Introduction
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 (wow that was a mouth full) is an open-world stealth based game that focuses on sniping. There are a good amount of different weapons at hand to kill anything that walks in your way. The world is quite massive as well which gives the player a lot of things to do. There are also vehicles to drive, secrets to visit, and mechanical parts to collect as well. If you're looking to be a stealthy killing machine with the single click of a mouse and a few held breaths then this is the game for you. It is currently for pre-order at CIGames
The game is best played how it's meant to be, by being a ghost, sniping with silencers or one-tapping an enemy from behind with a pistol. The game does that great by making the player think of their next move or thinking up an action plan for the mission at hand.
Story
This game takes place in the country of Georgia, the player takes control of an American marine captain by the name of Jonathon North. The events are modern day, and while in Georgia, there are a lot of conflicts between three different factions. Jonathon travels to Georgia to find his old past enemy and eliminate him in order to prevent another Cold War.
Gameplay
The great thing about this game is the fact that it can be played however the player wants to. There is no specific way that it must be played in order to be successful in it. If one wants to be a deadly stealthy sniper then one can do that. If one wants to go to the extreme, blow everything, and everyone, up then that can be an option as well. The way I played was being as tactical and stealthy as possible, because who doesn't love a stealthy ninja? I will admit, it felt good, to outsmart the enemy and use my tactical skill to my advantage. I will say though the game can feel pretty slow if played the right way. But that's a given especially when playing a title named Sniper Ghost Warrior 3. This is where this game excels greatly, the freedom to do what you want and however you want to.
There is one big issue that I hope gets resolved is that the AI in this game is some of the worst AI's I have ever seen. They are not smart whatsoever, they ignore you, or just completely forget about you at the time. Do take note that it is in beta so I will forgive it, for now. Another thing that I noticed is that sometimes the AI would constantly walk back and forth, they would walk ahead 3 steps then snap around and walk back 3 steps all while in an alarmed state.
Another thing to bring attention to is how un-rewarding head-shots are. Just imagine, finding the perfect spot, the spot that will earn the player a large sum of kills. Scoping in, focusing on the enemy's head, pulling the trigger just to see a mediocre blood splatter. There is no head explosions or gore at all. There are just simple blood splatters that every shooter has.
A good addition this game has is the skill trees for each category of play. Once leveling up a particular branch the player earns a skill point that helps by giving perks. One other cool thing is being able to scope in on a sniper and look through the building and being able to see the enemies through the walls. There is also the luxury of vehicles as well so that one doesn't have to run everywhere, which with the size of this map would be a chore. It is a pretty decently sized sandbox so I applaud the developers on that. The skill tree also adds a level of uniqueness to the game as it makes based on people's play style.
Graphics
The graphics in this game are decent, there isn't anything jaw-dropping. The graphic options are the usual options nothing new. There is an issue, with most beta/early access games, with FPS. Usually, developers resolve the issue with updates making the game more compatible with components. There is also the usual blood on screen effect for when the player gets shot so nothing new there.
Guns, snipers, in particular, have a nice detail to them, when scoping through a sniper it doesn't cover the whole screen but gives it a realistic design of what it would look like to scope through a sniper in real life. But other than that there isn't much craze with the game graphics wise.
The wilderness and forests are greatly designed by truly showing the amazing power of CryEngine. There is a nice detail to shrubbery, trees, and the world itself. The great detail of the world help aid in keeping the player involved within the game without losing attention to it based on bad detail. The wilderness is also so greatly designed that it can even be used for cover, to hide in the shadows, and hide like a truly modern assassin.
Audio
The audio of this game truly shows how in-depth this game may be. Imagine, hiding in the shadows and hearing the clanking of equipment to the side of you as you try to sneak past. Making tactical decisions in order to counter the enemy is heavily based on the audio within this game. It not only aids in spotting enemies but it also may add a level of intensity to it. As the rain lands droplet by droplet next to you, it adds a level of pressure to, not miss that one shot, the shot that will eliminate a terrorist that is a high priced target.
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 builds on this level of audio and demands players to use audio to their advantage. It is almost a necessity to have a decent surround sound or good headset to take advantage of the pressure heavy gameplay this game has to offer.
Final thoughts
I see where the developers are going with stating that this is their first attempt at an AAA game. It's not that it's a bad game, it's just that it's an average game that is the usual shoot-em-up. If you're a fan of shooting games then it's a go, or if you're a fan of Far Cry 3/4 then it's a game that you'll like. But, if you're looking for a game that offers a complete change of pace, this isn't the game. It's a simple, time killer that looks alright and plays alright as well.
But if you're looking for a change of pace from the popular FPS shooters out right now, this is a good change. It's a fresh new take on the already abused genre of FPS. Especially with modern-day top FPS games, this game does a great job at being different. If you're a fan of a stealthy sniping game that awards you with great sniping spots if you are tactically smart, then this is the game for you. It is a great way to test your brain and determine if you can outsmart your enemy behind/in front/ and even point-blank of the enemy lines.
