Sniper Elite is a third person/first person hybrid that looks very good for a game set in boring old Berlin in the mid 40’s. You have bombs ripping mortar and streets to shreds, buildings are dilapidated, and the skies are a morbid overcast that sets the mood for the untimely deaths of many sons and husbands in the war to end all wars. The character models are detailed, but more times than not, your enemy soldiers look quite identical. The most visually impressive effects come from the use of your binoculars and sniper rifle. In binocular view, when you zoom in and out, not only do the textures become more visible and less blurry, but it also amazes the senses on the draw distance in the game itself. What’s more, when you zoom in and out, the camera blurs to give the effect of focusing, which is a nice attention to detail. During Sniper sequences, you also see some of the same effects as mentioned, but on certain instances, you will receive a cool bullet following cam that shows your marksmanship. You get some nice aged, “dirty film” cut scenes to tell the story and present tutorials in a splendid cinematic way.

Audio uses the approach of less is more. What I mean is that it does not feel like you are watching a movie, with heavy orchestrated scores and voice acting. The game goes for the idea that you are there, in the thick of battle, with only yourself and the sounds of war about you. I personally think it is very effective and works to the game’s advantage.

Gameplay in Sniper Elite draws from a simulation point of view. This means you can’t just hot dog your way through this title as you would any twitch style shooter. You must go from cover to cover, use your cover for shield and protection, survey your areas, and use the sound effect to scope out enemies and hostiles who may be lurking or hiding in unseen territories. In Sniper Elite, you will use gravity, elevation, wind speed and direction, and other conditions to be successful and hit your mark with accuracy and precision. Another plus is that while you have objectives to meet, you do not have a rail path in order to fulfill your objectives. This non-linear method allows for many ways to complete missions and even adds to the game’s replay value.

Sniper Elite takes place over 28 challenging missions, each harder than the one before it. You must use your skills and your wits in order to succeed in each mission. Once you conquer the story missions, you can play some exciting multiplayer missions, either two player split screen action or online with players all over the globe.

While it is true that Sniper Elite is not going to change the genre as we know it, I am happy to see a non-squad based war simulation that uses someone other than a grunt as your main character. The realism may turn off some run and gun gamers, but even those fans will have a hard time not appreciating what Sniper Elite brings to the table in terms of great and entertaining game play.