Developer: City Interactive
Publisher: City Interactive
Platform: PC, Xbox One, PS4
Tested on: Xbox One
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 – Review
For the last ten years Sniper Ghost Warrior has been a franchise that pulls in a certain crowd. With mixed reviews from the critics and different opinions from gamers it does mean that there is a group of players that like this series. Since there now is a third installment of the Ghost Warrior games, how will it fair to its budget predecessor? You will find out now in our review.
Story
The storyline begins nineteen years ago with the North brothers. Robert (the younger brother) is practicing his shootings skills in the back yard when suddenly he is surprised by a soldier. This mysterious person is his older brother Jon. He comes to visit his relatives right before he is sent on a mission for the army. While the two talk a bit about their childhood the camera pans out and you are dropped in the present day. Robert is all grown up and is like his kin a loyal soldier and sniper. The two have been through some stuff already and that story will slowly unravel through the course of the game. Story value wise the game is nicely filled to the brim with an intriguing storyline that will motivate you to uncover the truth about that happened in-game.
Graphics
With the current power of computers and consoles you expect that most developers will aim at the best presentation since the bar has been set high by the big studios. Since Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 is a full priced title there was hope for a really polished game, but no: the graphics are rough and feel far outdated (early last gen or even lowest pc specs). The animations are very stiff by today’s standards and the game suffers from being unclear at long range, and this a big problem with a game that focuses on sniping at great distances. The environment is as basic and stale as it gets, while in other games you see branches and grass reacting to our movement. To bring a little bit positivity to all this negativity you can say that the guns look nice and it adds a bit of immersion that the scope adjustments and drone usage are well animated.
Sound
For a game that is played upon stealth and leans on the interaction with people there has been put a decent amount of effort in the way that people talk. When too far away from your brother, the communication will go over radio transmission and will switch over to normal talking when close enough. The intonations in the voices have been nicely done with emotions nestled deep so bonus points to this section.
Gameplay
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 is a first person shooter that locks you in the role of a marine sniper. This means that you will never let your trusty sniper rifle go but, as you see in most of these games is, you have the possibility to carry a decent secondary weapon. While most sharpshooters back in the days only relied on a pistol as backup (and this is also seen is many games back then) these modern times call for a bit more firepower and you can carry around an assault weapon of your choosing. Where you start out with a military spec Herstal (the weapons names are slightly changed from its original, probably for copyright reasons) we can swap this out with anything you find out in the field. As a marksman you also have a few special skills and tools up our sleeves.
One of the first abilities is Scout Mode, this sense helps you detect elements for your advantage such as getting around, finding weak spots, tracking enemies, etc. Getting around finding the ideal sniping place will require some ledge climbing. Luckily Jon is a well-trained operative and this function works out properly without any hassle. Some wildlife that you encounter can become very hostile in a moment’s notice, so it’s up to you to dispose of it quickly or else you will need to fight it off in a little button bash sequence. When it comes to normal enemies you need to be a little stealthier, when sneaking around there is a possibility for a silent takedown that is quick and effective. Here the animations are again simple and don’t feel all too realistic. To take out the baddies on longer range your bolt-action is the best option. For a marksman game it is only but normal that this is where the most work is gone to. You will need to adjust your elevation to the range of the opponent and respect the wind speed to ensure your bullet trajectory is right. When playing on a easier difficulty there is a little indicator when holding your breath to show where the bullet is supposed to land. When scoring a headshot the bullet will follow from the rifle to the lucky winners head. Too bad that there is no X-ray since this would really spice things up.
To spot out enemies without getting noticed you can deploy a drone to locate these people. You have to be careful though since getting spot will alert the opposition and some will even try to shoot it down. Controlling the drone is very realistic and crashing into places will bounce the drone around until it stabilizes. When calling it back there is also a little animation of the character grabbing the drone in its hand. Why the developers took more time to make this great instead of polishing other things is unknown, but it is appreciated that it is so detailed.
Also available from your arsenal are the various accessories on your weapon to help your aim and stability. The bipod can be deployed manually for increasing stability on flat grounds and reducing weapon sway. Alternative ammo such as explosive rounds can be used for blowing things up or creating a pathway where there was previously none.
The controls are direct and feel like that of a proper first person shooter. Some situations just call for some warfare and it is good that you can defend yourself on a decent pace. However there is a little downside during gameplay namely that the game currently suffers from performance issues (suddenly hangs) and some bugs that will hopefully be patched soon.
Conclusion
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 comes from a franchise that doesn’t innovate or greatly wows people, but has a decent following to be able to produce three games already. While not being the greatest sniper simulator or strongest first person shooter on the market it sits around in the middle with an equal combination of both. This is an o.k. game if you like shooters but are not skilled enough for a dedicated sharpshooter game. With corners cut especially in the graphics department it lowers the score because the maps are located in some really nice places. For the price that you pay it is not worth it, but if the price would drop to a more budget friendly region youcan consider givingthis game a try.
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 - Review,
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