This last weekend has seen me seesaw on either completing or walking away from Sniper Elite 3.
Not due to the main campaign or it's last mission... Those were fine. But the last mission(Confrontation) of the extra(dlc) missions. It sas long, too long. Roadblocked by too much game mechanic obviousness. Mortars stopping your path till you complete an objective..... I can still hear mortar explosions! Rinse and repeat.... I wanted more from the game after the main campaign; Having extra content to be done I went and started it. I did those missions in order, start to finish. But that last mission. A clear case of be careful what I wish for...
As good as it was at times it's a mission that went against my previous thoughts of the game(here and here). I wanted larger maps and longer missions. And I got them. Choke and checkpoints and all. Harsher difficulty from those specific circumstances. Reinforcement set pieces designed to hamper went from something to look forward to(reload a save and ambush the ambush); To a grind of persistence. Save games do save the game from itself for the most part. Unlike the main campaign the maps in the extra missions are much large or should I say longer, like a winding canyon rather than an open expanse. Parts unlock as you complete objectives and you push further. Fine in the previous missions.... But that last 'dlc' one! A real grind for the sake of it.
It was drawn out and as such the fun of it went out the window in what I now know to be about the half way point(of that mission). There's a fine line between having fun and banging your head against a wall. Saves or no. That's when I really questioned it..... "Did I need this hassle in my life. Games are supposed to be fun" was all I was thinking. Maybe I pushed through the previous missions too hard too fast....
Looking back at the main campaign; It was very vanilla when compared to the extra missions. That new campaign is a lot more polarizing of the love/hate game mechanic relationship. But now that it's all done I can see it was worth it. Because an much as I'll moan about that part, the ending; The real ending section was worth it. Sniper vs Snipers. It was really enjoyable.
It would seem from the Steam achievements that I'm in the top 5%(or so) of the games players for such content. Not bad!
With the main campaign and extra missions done I've no more to do. I've no interest in even trying the multiplayer.
In retrospect I think on the good of the game as being more worth it all now. It was worth it. It just has some moments where persistence does pay off. I did it all on Sniper Elite difficulty which I expected to be harder. The real difficulty comes from game mechanics and developer choices on some maps. You take the good with the bad(there aren't that many!) and push through. I'm glad I did. I'm glad I got the game and played it though as well as the extra content. No regrets.
I'd still recommend playing the third game before playing the fourth. They are the same and different but you'll get more from 4 if you play the third before it. However if you looking to be pure sniper only action it's not all about that.
The main campaign rewards stealth and has moments where you can setup a long perfect one shot one kill situation. All said and done there were parts of the game where I felt more like Sam Fisher, silenced piston in hand, crouch walking than as a sniper... That said there are a few missions where you need to be a sharpshooter and cover an NPC as he escapes etc. And those do feel good both in doing and in retrospect. The fourth game is a lot more broad in how you can do and complete missions. Stealth and/or Sniper all or non of the above.
There's also an element of 'campiness' to the third game, the story and 'bad guy' interactions.
Taken with a pinch of salt it doesn't get in the way of playing the game.
The ending of the main campaign is decent; but it left me wanting more gameplay(hence my extra missions waffle).
Like the fourth game and as long as the main campaign is, it's got an element of being over too soon.
So no wonder I went in on the extra missions. This is where I'd point to my comments above and start the loop of my broken record about the game. Not perfect but worth it with a bit of persistence. It's not meant for authenticity but it 'felt' good in doing.
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