Sniper Elite

With Sniper Elite for the PS2, Namco introduces a World War II sniper simulation that will surprise all military enthusiasts. This First Person-Third Person hybrid military action game combines accurate military detail with awesome game play. The fictional storyline follows that of any great military plot. The setting is spring 1945 during World War II, with the Russians and Germans battling it out for control of Berlin. You play an American soldier trained as a sniper by the OSS. Your main objective is to help prevent the Russian Secret Service (NKVD) in Berlin from stealing atomic bomb technology from the German army. Sniper Elite features 28 challenging missions that test your ability to use all aspects of sniping.

This military shooter leaves no stone unturned. As a sniper, you use stealth and precision accuracy to infiltrate enemy positions and gain the upper hand. I must confess, prior to playing Sniper Elite for the first time, I really hadn't heard much about it. This one separates itself from the pack of military games and stands out as a hidden gem. Your missions range from eliminating the enemy to rescue operations, all in a World War II setting. The main emphasis throughout the game is using the military art of sniping. A trained sniper has to have the ability to become the environment and strike when the time is right using high powered precision military rifles.

In Sniper Elite, the choice of weapons are mainly those of foreign militaries. Those seeking classic WWII American military rifles such as the M1 Garand will not find them here. Instead, you get to use rifles such as the Mosin-Nagant M91 and the German built Gewehr 43. Sniper Elite truly follows every aspect of the sniping tradecraft, which gives the gamer an unprecedented accurate experience. For the most part, you have to sneak around these war-torn cities and use your environment to shield you. There are plenty of objects such as cars, blown out homes and random junk that you can use to provide cover from the enemy. Likewise, there is a camouflage indicator, which gives you a percentage of how visible you are to the enemy. The emphasis of concealment from the enemy is absent from most military shooters, but is present in Sniper Elite.

So obviously if you're prone in the middle of the street the enemy will see you. To counter this you have to hide in windows or corners. Besides having to cover yourself from the enemy to get a clear shot, Sniper Elite goes a step further by adding other realistic features that replicate the difficulties of getting a clean shot. Unlike other military games, wind correction, heartbeat and range all are factors in your shot. You have to synchronize your heartbeat and wind correction to land the perfect headshot. Some gamers might ask - with all of these features, it must be impossible to land a good headshot, right? Wrong, after a few tries gamers will get used to all of these factors and will start landing headshots in no time.

Once you start to master the art of sniping, you'll be landing perfect long-distance headshots. Whenever you land a headshot, you immediately see a cut scene that follows your bullet all the way to the target. This is really cool and shows the gamer where his shot landed. They even list the distance at which you landed a shot. Thus far my longest shot was a clean 155-yard headshot to an NKVD soldier on a rooftop. Not bad for an urban area of operation. But by the time you are reading this, I've probably beaten that - so hold off on your e-mails on how you've beaten that mark.

One aspect I particularly enjoy is the realism of moving around to conceal yourself from the target. Yeah, sure you can just "Rambo" through the stage, but you'll only end up dead. You have to put yourself in a sniper mentality and use stealth to crawl throughout the stage.

I found myself taking more than ten minutes just setting myself up to engage the enemy. Now that's realism! A true sniper has the discipline to wait days for his target, and that is what Sniper Elite is truly about. Another reason why you have to be cautious are enemy counter-snipers waiting to pick you off as well.

The graphics in Sniper Elite are truly amazing. Very sharp and accurate detail is seen across the non-linear levels. One minor drawback in the graphics is in some occasions you can see the enemy through some obstacles during graphical breakups. It's a rare occurrence, but it's still annoying to already see the enemy through an error like this. The controls are very easy to pick up and sound is very crisp.

In Sniper Elite, the enemy AI is very sophisticated, as the enemy will stop at nothing to get you. Once you fire a shot and miss, the enemy will actually seek cover and continue to duck and shoot at you. In addition, unlike other military games you can actually die from the action around you. At various points you see random artillery landing near you. On one occasion, I was preparing for a shot at an NKVD soldier when I was hit with random artillery. I mean what are the odds? Usually in military games surrounding action doesn't hurt you - but here it does.

Sniper Elite also has three modes of play: Single Player, an awesome 2-Player Co-op mode where you and a buddy complete the missions together and 8-player online play.

Sniper Elite is a very in-depth game that will keep you busy for a while. The realistic features of this sniper simulation really separate it from other games. I highly recommend gamers pick this title up, because it will surprise you. I really knew nothing of this game and it truly is the sleeper pick of the year. Every aspect of this game will keep you wanting more. Trust me, this game is good. You won't regret it. Remember the sniper motto "One Shot, One Kill."

Sniper Elite is rated "M" for Mature (Content suitable for ages 17 or older) and is available for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, and PC.