Sniper Ghost Warrior 2 Review: Bullseye

Game Reviewed: Sniper Ghost Warrior 2

Release Date: March 12th, 2013

Developer: City Interactive

Publisher: City Interactive

Platform: [Reviewed: PlayStation 3], XBOX 360, PC

Genre: Action

Rated: M for Mature

Time to let the bullets fly out of control. It’s time to take our sniping skills to the next level in Ghost Warrior Two. Was City Interactive able to top their predecessor?

Your character is Captain Cole Anderson aka “Sandman,” son of a military veteran who died in action. Straight out of High School Sandman managed to recruit, following his father footsteps, to now enlisting  in a drug trafficking and armed militia fighting tier known as Task 121.

If you’re a fan of the original or even played the previous installment, the biggest addition to Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 is having a spotter name Diaz aiding you throughout the campaign. It slightly gives you a legit spec ops feel to the gameplay, instead of you hammering down as a one- man wrecking crew.

When sniping this time around, developers have given gamers a bit more of a challenge, making the experience much more entertaining. More factors have been implemented, for example, the enhanced wind sensor. Depending on the difficulty level you choose to play on, as you aim you’ll have an indicator helping you mark your target. You’ll also  need to watch the curve of the bullets through you ballistics.

Bullet Cam is back. It’s a steady stream through focus mode, slowing down time for better precision. When you clear an area, your final bullet spirals through the enemy, pushing through their flesh. Just painting the picture. It’s probably the genuine tweak to give gamers that sense of realism.

In the original Sniper: Ghost Warrior, gamers could zoom in for almost 10secs before feeling heavy winded from holding your breath for so long. In this installment, Sandman only have a few second to fire off before his aim if off. And I must say, the focus cam is not as unique as Sniper Elite V2’s bullet time, but it does however stay true to its development.

Try to remain undetected or else it’s game over for you as the militia will literally swarm your location. It’s a huge, and compared to the original, much needed A.I. increase. Diaz tends to run off and leave you in the line of fire, and can run a heck of alot faster than you.

I came across a few bugs which made characters stick. One particular moment was when Diaz and Anderson were both planning to take out two targets at simultaneously. Well, I missed and Diaz nailed both of them. However, after the kill Diaz didn’t move anymore.

Controls are pretty quick to catch on to, however, I found Anderson refusing to sprint at times which resulted in Diaz leaving me in the dust.

CryEngine3 does a lot to improve the quality in this installment. Graphically, Sniper: Ghost Warrior looks “good.” The game still have its bit of choppiness, possibly from rendering, but the close up from the environment looks pretty amazing.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 is definitely worth giving a go. It places its own spin on the shooters and only hence titles like Call of Duty, Battlefield and such. With great visuals, great gunplay and a reasonable price point, Sniper Ghost Warrior will make a nice tie-over.

The Scores

Gameplay: 3.75/5

Visuals: 3.5/5

Audio: 4/5

Controls: 4/5

Value: 3.5/5

Overall Rating: 3.75/5