Sniper Elite 3 Preview

 
Everyone loves to be the sniper and hates to be sniped, a fact that’s probably played a huge part in the popularity of Rebellion’s Sniper Elite series over the years. Sniper Elite has proved to be a stable franchise for the Oxford based developer, so it’s not a big surprise that they’re currently working on the third game in the series.
Creating an authentic sniper game is a tricky business. Sniping is a real skill that needs to be mastered, with many variables such as bullet drop, weather conditions and even breathing to be taken into account. These are just a few factors Rebellion have been working on to make Sniper Elite 3 feel like you’re playing the role of a sniper during the WWII African conflict.
The demonstration at Rebellion’s studio last week took us through one of the game’s earlier missions called Halfya Pass, a vast rocky valley peppered with German soldiers. These new levels are much larger than we’ve seen in previous Sniper Elite games. In fact we were quite surprised at the scale of the level as the camera zoomed out to show the whole zone. It’s also important to note that the levels and objectives are not as linear as before, with players having multiple choices on how to tackle the map. Each level has multiple objectives, and how you approach these will be somewhat up to you.

Disguising a building as a beehive was a common WWII sniping tactic.

Spotting enemies is not always easy as they taunt you in their sandy coloured uniforms, but when you do get one in your sights, the target can be tagged. That way, you don’t lose track of them if either you or the enemy moves. Once tagged, the enemy is visible behind objects and is highlighted as a grey shadow. It’s up to you whether you utilise this feature or not, so if you really wanted to play this as realistically as possible and ramp up the difficulty and tension, it’ll have to be a tag free zone. It’s a feature that’s purely there as an aid that crosses the line between realism and a game, along with the radar which shows where enemies and key objectives are.
Realism is what Rebellion is trying to approximate through Sniper Elite 3′s interface, which comes with numerous visuals to aid the player as they sneak around a level. Staying hidden is important to your success and there’s a small eye shaped icon on the bottom left of the screen to indicate whether you’ll be easily spotted by the enemy. Shadows and cover are your best friends, and they need to be sought and utilised as much as possible.
Being spotted by the enemy is not an option, so Rebellion let you know when it’s a good time to get moving. If the enemy are triggered by noise or spot you there’s an indicator that pops up telling you to shift your sniperly arse and ‘Relocate’. In other words, move quickly away from the location you were spotted before it gets peppered with bullets. While you hide, guards will eventually give up looking. But if you’re chased down then it’s likely to be fatal, because health no longer regenerates.

Hello there, sir. Fancy a stab?

Making an effective kill will take some practice. Anyone who’s played as a sniper in a recent shooter will know that staying steady and regulating breathing is vital. In this game, your heart rate is indicated on the screen when the zoom action is activated and keeping still before pulling the trigger makes a real difference. There were a few times during the Sniper Elite 3 demo that shots were slightly missed due to movement, and when that shot doesn’t make a clean hit all hell can break loose. The longer you aim, the steadier the shot. So it’s worth taking time and keeping a close eye on that heart rate.
Staying hidden is not the only thing to worry about, because charging around the level like a bull in a china shop is not going to work either. The more noise you make, the higher the chance of being detected. Rebellion have taken this game mechanic and integrated it with the objectives.
At one point during the Halfya mission, for example, the player can sabotage a generator and cause it to malfunction. The resulting sounds alert the guards, who move in to investigate. With the generator now making clunking and banging noises, a sniper shot can be masked by the racket and go undetected. Later in the level, a loud hailer that was blasting over the German camp could also be used to your advantage. But timing is key to making that perfect shot in time with the game’s audio.

You thought you were safe but I’m going to split that skull.

Rebellion has made the ‘bullet cam’ a central feature of their sniping games. Even when playing Nazi Zombie Army there was a sense of satisfaction when you followed the bullet towards its intended target. It makes you feel, at least in my case, a little better than you probably are.

The bullet cam has been further enhanced in Sniper Elite 3, with some visual effects that are either gruesome, or quite tasty, depending upon how mentally disturbed you happen to be. As the bullet hits a target, usually a head, it cuts to a skull view showing where the bullet hit accompanied by some explicit skull shattering and blood spurting. It’s graphic stuff.
The bullet cam also works on vehicles, and in one sequence a truck needed to be blown up in order to cause a nice, noisy diversion. Taking aim at the engine cover it was blown off with the first shot. The second shot was fired directly into the engine, whereupon the camera switched to the bullet cam and you could see exactly where the bullet hit the engine as it cut to an internal view of the technical workings. A nice touch.
As we progressed through the level there were sniper nests, a new feature for Sniper Elite 3. These locations are dotted around maps and they make for perfect sniping positions. In one particular case, directly above a large petrol tank conveniently placed next to an armoured vehicle. You can probably guess what was going to happen next. By shooting off the petrol tank’s tap mechanism the explosion caused a chain reaction with vehicle after vehicle going up in balls of lovely flame.

Just catching some rays.

While the game is about sniping, there’s more in the Sniper Elite 3 arsenal to trick the enemy into dangerous situations, including traps and detonation devices. A cleverly placed mine at the top of a ladder can easily dispose of an enemy, and it’s best to think ahead by placing them down so that when you are spotted you can make an escape and leave at least one foolish pursuer dead. Even better, throw a stone and lure them to the mine with the noise then laugh as they explode.
TNT also proved useful in taking out the artillery gun which was one of the demo mission’s objectives. For some reason known only to the AI Germans, and Rebellion, there were petrol canisters placed directly below the artillery placement. Sneak underneath the gun, set up some timed TNT and it’s mission accomplished. Big gun goes up in flames taking the guards with it.
The big question is whether Sniper Elite 3 will be an improvement over the previous two games.
In terms of numbers, at least, this installment has the edge over previous entries. In Sniper Elite 2 the single player campaign was around 8 hours long; this time it’s 12. In Sniper Elite 2 the maps were linear, while in Sniper Elite 3 they look to be larger, and offer more approach routes. The previous game had around 8 AI on a level, but now there can be 30+, or “no limit” as Rebellion put it. In Sniper Elite 2 there were 5 vehicles, but now there are 9. There’s now more equipment to play with such as TNT and there are also more artillery units. Finally, there are now 15+ custom reticules and four loadout slots.

Packing more stuff in that belt this time.

There is one thing that does stay the same however, and that’s the actual weapons. Rebellion plan to release more weapons for Sniper Elite 3 as DLC once the game launches later this year.
Sadly, our demonstration did not include any multiplayer action, but we can tell you a little about what to expect. Sniper Elite 3 will handle up to 12 players in multiplayer as opposed to 8 in the previous game, with the promise of an improved lobby system. The whole campaign can also be played co-operatively with dual roles, the Agent and the Sniper, each with different tools at their disposal. I thoroughly enjoyed playing Nazi Zombie Army 2 in co-op so this has similar potential.
 I would like to point out that the demonstration we were shown was the PS4 version (booo!) but Rebellion did show the great strides they’ve made to make the game extra special for the now more powerful consoles and the PC.
The demo was in 1080p and the good news is that the PC version will be able to go to whatever your rig can handle. But it’s Rebellion’s tessellation technology that has vastly improved the visuals. An artillery gun model was shown with the old tech and it was square and really not very smooth. When the same model was applied to the new tech it looked brilliant. It was round, smooth and just a lot more detailed. This explains why Sniper Elite 3 is vastly improved in the visuals department, and why the characters now have more components for you to burst like bulging blood sausages with your bullets of death.
With consoles having caught up slightly with the PC it’s good to see that we’re going to be playing a Sniper Elite that can make use of the extra power.
With only one level on show it’s hard to tell how diverse the overall game will be, but so far it’s looking very promising. The thought of playing through this co-operatively actually excites me in a non-sexual way.
watch the trailer here:- www.youtube.com/watch?v=qL2T6BQvPY4