Some games would benefit from incorporating more of the amazing Hitman series’ great aspects, but not all games need to be more like that. Around the time of Sniper Elite 3, which came out in 2014, Rebellion appeared to have figured this out. Instead of using linear levels set in congested, war-torn streets, the series opted for a much more expansive and in-depth tour of duty, where players could choose how to go about the world and finish missions on each map. The show has even gone so far as to construct some ridiculous scenarios where you can kill Nazis, a la Agent 47.
Sniper Elite
Like earlier games in the series, Sniper Elite is a third-person shooter set in World War II, but it also allows you to aim in first person. The X-ray killcam, the series’ crowning achievement, and a comprehensive ballistic physics model that takes wind, bullet drop, and placement into account have earned it a reputation. This function allows you to watch in slow motion as each bullet obliterates Nazis in gory detail, from the inside out. Among other unique sharpshooting displays, a well-placed bullet can shoot their eyes out, shatter their hearts, or even obliterate their testicles, just like in prior Sniper Elite games.
New features of this game
In terms of sniping mechanics, the game is as enjoyable and dependable as its predecessors, but I’ve gotten tired of the killcam. I try to avoid the killcam these days, or at least change my settings so that I don’t watch as many headhunting highlight reels. I understand by now; it’s cool technology, but in a mission, which already takes me roughly two hours each, they pile up because I’m far more interested in accomplishing my operations covertly than in viewing the highlight clips of long-range vivisections.
Game Storyline
In Sniper Elite: Resistance, Harry Hawker, who was previously labeled as Player 2 in the game’s cooperative storyline, takes center stage instead of Karl Fairburne, the typical series protagonist. Hawker, a British soldier, is tasked with carrying out the same kinds of tasks for which Fairburne has long received medals: sneaking into densely populated Nazi strongholds, blowing up a few trucks, subs, or missile command centers, and decapitating every fascist he comes across.
It might seem therapeutic to replicate such graphic Nazi devastation in light of fascism’s recent resurgence in some regions of the world, but Sniper Elite has never bothered to portray its antagonists as more than The Bad Guys, unlike some games that do with zombies or aliens. Though immobile, they have a comic-book atmosphere, which is ultimately acceptable because the plot has never really been the focus of these games.
Game missions
Every mission begins with a primary goal, but as you progress, you’ll discover optional goals, a valuable target who can frequently be eliminated in novel ways—for example, by placing a rat-shaped bomb in the kitchen for him to shoot and detonate—and other useful tidbits, such as weapon workbenches and different starting points for missions you’ve already completed. The heroes in Sniper Elite die rapidly in the open, so even while you could run across each expansive map and do your to-do list in less than 20 minutes if you really wanted to, I doubt it would be very enjoyable or simple. The game obviously wants you to play it methodically and stealthily, but it also tries to offer you the means to go loud when necessary.
That’s a location. The struggle of resistance, however, is a well-known one. Gunplay, aside from sniping, is poor. Hawker frequently sticks to a wall unreliable when aiming around cover, making it janky. While the reticle in third-person is also quite punishing, rarely narrowing in a way that ensures your shots will be on target, aiming in first-person with weapons like SMGs and pistols also feels slow and awkward. The only continuous aspect of hurdling waist-high things, such as fences or railings, is how inconsistent it is. I had no trouble scaling some barriers, but I didn’t jump over others that appeared to be the same or almost the same height. I sometimes end up losing faith in the world because of these factors.
Game Overview
I would prefer to be able to rely on a nearby cover object in case of an emergency, but this isn’t always the case in Resistance, as it is in all of these games.
Rebellion has, in part, placed itself in a precarious situation. Although the team is obviously smaller and working with fewer resources than many shooter games, each game has a decent appearance and gameplay, making it easy to assume that the studio is competing in the AAA market even though it isn’t. For this reason, I’ve historically overlooked some of the jank and lack of polish.
The fact that Rebellion has released so many sequels that are so identical to one another at this point makes it seem more like a problem that exists in the sports gaming industry, even though the squad is already overachieving in several ways. It is immediately apparent that there is a dearth of inventiveness in each game.
Resistance’s skill tree, which is the exact same as Sniper Elite 5’s (SE5) skill tree, is the most blatant example of this. Restoring the same skills for players to unlock is not only annoying, but it suffers even more because the skill tree wasn’t really interesting in the first place.
The tree lacks several features that I think are clearly necessary, such enabling a quicker crouch-walking speed, and many of its abilities are useless to me, such as improving my ability to control my pulse rate when running. The skill tree in Resistance might have been filled with some interesting suggestions from anyone who has played a few of these games and has a basic understanding of in-game progression systems. It would have been frustrating if they had attempted to outskill SE5 and failed, but it would have been terrible if they had just reused the same skill tree.
Game Map
Similar design choices can also be found in other places. For example, Missions 1 and 4 of the campaign are both located on the same map, however Mission 4 at least gives you more room to move around the map. I had to check to see if a mission later in the campaign was situated on the same identical map as an early mission in SE5 because it reuses a lot of the same resources and the same basic environment. (It isn’t.) With choices like these on display, it begins to feel like Resistance—down to the way its name drops the use of numbers—is a sizable standalone expansion tied to SE5 rather than a sequel. It is said that the story is set in France because Hawker’s saga takes place concurrently with Fairburne’s SE5 adventure elsewhere in the country.
There is lots to do outside of the single campaign, which is to the team’s credit and in part what gives the studio the appearance of having a lot more resources. The full Resistance campaign, including cross-play lobbies, may be played in two-player cooperative mode, just like the majority of these games. If you find a buddy who shares your playstyle, this is one of the many games that are better in cooperative settings. Similar to Deathloop or Dark Souls, the game also has an Invasion option that allows you to enter another player’s active campaign and pursue them as an enemy.
Game Mod
Because the effects of every choice either player makes are amplified, this is the most exciting mode in the game. When you’re trying to outlast or kill your opponent, you’ll seem pained if you make noise, warn your foes, or miss bullets. To be honest, this mode is so awesome that this series hasn’t gotten enough recognition for it. This feels like the game’s secret weapon because of the enormous areas and the variety of possible routes and methods they offer. Invasion mode gives the campaign more appeal even though it occasionally feels too familiar. As always, you may easily disable this option or restrict access to pals if you detest the thought of being invaded.
Wave-based PvE and team-based PvP modes are also available in Sniper Elite. Although I haven’t played these for very long—I only started last month—I’ve discovered that there is a little bit more magic here as well, even in Resistance. No Cross, which asymmetrically divides each map in half and invites players to compete in a snipers-versus-snipers headshot tournament in which no one can cross the gap to the other side, is the best mode.
Conclusion
This mode is just as thrilling and tense as Invasion. The sparkle of your scope is a betrayer that guarantees no one will camp for very long before losing their helmet and all of its squishy contents. Every sightline has counters. It takes me back to a time a few generations ago when shooters were looking for a different kind of niche than just copying what Call of Duty was doing. However, for players who enjoy the game’s physics and combat, you can spend many hours in Resistance’s peripheral modes and get more enjoyment out of it than you might in the solo story mode, where returns are noticeably diminishing if you’ve played this series to date. Not all of those attempts were successful, and Resistance’s PvP/PvE modes don’t seem likely to overthrow the genre’s titans anytime soon.
