Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 (Xbox One, PS4, PC) (Rated Mature)
If your reading this, chances are you're a newcomer to the series. While fans may be curious and seek out further information. The Sniper Ghost Warrior series has a devout cult following, while many sniping fans flock to the Sniper Elite franchise. Which have been far more polished than the past two Ghost Warrior games. Still, there is something about the first person perspective, which offers a more realistic and immersive sniping experience.
In this latest installment City Interactive has perfected first-person sniping, it's realistic, satisfying and requires skill. I am the type that if you give me an AK 47, chances are I will just Rambo my way through. It's just cathartic. Yet, the sniping here is superbly done to the point, that every single shot that lands, feels like one hell of a Field Goal. The slow-motion kill cams are a sight to behold. Better still, sniping the majority of your opposition, and then mopping up the rest with an AK is thrilling, due to the enemies being no slouches.
Not only are the firefights visceral in both feel, and the cinematic style that City Interactive has perfected. But the challenge of enemies who can tear you a new one, in a split second makes this the Dark Souls of the FPS genre. These are trained terrorists your fighting, not Storm Troopers, they can aim and they have good eyesight. It requires both planing, and thinking fast on your feet to be a total Rambo. But the game is surprisingly without frustration, for the most part, sure it sucks to nearly have it, then get capped. I get it, we all have those moments of being mad as hell. But that is on us, not the game. The game is constantly giving you checkpoints, and there are a plethora of fast travel spots, so you're never having go through a long trek... Back to the last spot you got mollywhopped at.
The game is meant to be played any way you like, though I find mixing up my tactics and planning out an assault, to be part of the fun. I love finding the perfect place to pick off most of the scum bellow, then sneaking down and using my knife, or silenced weapons. Never to be seen or heard, it is always satisfying in a pretty amazing way. Though if you are seen, and your not unrealistically out numbered it is easy to hold your own, if you are prepared and have a bit of skill. Running from cover to cover, clearing rooms and getting into fairly large firefights, is tense and offers thrills few other single-player FPS's could even dream of.
While the past games were linear shooters, in the vein of Call of Duty but with the focus being on sniping and stealth. The 3rd entry has brought us out into an open world, while the story missions have a certain type of linear feel to their design, you are free to approach them however you see fit. I was particularly impressed by the mission design, as it offered plenty of variety, in both objectives & locations. Make no mistake while the game looks and plays like a AAA title, this is an independent game made with a AAA budget. Which makes the games insane visuals even more impressive.
Sadly you will see some areas that for all intents and purposes were copy and pasted, with some elements switched around a bit. This is forgivable, given how great the game looks, and the location that feels unique in this day and age. The well polished the combat, stealth, and solid traversal mechanics also make it apparent, that the focus was clearly on making a game that played well, and most importantly a game that is fun. For a game to be this challenging, and yet lack the frustration of a game like Dark Souls, shows how much effort went into balancing every single detail.
If there was one game that I could compare this to, it would be Far Cry 2, which was my personal favorite of the entire series. It is very challenging but, well worth the effort. Also as a gamer with severe anxiety due to Asperger's, if I can rule so can you. It takes the time to learn the play style that best suits you. But, once do, you will use all of the games cool gadgets like your handy drone to mark enemies with and customizable weapons, to feel like a true Special Forces Bad Ass. Dropped behind enemy lines into a 1980's action film.
City Interactive has been progressively not only making games that play better, but they are getting more adept at story telling. The story is a giant cliche, two army brothers and of course, your little brother gets kidnapped, so you choose an operation near where he was last seen. While the plot is nothing grand, the characters are actually very memorable, compelling and captivating. Mainly due to some fantastic voice over work, but also some solid writing as well. So you set off to kill, scout for intel and cause general mayhem. Along the way, you will scavenge for supplies, and interrogate enemies. One of my favorite side actives was hunting down targets from the most wanted list. These encounters often turn into very satisfying shootouts, or offer a nice stealth shot. Which offers the most realistic, and satisfying headshots in any game I have played. We are not talking exploding heads in the traditional sense, no expect to see chunks of brain, bone, and flesh to explode outward.
This is as close to a perfect release as City Interactive has ever gotten, this is not a game like the first where it was a true love it or hate it cult affair, this is a game with a very unique kind of appeal. It is a niche game, for gamers looking for a challenging sniping experience, as well as an FPS that offers something different. It may be similar to the Far Cry series, as you can see the influence everywhere, it still has its own identity that sets it apart from other shooters on the market. The only real moment where I had a DejaVu effect, is the driving mechanics feeling so close to Far Cry 2's, which is not a bad thing. Cars handle well and get you from point A to point B effortlessly, and even adds another fun element to a solid experience.
My only true complaints would be that most buildings are just props, you can only enter certain ones, and most of them have little in them aside from the odd collectible, gear or currency. See you have your own Bat Cave of sorts, where you can rest in between missions, gear up, buy new gear or supplies. You can even level up to gain new abilities, in each skill tree, Sniper, Ghost and of course Warrior. This allows you to make your character your own, and I really liked that. The weapon variety is also insane...
This a game that I know some people will hate, it is very tough to get the hang of at first, but it is not broken in any way. In fact, I only experience three very mild frame rate drops, and a few instances of texture pop-in. Overall this is a game for those looking for something different. There are no other games like this on the market, and while it shares similarities with some other open world shooters, that is not a bad thing. Furthermore, you can always tell that City Interactive puts the utmost love and care into each of their games. As the first launched as a mess, but they did not rest till it was perfected. Now they are upping their game, and I can not wait to see what comes next.
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