Sniper Elite 3 – Sure as Kilimanjaro rises, we shoot some men in the eyes…es

Chris Bratt and I got the chance to sit down and play an early build of Sniper Elite 3 recently on Xbox One, playing through the Halfaya Pass mission. While Bratters did his best to prove he isn’t equipped for sniper school, we did get to see what the series’ first foray onto next-gen consoles will offer.

Developer Rebellion has taken Sniper Elite to Africa for the third instalment, offering sprawling deserts to run around in and cause havoc. While North Africa may be a change of pace for the series, it doesn’t offer much variety. The dull, brown colour palette creates monotonous landscapes that feel recycled throughout the level.

Gameplay-wise, missions are split into a series of different objectives across the map separated by smaller sandbox areas. The lack of load-screens between these ‘combat areas’ was impressive, as completing the whole mission at first attempt easily took over an hour. The main objective of Halfaya Pass is to destroy three anti-aircraft guns, each separated into small areas so that your actions during the first will not affect the third. Aside from the main objectives, there are also collectibles hidden throughout the level that aren’t present on the mini-map, adding replay value for those completionist obsessives.

Sniper Elite 3 promises multiple routes of completion, and we certainly saw that in play. Taking the time to scope out the first open terrain brought to light numerous possibilities to destroy the gun: follow the underground path and blow up the very suspiciously placed exploding barrels, take the C4 located en route and sneak in or simply go loud.

While there is always to choose the all guns blazing approach, Sniper Elite 3 doesn’t feel designed to be played like Rambo. Enemies quickly swarm on your position, and ammo is scarce. The game uses a similar shadow mechanic to that in the later Splinter Cell games, showing a shadow of your last known position, helping you relocate and disappear.

The enemy AI feels aware of the situation too. One of the criticisms of previous entries to the series is that enemies were essentially braindead – that’s not the case with SE3. A few bugs aside, enemies swarmed on our position and reacted to gunfire by taking cover, making for more difficult targets. You could also hear troops engaging in conversations, and killing guys mid-chat would lead to being spotted. It’s hardly groundbreaking, but at least offers a more realistic experience.

There are some neat mechanics, too, that make for a more methodical experience than the tired Michael Bay shooters we’re used to seeing. Objects in the environment like radio towers and the AA guns themselves can serve as noise filters to give you a chance to let off sniper fire without the enemy noticing. Picking the right moment to shoot while a general gives a speech over the tannoy or a tank lets off a round is crucial to getting through the level unscathed. The only issue is that, in the state we played the game in, there were a bunch of bugs that often hindered progress or made things too simple.

Of course, the series is known for its gruesome sniper kill replays, which make a triumphant return. Sadly, we were unable to achieve the infamous “nut shot”, but still managed to explode a few skulls and pierce some lungs along the way. The feature never get old, mainly because large portions of the mission were catered more towards melee and pistol kills than long-range snipes.

Our demo concluded with a nice change of pace involving a Panzerschreck and lots of exploding barrels. Watching the carnage play out in slow-motion was satisfying, especially when soldiers are comically sent flying thanks to ragdoll physics.

Sniper Elite 3 feels like a fun, mid-tier game. Mid-tier titles fell by the wayside over the course of the previous console cycle with the THQ’s of this world closing their doors, but this game feels like it fits into that gap. While the Xbox One version didn’t do enough visually to justify picking it up on the latest consoles, the gameplay didn’t feel hampered by the cross-gen development and still feels solid. I don’t expect a ton of replay value, you’ll quickly pick up on enemy patterns and learn objective locations after a single run, but a game like this could prove a worthwhile venture at the right price point.