and especially on Xbox One and PS4, but we are not far from the visual criteria of the moment. To compensate for a display distance that is sometimes too tight, the developers are throwing a good blurry veil at us to make us believe that the map is super big. It does not take especially that it is the same blur that hides the distances when zooming in on a grass. When it's not the blur that whitewashes the screen, it's the lighting effects. So certainly Sniper Elite III takes place in Africa where the sun is constantly beating down, this is not a reason to blind us at the slightest movement by abusive and abused lens flares. And I pass quickly on the display bugs, textures or quite simply the bodies which disappear as in multiplayer where it is not rare to move only a head!
