Players are even rewarded for such exploration with collectibles that while don’t drastically improve or otherwise alter the state of play at that time, do at least offer a plethora of optional distraction (and risk) to turn a potentially half-hour confident mission into a two-hour scour of the entire environment tainted by player-made error of which Rebellion, so clearly, have added as a clever little, last-minute trip-me-up. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t intentionally deter from the main objective just to soak one’s self into the environments on show.
One after another, each offering up a well-blended and well-arranged assortment of close-net verticality and more open spaces alike.
Again, Sniper Elite 4 isn’t the most visually jaw-dropping or otherwise immersive game to look at - it’s not going to be used to benchmark PC builds - yet there’s no getting away from just how much Rebellion’s artistic and level design shines through.Īnd impressively so the first three missions alone taking players across sloping Italian countryside, a coastal market-town and dense woodland alike. Intentional foresight or not, Rebellion’s choice of setting this time round actually offers up a massive pay-off as far as variety and general presentation goes. With the backdrop being the Allies’ operations in Italy circa-1943 this time round, the story involving taking out yet another suspected Nazi “super weapon” will surprise no one, but it’s clear the story is fastened down in the back-seat here and gameplay is what sits neatly at the wheel. There’s no sign of Rebellion trying to carve out a newfangled gripping or otherwise heart-tugging tale to protagonist, OSS Sniper, Karl Fairburne’s Mediterranean-orientated mission this time around. Be it the core mechanics - of simulating near-realistic wind and physical conditions in taking out targets - or indeed its structure, Sniper Elite 4 may not win any awards for its expected, though not astounding, step-up in graphical quality, but it will be admired for one of the more satisfying game premises to trek through.
After a rather safe third outing, Sniper Elite 4 could give V2 a run for its money as the best the series has offered to date as an experience that is more in-depth for veterans, yet still wholly accessible for complete newcomers alike. Yet for a genre trying its utmost to please anyone and everyone (shareholders included), you can’t help but balance that line of thought out with some due appreciation for a studio like Rebellion. But the series pits player satisfaction against player patience I may very well like a Sunday Roast, but having it for every meal of every day…it’s perhaps the best comparison to be made on how a game’s lone strength (appealing as it might be) can also, potentially, be its undoing.
Whether or not the Sniper Elite series’ persistence is purely down to its recognizing the joy in such a simple premise - of taking out targets from long-range, watching as your good work unfolds in rather Hollywood-esque dramatics and bone/organ-obliterating delight - will of course vary from person to person. It’s a well-known fact snipers are by far the best class in any shooter-orientated game when it comes to both abilities offered and abilities used by the players themselves.There’s a gratifying zeal to garner from taking one’s foe out from a distance - concealed, hidden and more importantly, orchestrated by way of careful strategy as opposed to bold, perhaps brash guns blazing.