Sniper Elite Series Review (Xbox, PlayStation & PC)

Sniper Elite might not deliver the slick and calculated stealth mechanics of Hitman or the brazen thrills of a wartime third-person shooter, but where it lacks in complexity and prowess it most certainly makes up for in cool and clean bullet cams and oh-so-satisfying creative executions. To call it a great series feels like an overstatement, yet if you can gloss over the fact that it isn’t the Belle of the battlefield, then you can, in all honesty, find a lot of technical embellishments here. For instance, each chapter in its stealth-centric anthology contains a plethora of creative levels and distinct objectives, challenges and weapons, as well as a whole sandbox of avenues that you can explore and manipulate to benefit your strategies.

Arguably the greatest gift that Sniper Elite has given since its inception is its slow-motion bullet cam feature—a system that allows you to calculate your shots and witness the impact, the projection of the bullet and, above all, the organ or bone crumble and shatter in a satisfyingly smooth finish. It’s a small and somewhat simple trick, yet in the world of Sniper Elite it bleeds orchestral prominence and grace. It’s smooth, violent, and satisfyingly more-ish — the three hallmark elements that make up most, if not all entries in Rebellion’s episodic franchise.

As a series, Sniper Elite has been an advocate for the stealth-based approach, with each of its mainline chapters having their own catalog of open-ended styles and corridors to interpret. It is, in a nutshell, a series that hands you the task on a silver platter, but then tells you nothing about how to execute it. It isn’t always an easy affair, and dumb luck and blind faith are, annoyingly, two strategies that swallow most of the experience. That said, if there’s one thing that Sniper Elite has always been capable of producing, it’s an essence that makes you feel good with each passing objective, no matter the scale or complexity. Granted, it doesn’t always go to plan, and the odds of you looking more like an incompetent mercenary than an elite marksman are regrettably high in most given cases. But that’s half the fun here: the act of dabbling with new approaches and points of entry. It gives Hitman vibes, if anything.

I’ll admit that, while the gunplay and iconic bullet cam technology has been consistently good over the course of its lifespan, Sniper Elite has never really knuckled in on a solid storyline. Without any major character development or world-building, the series has often failed to create a plausible timeline with evergreen qualities. This isn’t to say that it’s a bad plot; it’s merely acknowledging that it finds itself being overshadowed with the signature action facets more often than it should. It isn’t entirely forgettable, but to call Sniper Elite a great story-driven third-person shooter just wouldn’t be an accurate representation.

For a series with a smaller budget, Sniper Elite does capture a great deal of quality components and audiovisual effects. It isn’t quite on the same wavelength as, say, Metal Gear Solid, but each chapter has been more than confident in its ability to conceive dynamic settings with engrossing jigsaw pieces. It’s often difficult to appreciate the depth when you’re mindlessly rifling through the foliage in a fit of rage I’ll admit, but if you take a moment to acknowledge the world and its surroundings, you can find a lot of intricate details here.

There is, of course, the question of whether or not Rebellion has run its course with the Sniper Elite series, and whether it has already accomplished all that it needed to do with its original trilogy. It’s a difficult one to call, too, as on the one hand you have a good foundation for a barrage of sequels. But on the other hand, you have a cash cow that can only produce so much milk before it all begins to sour on the tongue and taste a little, shall we say, stale. The point is, while Rebellion does have the capacity to capitalize on its greatest strengths with future releases, there are only so many times that one can squeeze the udder before the aforementioned cow drops dead with a fifteenth bullet lodged in its neck.

Verdict

Sniper Elite isn’t the war horse of well-orchestrated third-person shooters; it’s the lesser known battalion that, although without the skill or natural prowess of a standout private militia, gracefully compliments the battlefield with its own unique strengths—a creative sandbox and an infrastructure that adopts slick bullet cams and complex executions, for example. It might not get everything in the book right, and the series as a whole does often fail to grasp what it takes to deliver a captivating storyline with rich progression hooks. That said, in spite of all its flaws and shortcomings, Sniper Elite does make for a pleasant experience with a lot of excellent hallmark features and, to give credit where it’s due, a good amount of replay value to keep you coming back for another shot.

At the end of the day, the bullet doesn’t always travel far enough to puncture the skull here, nor does it make a graze on the bone of your traditional big-budget wartime escapade. However, Sniper Elite does find comfort in its own signature style—in its satisfying bullet cam montages and open-ended mission structures. It’s a far cry from the perfect series, but that isn’t to say that it’s a franchise that you should give the cold shoulder, either.

Of course, if you have yet to sink your teeth into Rebellion’s poster child series, then look at it this way: you might not find a powerful narrative with a lot of great characters or backstories, though you will, provided that you dig deep enough, unravel a ton of exciting and oftentimes satisfying gameplay elements and other notable qualities. Again, it isn’t the best stealth-based shooter on the block, but if you happen to enjoy clean kills and bullet cam technology, then you’re in for a real treat with this one.