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Move, Check, Analyze, Aim, then Fire

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 26 / 27
Date: November 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Ok I have the PC version of this game. I suggest you buy the PC version of this game as it gives you a more refined, more precise way of aiming your crosshairs at the target by using a mouse, rather than using a console thumbstick controller. Sniping means precision and if you don't have the right "equipment", then you won't be hitting your target.

This game is not your regular FPS run fire kill and then run some more. This is a pure sniper game. You get spotted and chances are you will get killed because the AI will flank, position, and surround you; just like in real life, the opposing force hates a sniper more than anything else in a battlefield.

Graphics: Excellent. Remember that this game was set during the last days of the Reich (WWII) so expect to see TONS of rubble, bombed out buildings, and roadblocks. Graphics were a bit repetitive but really you don't have time to admire the scenery because chances are the enemy will spot you if you stay too long in one position. One the first map, you'll see allied planes in formation flying over Berlin. It just sets the tone for the whole game.

Gameplay: A nice twist. You are an OSS operative assigned to stop the Russians from stealing/acquiring information to build the A-bomb from the Nazis. So yes, you are an American dressed as a Wehrmacht sniper. Don't worry about the Nazis because they're your friends. It's the Soviet Army you need to worry about. You are inserted in Berlin during the last days of the Reich, Russian tanks rolling across the city and bombing the living daylights out of it. You have contacts that you need to locate, tanks to blow up, and you get to assasinate Martin Bormann. Yes you heard me...assasinate Martin Bormann, and it's probably one of the most difficult missions to complete. As a spoiler...you need to track a contact, get some ammo, and then you have to locate the perfect sniping position to kill Bormann, while making sure you get to that position in time before he drives away. Tried so many times to complete this mission and failed lots. I finally decided to just sneak to where Bormann's car would exit (through the Brandenburg Gate),and then I waited for him. As soon as I saw his car coming, I stepped in the middle of the road, went into a crouching stance, aimed my rifle, took a deep breath (you can clear your lungs by hitting the F key to stabilize your gun hold) then pulled the trigger. I took him out at 123 yards as a moving target. The more difficult the target was presented to you, the more points you get when you take him out. Such is the nature of this game...numerous ways to enter and complete the mission. Hence, this game is not linear.

The nifty thing about taking a shot here in this game is that if you hit a target cleanly on the head, you get to see a slo-mo of the bullet flying towards the target and then actually seeing in slo-mo the head whip back and a chunk of flesh bursting out of where the bullet entered. It's actually a good way of telling whether you're going to hit the target or not. As soon as you pull the trigger and then you immediately see the screen turn into a bullet trajectory slo-mo view, then you know you've taken out your target. Farthest target I've hit was a 125 yard shot from the ground and hitting my target on top of a building. Bullet entered his left cheek. I know because of the slo-mo. Cool huh...

Strategy: Look, crawl, examine, check, then move again. This requires a lot of patience on the player. Again, this is not your standard shoot-em up. You have to consider several factors in this game..windage, bullet drop, distance, clearance, and situational awareness. Firing your gun means you are giving away your position to the enemy so move out of your position as soon as you fire your weapon. Sometimes you'll hit a body shot and the enemy will cry out for help while cringing in pain. Two ways to handle this, let the enemies come towards the injured comrade (they sometimes assist the injured) and then pick them off one by one OR fire another round just to put him out of his misery.

The rule of the game is ONE SHOT ONE KILL. Ammo is limited to about 200 rounds. Waste your rounds and you are forced to forage for ammo that you can use for your rifle. There are tons of weapons, mostly SMGs. The problem is gunning down your target with SMGs is just inviting a whole battalion to come after you.

And now the gripe...enemies are able to hit you from a distance using a submachine gun! How in heavens they can do that is beyond me. I look at it this way...it adds to the challenge.

All in all, this is an awesome game with lots of replay value and strategy. Not suitable for kids because of the slo-mo bullet impact feature. Buy the game.

A Great Sniper Game and Much More

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 22 / 22
Date: November 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game caught my eye and i thought i would take a chance and it payed off with a great game. Not only do you get a chance to engage the enemy at long range but stealth movement and planning are also required! The graphics are a 8/10 imo game play can be done in like an arcade type setting or getting down and dirty with wind, distance, breathing, heartbeat becoming a factor. This is not a fast paced game but stealth and cunning take the day which require planning and forward thinking....Set in Late War Torn Berlin in April 1945 the city is destroyed so plenty of places to hid on a quest to stop the Russians from gaining Nuclear secrets. What is fun also, is the fact you can pick up an MG44 or a russian PPH etc...along with grenades and such and take on the soldiers but remember your only one man and when the alarm is raised its one against many......so have an escape route. This is one to own imo with lots of replay value and the story line is interesting with rescues and assassinations. I played live and had a blast on team play with russians agains germans.....give it a try it worth that if your into WW2 games....

Update: 1/24/2006

I have completed all the missions and returned on a higher level and really have gotten into the online game. This is handsdown the best sniper/shooter game on xbox and the online feature is addicting. The game missions are exciting and bring the storyline together to make an outstanding action adventure game. Don't think your just going to be sitting around waiting to snipe folks...wrong... stealthy movement, silent kills, long range detonations, taking out tanks..ya name it this has it....worth every penny...i hope to see more games from this developer...

Oooh... that looked like it hurt.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: December 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Mmmm.... Gross Head Shots... What more do you need?
OK... yes, the graphics are NOT blow-you-away sharp. Yes, the Russian guys saying the same thing over and over again (It kinda sounds like "titti-bar" doesnt it?) is a bit repetitive. And no. It's not Halo. Or Halo 2. But it isn't supposed to be, and I would argue that's a good thing.

As a FPS guy going back to the "Marathon" titles on the Mac, I love the gunz-blazing action too. But the old Marathon games had puzzles, mazes, things to figure out between the rooms full of badguys, which made it infinitely superior (oh Bungie... what happened...). And this game is a puzzle, indeed. Yes, you are gonna spend what seems like an eternity laying on your belly in a bomb-crater, waiting for someone to stick their head out long enough for you to earhole them - but is it ever satisfying to see that cut-shot bullet path, knowing that you just bingoed your man.

You also have got to plan your way in, and plan your way OUT. You'll figure this out pretty quickly if you don't, as you'll be laying prone with the rifle equipped and 10 Russian soldiers will come around the corner because they figured out where you were, and you're dead. But that's the fun!

I would also point out the ambient, moving sound as a plus. You can follow tanks, troops, and gunfire even without surround sound - and it's quite helpful to the gameplay. Nothing like Not leaving your cover because you hear a tank rumbling around the corner... In addition, the flying bits of newspaper and other motions are fantastic for a game like this. You will find yourself so focused on the slightest motion, looking for a target, only to have it turn out to be papers or, even better, a rat??? Fantastic. Frustrating to be sure, but still fantastic.

I've not played all the way through the missions yet, but what I've seen so far has me looking forward to what is coming up next. And yes, there are some slight exaggerations here, like your ability to destroy a tank by shooting a gas-cap. But the best way to play this is often to avoid contact entirely, and only kill those who are directly in your path. Let's be honest, though. If you are a Halo2 guy who always goes for the sniper because you are good with it on the run (and let's be honest - those are the only snipers in Halo2, where camping and hiding are not really an option) and can shoot no-zoom... this is not the game for you. You are gonna have to sit still, be patient, and PLAN your moves. The speed with which you run, jump, and strafe will not save you here. In many ways, this is the Anti-Halo for me - and that's what makes it a thoroughly enjoyable game. If you are looking for some tactical time spent on each mission, and have an hour to kill (even on the first few missions) at a time - with a good amount of it spent in one spot or crawling on your belly - then you will enjoy this game. If you want more of the usual FPS action... this isnt for you.

Reviews on some other sites have pointed out some "problems" with the realism, or the historical accuracy of the weapons.. Umm... I'm not trying to start any trouble, but seriously, this is a video game. Let's not lose track of that point. It really should only be So realistic, after all. Medal of Honor is somewhat unrealistic as to the weapon effects (though the guns are historically accurate) but it was very well regarded and incredibly popular to this day... So you get my point. Playing a video game can only feel so similar to reality. And unless you've been workin for Uncle Sam, I'm pretty sure that none of us have ever pulled the trigger on a human target.

All in all - this is what it is - all sniping, all the time. Slow, methodical, but unpredictable. It could use a little more high-ground action, but maybe that comes in the later rounds. One shot one kill. I love it. I'm looking forward to playing again when I get home from work...

Sniper Elite Has What it Takes

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: April 11, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I think a review is subjective so, if you don't like shooters or war themed games then don't bother to read further.

I purchased Sniper Elite because a game junky who understands my penchant for shooters said it was easily worth the money. He was dead on.

The premise is that it is the end of WWII. The Russians are taking their first steps toward the atomic age and as a member of the OSS it is your job to infiltrate, whack the baddies or destroy equipment and exfiltrate.

I played this game all the way through alone and in two-player mode with my son, who at 11 is a better shot than me darn it. I actually liked two-player better because you really get a team feel. Multiple shooting points can really help in some missions.

The last thing to mention is the shooting itself. Through the game you progress through three rifles, each better than the last. You have to account for gravity, wind, rain and AI. It can take more than 1 shot if placement isn't good, but there is a great feature we refer to as "bullet cam". Spectacular shots change the point of view to that of the bullet. You follow trajectory all the way to the target and watch the bone smashing damage, followed by a heads-up message indicating the type of shot and the distance. It really makes you competitive and awards "Points of Fame".

In short:
AI - decent to spectacular depending on the difficulty level
Graphics - pretty good (remember this is xbox/PS2)
Storyline - Fair enough to support the missions.
Controls - Easy and make pretty good sense
"The Shot" - Most fun shooter I've played.

Only negative I found was that on XBox there are verbal communiques that come across as high pitched static screeches. I'm not sure what the dialogue is supposed to be, but I learned pretty quickly to drop and break out the binoculars :)

If you like shooters and/or war games you've paid for worse. I can only say this is the only game I ever played start to finish and re-played immediately at the next level.

Sadistically unfair...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 12 / 21
Date: December 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I don't think any of the previous reviewers have played the whole game through, not on the Xbox, at least, because otherwise they'd be saying what I'm going to say right now: it's impossible to get past the third mission on this game because the difficulty level ramps up to the stratosphere.

I swear, I feel like ripping the disc out of my Xbox and snapping it in two with my teeth, that's how absurdly difficult it is to complete the "cathedral level" on this game.

This part of the mission consists of covering an OSS agent as he exits a building, while Kraut grunts come at him from all sides with submachine guns blazing away.

The problem is the cruelly impossible area of coverage you have to keep clear while the agent waits for his ride out to show up - soldiers come from the left, the right, down the middle - and occasionally there'll be another sniper on the roof of the next building taking potshots at you - you could end up being fired at from 3 different angles at the same time, so how can you defened yourself (AND the agent down below)? How can you shoot in three different directions AT THE SAME TIME while ALSO protecting another person?

There are just so many incidents and little events in this level that are beyond your control, it's literally IMPOSSIBLE to get past this leve. I've never experienced anything like this in two decades of gaming.

Also, there's no difference in Difficulty Level settings - set your game on "Rookie" or set it on "Marksman," it doesn't matter - enemy soldiers are still as smart & as accurate - what the Hell's up with THAT?

For me, this mind-boggingly dramatic increase in "difficulty" from one level to the next kills all the other fun I was having with this up to this point. Because it's impossible to keep playing now - for some reason, the socially awkward geeks who developed this game have made it titanically impossible to get past this one level - is it some kind of practical joke? Are they sitting in their eternally female-less apartments or offices sniggering away with malicious glee, thinking, "Wait till they get to the cathedral level - yuck, yuck, yuck, the joke's on them! Ha ha!" and they'll think it's so funny they'll laugh as they sip their apple juice and it'll come out their noses and all over their Star Wars or Star Trek T-shirts, boo hoo hoo.

If you like saying the "F word" a hundred times a day and hurling your controller across the room until it smashes into a thousand ant-sized bits, then go ahead and get this game; if you've never felt like biting the head off a live chihuahua before, you will after you play Sniper Elite.

Good but needs some refinement

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: May 21, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is a blast. I won't go into everything I like about the game as it has been mentioned at length in other reviews. There are a few points that need some attention and one of them really detracts from the game.

Graphics are solid but not as good as I'd hoped.

Multiplayer campaign is much appreciated, but I hate the fact that you have to stick SO close to your partner. I got stuck and killed a number of times because of this. In future installments, they really should get rid of this.

The one thing that REALLY bothered me about this game was the "realism." It would be great if it really was realistic, and I'm surprised I haven't seen others comment on this. Lets talk about bullet drop folks....

Bullet drop is something that any sniper has to deal with. But most of the sniper rounds in WWII fired a .308 or larger round. So what you say? Sit tight... About the longest shot you will make in this game is 200 yards, MAYBE 240. I can tell you after many years of shooting in real life that at 200 yards bullet drop will be negligible with those types of rounds. But in the game you have to target so high above their heads to account for the drop that its just comical. 200 yards would BARELY change your point of aim. 500-1000 yards, then you are talking some more drastic adjustment, but 200 yards or less--no way. As I said, if it really were more realistic this would be a cool feature. But they made the bullet drop 10 times worse than it is in real life and that really annoyed me.

The Invisible Shot

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: August 02, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Sniper Elite for the Xbox is a third-person tactical simulation. This is not an arcade shooter like "Halo", where you can go in with guns blazing, nor are you equipped with an absurd weapons payload or body shield. Getting hit by a few shots will certainly kill you. Sniper Elite tries to simulate the actions of a sniper in the WWII era and does an amazing job! Your primary weapon is a sniper rifle, your secondary weapon is a silenced pistol, a few hand grenades, trip wires, rocks and few bandages to heal your wounds. Stealth and patience is very important in this game, you must avoid being seen or heard by enemies. If the enemies hear something suspicious they will investigate the sound and search the area, if the enemy sees you, they will come in groups and try to flank you or flush you out with heavy gunfire and even toss a grenade at you.

The physics of the game are kind of realistic and take many factors into consideration which affect your aiming and probabilty of getting an accurate shot. You have to be aware of wind, gravity (bullet drop), weather conditions and your character's own heart beat. Most of the the times you you will be crawling on the ground in the prone position, but your character has the ability to crouch, run and walk. The levels are very open (free-form) and allow you to improvise to create a plan of attack. Most of your shots are a one shot kill if you hit your targets in critical areas of the body; anywhere on the head, neck and torso- one shot will bring instant death to the enemy and cause the camera to switch to a slow-mo bullet cam as it follows it's path and hit the target with gruesome detail.
You will see a spurts of blood, pieces of brain splatter and even a bit of flesh chipped off! Because of the blood and gore, this game is for adults only; not for children.

You also have the ability to search enemy dead bodies to aquire weapons or ammunition, you can then pick up dead bodies and move them to another location to hide them. If you leave a dead body in plain view, the enemy patrols might spot it and go on alert level. You can make a sniper's nest by setting a trip wire to close your area off or even toss a piece of rock to distract the enemy, while you shoot them in the back or sprint to a new location. My only complaint about this game is that the graphics are rather grainny and blocky, which in effect makes it look like a first generation game. But my overall experience of Sniper Elite, is excellent and really hope they bring a sequel!

Pros:
+open ended levels
+excellent controls
+excellent sound effects
+excellent A.I.
+excellent music
+excellent weaponry
+excellent stealth strategies
+realistic physics
+blood and gore
+bullet camera
+search dead bodies
+multiplayer/xbox live

Cons:
-weak graphics
-a few linear levels

Amazing stategic fun!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: December 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've had an amazing time playing this game. I've played the game through once and am working on my second time.

As stated in other reviews, this is not a halo style, run through and shoot everything in your path. You have to plan almost every move in advance. Plan your shot. Play your escape. In my opinion, if you like Splinter Cell style games and enjoy seeing a guys head explode with a well placed shot, this is the game for you.

The graphics on XBox arent the best...probably a 7 out of 10. But every other aspect of the game totally makes up of it. The enemy's AI is really good. If you make too much noise, or take a shot and hang out for too long, some lone Russian will sneak up on you and frag you from behind. So you have to keep on the move...but silently.

One reviewer (Sadistically unfair...) tries to say that this game is impossible. Suposedly this guy has been gaming for 20 years, and cant get past level 3. My guess is this guy is a Doom, Quake, Halo style player. No patience, no strategy, no skills.

This game is tough, but totally playable. Its one of my top 5 favorite games ever!

Great Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: December 23, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Patience is the key word here, if you don't have it this game is probably not for you. You can do a bit of running and gunning but that is not what this game is about. Take your time, set up the shot, know your exits, and cover your exits then take the shot and reap the reward. You will have to make snap shots at times but nothing is better than one shot one kill. Well, that and having a trip wire grenade take out a would be stalker. Yes I have played it through all of the way. Sound is good and yes use it to hear people coming up steps etc. Graphics are average but they do get the job done. I hope to see a sequel on the 360 in the future.

Great Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: April 20, 2006
Author: Amazon User

First off, That Diego Braz guy that has written a review for this game on this site is an idiot or just really bad. This game is awesome. Most of the people have done a good job reviewing, so I'll try not drag this review out, and just give you the + and -.

+ The great parts of the game are, the slo-mo bullet cam, the realism, and the nonlinear gaming. In the game, you pick your own way of getting the mission done. You are your own general. The game incorporates, wind speed, gravity, heart rate, stance, visibility, and stealth. The difficulties turn these off or on. This game is an awesome stealth game and it's just really fun to play.

- You can carry an amazing amount of gear. (1 rifle 200 rnds, 1 smg 150 rnds, 1 panzer 3 rnds, 1 pistol 50 rnds, 14 grenades, 4 medkits, 4 bandages, 4 tripwire grenades, 8 tnt, binocs, and rocks) I am probably missing some things but you get the point. The other bad thing, is enemies with SMG's can shoot you from 200 yards away and spot you from 100 yrds. Oh well, that adds to the difficulty. The last thing is the whole idea that 1 sniper, can take out the whole Russian NKVD. I still love the game anyways.

So now you know. Try to beat these records that I have set.

Longest Shot - 230 yrds
Longest HS - 230 yrds

Have fun with this game!

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