Sniper Elite 5....

Third time lucky. Kind of. I still agree with what I've said about Elite 5(here and here); And to be true I've not got more to add about it. But the game had remained on my mind. In talking to a friend about it I think I softened my view of it. Two thirds of the game or thereabouts remained that I'd not seen. Story and narrative of a character I've brought through the franchises last two iterations. So I got back and played some more. Embracing the 'quirks' and mechanics(intentional or not) as much as I could. Yes I was annoyed at those quirks and I did curse them at times. Why have a shine high wall I can't hop over..... Why have invisible items block a way in an open area. Odd animations etc etc. As the game went on they were not so in my face. Thankfully.

Some more quality assurance and testing with dev action on those would have been nice and gone a long way. But it is what it is. It's new and it's more Sniper Elite content. Again It's not like I was paying for the game; Access to it via Xbox Ultimate(on PC). I may as well get more value from that.

So I pushed on. Completed the campaign, saw the cut-scenes. SE 5 still strikes me as a disappointing game overall. Maps as big(or bigger then 4 but with the design and shape of 3's in ways. Hard to explain how that effects things. Large maps but less of an open world feel. That said there are some great maps; Two early on that stand out are War Factory and Spy Academy. Both are large detailed and allow for a lot of leeway in tactics.

 

Would I recommend 5 above Elite 3 and/or 4. No; But if you've gone through those two games, if you've joined the journey then you may as well play out 5. Obviously it's more easy for me to say that given I have access to it for 'free'. You need to be 'into' the franchise to get the most form 5. 

Am I glad to have seen the end of the game.... Yea. I guess. The story plays out and I can say I've seen and done it. I'm not sure I can say I've enjoyed it but on the flip side I can't say it has a horrendous experience. There's too much 'meh' to be excited but enough of the 'same'ol, same'ol' to ....... like.

SE3, 4 and 5 all have memorable moments. Interesting screenshot content and set pieces I'm glad to have experienced/played out. SE 5 it's not a game I'd go back and play again but then again I've never really played 3 or 4 again either.

SE 5 has mechanics and improvements that I wish were better or reverted(brain squish back to being squishier etc).

I got used to the perk system pretty easily but again it's a system that could have been better if it wasn't for the PvP influences(like not being included at all). It does give an added investment in abilities from a progression perspective....... But makes me think the game wasn't balanced properly re difficulty settings in the first place. It doesn't feel to me like it enhances play-style, it's progression fluff for the sake of it. Too many cooks spoiling the broth.

Ending maps and leveling up, getting popups, unlocks and achievements is all good and fulfilling. Can't complain there. 

The very last mission is 'A' sniper shot. One shot, one kill(achievement trick shots aside) in a lot of ways felt anticlimactic. Given mission 8 and how it played out it should have 'felt' good to get that shot.

Stats on the (xbox/pc ultimate)achi's are telling.

Less than 5% of the playerbase did the last (post campaign) end of the game. Less than 1% did so with the long sniper kill. That's 1% ending the game with a 'real' sniper kill.... One of the few times I'm part of anything that's (top)1%. 

7.69% completed the campaign. Which makes me wonder why 2.69% didn't just go on and do the end boss kill!

7.93% completed mission 8 but 7.69% completed the campaign which is odd as mission 8 is the end of the campaign.... Who( 0.24%). completes mission 8 but not get credit for the campaign? 

Less than 10% of the playebase used sound masking to stealth and kill. I got that one and didn't do it on purpose!

Less than 8% killed 350 enemies with a rifle(and this is a sniper game eh!)

My snobby sniper stat analysis aside mission completion %

Mission 1 - 33.57%

Mission 2 - 24.62%

Mission 3 - 14.24% (did some players skip this?)

Mission 4 - 15.71%

Mission 5 - 13.23%

Mission 6 - 11.23%

Mission 7 - 9.38%

Mission 8 - 7.93%

That's a lot of falloff from start to finish, but that over 66% of players didn't finish mission 1 says a lot about the game and about it's first impressions. 

Sniper Elite 5....

Since the last time I've posted I've been playing the game and trying hard to 'like' it. More accurately(sniper pun?) trying to understand it. It has some good elements, it's 'just' the implementation that's disappointingly lacking; Bad and broken in ways that remind me so much of Ghost Recon Breakpoint's early days.... At least in my view.

In doing so I keep reflecting on my SE 3 and 4 experiences and they all seem superior in retrospect. 'Flaws' in them I thought at the time now pale when seeings SE 5's current 'state'. Even if SE 5 is your first SE game..... if you see what I've seen you'll not be 'happy'. I'm sure time and patches will 'help'. But for now.....

While my gameplay can be mainly influenced by mood, mood can only get you so far in playing a game when it's 'not at its best'. Either it's enjoyable or not and SE 5 does not make me want to play it. 

Like I said before if I'd not gotten access to it via Xbox ultimate and had payed my cash for it I'd have been disappointed, more massively disappointed.

The graphics in SE 5 are great but the gameplay is lacking. The music is apt and adapts to whats going on and the overall ambiance engrossing. But those 'bugs' and overall 'jank', kills the game and any immersion for me.

Yes SE 5 'feels' and is janky a.f. The gif's above show the 'barriers'.... 

But there's also the 'getting stuck in the scenery ' issues. Which is more annoying if there hasn't been a recent manual or autosave done.

And as if invisible walls weren't bad enough a missing NPC target(had not spawned or had despawned)stole the show and sealed the deal and an uninstall from me. An enemy that isn't there(even if the map distance is saying yes) etc etc. Isn't a great thing... 

Map 3 is the very epitome of what is wrong with sniping in the game. A large open area..... You can snipe all you want as far as you want with no real repercussions. All alerts and rushing guards... Just sniping idiot lemmings. Alerted npc's running towards you from 2 km away... Snipe Snipe, where's the fun in that... I mean where's the fun in that longterm. It's fun the first time but it gets old fast.

Of note as well are some audio lines your character speaks. Odd and out of place at times. Like killing and exploding halfway though a mission and when crossing a field for the 5th time triggers a line about how he should hide in the grass...

I love the way enemies will get hurt and limp. Or if they have an arm injury they will cradle it and use a pistol instead of their rifle. I really like the way enemy npc's react to their comrades being hit or injured, those reactions are immersive. There is gameplay, there's some good gameplay moments but it all gets overshadowd by the jank. 

Trying hard to be stealthy is a challenge but it's one that grants the same end result as going full rambo; So I kept asking why bother. That stealthy effort does't feel like it's rewarded. Granted it's all in the players prerogative, mood and playstyles are a personal take on each map within the game mechanics. It's all doable how you like.

That said, the path of least resistance happens and more often than not it's easier to progress by brute force.

Nothings perfect and for this game I have no time to take each map perfectly. Besides the cost of going full Rambo getting hunted or triggering reinforcements that are supposed to make it harder.... It barley feels like there's any repercussions! Just more lemmings to shoot. 

Besides after being sniped, shot, machine gunned and exploded the enemy looks around for 30 seconds and then calls ALL CLEAR. It may have been similar in the previous iterations but it's more pronounced in SE5 and it's noticeable as being a.i. stupid; And so your almost given the go ahead to blast away regardless. All clear as they walk back to patrol over the 10 bodies you gunned down. 

Hidden and Dangerous 2 from back in the day could teach a huge lesson on alerted guards staying alerted and altering their ongoing behaviors never mind the previous SE games.

SE 5 is less about sniping and more about being a dedicated marksman(at a push). A subtle and yet massive difference of distinction for a game and it's playstyles under the banner Sniper.

SE 5 from what I've seen has lacked distance to be a sniper in an undetectable meaningful way. It's lacked subsonic sniper rounds; And wtf is with the wooden rounds to knock out enemies....

This is the first WW2 game I've seen that you can play a sniper and are given the tools to not kill any npc! I like that you have options but it seems that those options have taken away from the main reason for the games name. Or are wooden rounds a multiplayer thing. I count the invasion mode as multiplayer.

I've dome more 'sniping' with the silenced pistol than anything else!

Anyway, enemies in the game are lemmings regardless of difficulty. Yes they try to do some minor outflanking tactics and suppressive fire but it's not that great. I thought they were on map 1 but I guess it's very map and pathing on the map dependent. It's not 'real' a.i. they're just following the shortest route to you; And like your character they can't vault over small walls..... So up a field, through a gate, down a field they go, straight into your wall of bullets. A better call back to enemy a.i. environment tactics can also be given to the Brothers in Arms games(they were tricky).

The number of times I've been crouched in a room aiming through the doorway in this game..... The lemming factor is super real. At least in previous SE games the enemy tried to flush you out with grenades... Not in SE5 that I've seen!

Map 2 has a lot of road traffic(actual vehicles) and they are easy to ambush(they explode well with all the barrels they transport). Fun enough, but it's not enough for long-term meaningful gameplay. 

NPC enemies are lemmings as I said; They all charge forward and soon enough with a good position they bottleneck into you. That is only so much fun for so long. Even changing up the 'difficulty'. But not even medium' feels balanced.

The gameplay balance is a delicate thing. Too easy a setting and it's too braindead easy, overly so; Too hard a setting and it's too punishing; Shoot you thought the scenery kind of punishing. The a.i. does not know the difference between cover and concealment. Mix in a players own playstyle and it's a blended generalized non specific WW2 shooter with some quirky mechanics(and that's being generous).

In a lot of ways the game makes me feel like I'm playing one of the newer Hitman games. What with all the non lethal rounds, hiding enemy bodies etc... If only they had the steal uniform element form the Hidden and Dangerous games then that really would have shaken things up. Especially given your character is supposed to be fluent in German.

I don't know what this game is trying to be. The more I play the more I'm questioning why they did things, changed and designed mechanics as they did. All I'm seeing are the flaws. It's not a diamond in the rough it's a rough cut stone that should be rejected(or at least sent back for more work). Your mileage may vary. Maybe I'm being unlucky with the mechanics and in turn am judging it overly harsh.

Maybe my expectations were too high.

As for the multiplayer side I've no idea if that was done for longevity. Getting a human sniper to snipe you will become very tiresome once the maps are well known and a 'spot' becomes the goto place to essentially gank a player trying to do a mission(no wonder the balance is all over the place). I turned that option off from the start. If your into it then fair enough. I'd rather have a more playable single player game than have it be tuned to potential multiplayer elements(no wonder parts of the maps have no meaning to the solo campaign).

As usual with the PC vision played via Xbox Ultimate, the Xbox achievements are linked and the percentages are interesting.

33% of players finished the first map; 24% finished the second.....

Sniper Elite 4....

With the end of the main campaign(here and here) I took a bit of a break from the game; Then in more recent weeks went back to do the 'extra' missions. Having bought the all singing, all dancing version on a Steam sale I can't say if it was worth it back in the day at whatever a full price was. I can say that the DLC missions have given me more; More difficult and larger maps to enjoy, and I've enjoyed them. So for the future I'm sure that such an all inclusive version will be on sale again and I'd say that it's well worth it.

Anyway, I've been back to it on and off progressing the DLC content just like I did in the 3rd game; more on that game here and here.

The maps have been more of the same good fun. Large maps, tactics from silent to 'loud'. More difficult enemies, like elite snipers/troops. Or area's that merge and mingle lots of arcs of fire from multiple patrols/enemies. Which can all lead to a lot of 'fun'. 

Silent moments taking out guards leads to an all out alert and in that 'get out of dodge' moment you round a blind corner and run into another patrol and the flash of a sniper scope somewhere; Running into a building and up the stairs bumping into another enemy you knife. Options limited and the heart-rate of your character pounding as you aim to cover the stairway to the attic; pondering in your mind if you have time to run to the window behind you for 'options' or stay and 'get' the first enemy to follow you.....

The more I play the more I tend to be both loud and quiet. Noting like an enemy on edge who don't know whats coming.

There are some set pieces, but not many and all usually fun. Like the Hitler escape. 

Most come in the form of completed objectives which get a wave of enemy reinforcements; Which you that get to ambush or be ambushed by. Again that brings me back to my Hidden and Dangerous 2 days and nostalgia; Setting up mines to destroy reinforcement tanks/troops.

Other moments are obvious fun. Coming across a new weapon and a large target filled with explosive barrels; Be a shame not to use it! 

A Casual Carebear Gamer

Sniper Elite 4....

The more I've played Sniper Elite 4 the more I'm glad I got it. It screams nostalgia for my Hidden and Dangerous 2 days. Not saying H&D 2 isn't still good and payable today but for a more 'modern' game, SE 4 'does it' for me. Lone wolf Hidden and Dangerous 2 on steroids = Sniper Elite 4. 

I've played 28 hours to clear the main campaign. From recon and stealthy silenced pistol shots; To luring mobs of enemies into traps and ambushes. So much fun to be had. The more you know a level the more elaborate you can be in your planning and execution(If you play the latest Hitman games you know what that means). Other times the fun is in the quick reactions and survival of 'situations'.

I knew there were 'only' 8 levels but playing through them felt way quicker than it should have; So much so that once the end came up I was a bit surprised.... I wanted more.

Clearing the campaign and being successful in the primary and secondary objectives is one thing. The 'more' I wanted seems to came in the form of the map challenges. Ways of doing the maps which are all ways of showing off your skills. Like game achievements some are interesting and others are just so far out of the way as to be a PITA. Reading through them isn't a list of immediate 'must do's'. So maybe after a break from the game and then see about 'going back in'...... Otherwise I guess I'll have to wait for the 5th game. Which does look good.

The ending experience is to destroy a plane and there are multiple ways to do it. The obvious way is to use a bunch of fuel trucks handily parked near the runway. It didn't take much to see the wings of the plane passed by them. 

One shot, two shots and both wings were destroyed.

In messing about with that ending I noticed the plane when airborne does do a flypast to machine gun you.... With a bomb hanging out....

Time for a long distance shot.

 

It may have been too handy/coincidental/obvious but the game in it's doing is satisfying. After enjoying so much of the 4th game last week I went ahead and took the opportunity to buy the winter sale discounted (complete)3rd game. Playing it's first map shows me how much the 4th game evolved from it. The 3rd is still fun but the 4th really upped the scale. Nostalgia aside it's been well worth it. 

Sniper Elite 4....

With the Steam winter sale ongoing I picked up Sniper Elite 4 out of curiosity and a certain need for the genre of game. The price didn't hurt either. -85% for the Deluxe edition(€13.49), sure why not.

The game may be called Sniper but it's not 100% enforced and if you never want to use a sniper rifle then that can work as well.You can be sneaky, you can be stealthy and you can be as loud as the 4th of July if you want. It's not a perfect game but it's fun. If your after a 'real' sniper simulation then there are other games for that. Sniper Elite 4 caters to all and for all it does the job well enough. The fun and enjoyment factors are high.

Sniper Elite 4 has surprised me. I'd seen it's kill-shot slow-mo x-ray mechanic from it's previous iterations and thought it 'cool'; But seeing it in action myself, yea it's 'COOL'.

The real surprise for me however is in how much it reminds me of the hard 'Lone Wolf' version of Hidden and Dangerous 2's missions(back in the day), but better(modern game etc) now seen in this game. A game to spend hours or 'just' minutes of your time. I've been playing on Normal(Marksman) and for once I'm thinking the difficulty needs to be upped a notch. Save slots at any time also help.

Enjoyment like the game difficulty is in the eye of the beholder. More 'realism' works both ways; Up that difficulty so don't be surprised if a Drogo booboo gets you.

Like H&D 2 once the enemies know of your existence they tend to focus and flank you. They use tactics from covering fire to blind fire all the while closing in on your 'estimated' position(because of course you moved.... right); Trying to flush you out with grenades. As you ambush the ambushers and flee(tactical withdrawal) from the area(tripwires!!). The A.I. is good but it's not that good. Which is realistic in that there are idiots levels of trained and untrained soldiers in the world. At least that's how I look at it. It's believable that way. Immersive. Especially as the Germans are more 'keen' than their Italian allies(at least from what I've seen) so is all apt.

There's enjoyment in the games doing. Even if your all in on the sneaking side and things go 'bad', picking off the enemy as they fox and hound you 'feels' good and very much appeals to a sense of underdog victory; And I've found myself getting into such situations on purpose because of it.

The melee combat is also effective, so much so that I find I want to be up close and personal just to keep things quiet; Or to get out of situations with minimum fuss.

Using the binoculars to target/tag enemies and items is a simple but great way to bring extra narrative to the gameplay as well as tactical intel. Such intel provides more immersion as long as you don't question how the bino's know what they know. Either way the information can be used or ignored and a lot is just there for flavour. It all works for me.

In a lot of ways the maps allow for a flow of gameplay dependent on the player. You'll see a lot of your own play-style reflected back at you and in turn will get more out of it the more you put in. A game system that really works from what I've seen so far. Better to start with a high difficulty and bring it down than the opposite way and there's not many games a player can say that about. I'll be taking my time and enjoying this for some time to come.

A Casual Carebear Gamer