Sniper Elite 4 is the direct sequel to the Sniper Elite 3 game series in which you, as Karl, are in southern Italy fighting the Nazis and trying to stop their new weapon from destroying the allies.
General Gameplay
Sniper Elite 4 is all about putting you into the role of a sniper in a World War 2, 1943 Italy, fighting the Germans. The game is set in 8 different areas in which you play as a sniper and have to achieve objectives to get to your goal. The game is all about living as a sniper taking out targets from a distance with the games iconic x-ray view of how the bullet travels and hits the target.
Audio
From the gunshots to chatter from the other enemy characters, the game has really great sound effects and background music. This is one of those games in which everything sounds period-specific, right down to the vehicles’ engines and the planes that fly by to mask your sniper sound – it’s very well done. The game has some mature language, but not much, and the voice acting is very well done. As it is a mature game, we did not test this game with our younger gaming members, but the sound was well-balanced even for those using headphones. The game supports 5.1 surround sound, and there are setting to adjust the levels of the audio. With our playtest for special needs gaming, none of our older special needs gamers had any issues with the audio whatsoever. With this being said, we ask that parents and guardians please use caution when having gaming members in your family playing the game for a prolonged time with headphones on.
Visuals
Visually speaking, the game is well-detailed down to the insides of building, character models and again the brutal x-ray kills. Sniper Elite is one of those games that is beautiful to watch as well as to play. Everything in the game has very vivid detail to it, and when seeing the action fly from bullets firing away to even character models, the game does a great job of showcasing its visuals. As the game is a mature game, it does have some gruesome death scenes in it, from the x-ray killings from sniper shots to blood and some frantic gunplay. One of the signature features of the game is the x-ray kills; they are very detailed in the human anatomy, and they do show the graphic details of how a bullet goes through an enemy. It is an interesting thing to see how you kill the enemy, but I have to reiterate that the game is not, repeat, not for children what so ever. That being said, for the older, more mature gamers in your gaming family, this may be a game that would be appropriate and enjoyable for them to play. The game may be graphic, but it is a game of strategy, patience and planning. Also, the game does not support a colorblind mode, but it is not necessarily needed as the graphics and colors are well-contrasted to showcase the game’s detail.
Controls
The controls are very easy to get used to. If you have played any of the prior Sniper Elite games you will be at home; if you are just venturing into the Sniper Elite universe, the controls are very easy to learn. The accuracy of the game is also adjustable – how your sniper handles wind, distance, target and other variables can be adjusted to your preferred gaming style. This is where Sniper Elite 4 shines, as it allows you to make the controller as easy to program as you need to play. During our playtesting with our gaming family, we did not see any issues with people that have played the game before but it only took about a half hour for newer players to get used to the controls. As the game was designed to be used around a controller, we did not see any need to have or use any special equipment for the game.
“Sniper Elite 4 takes what was right with Sniper Elite 3 and improved it to make it a better sniping experience.”
Delivery
If you are looking for a great, action game that involves sniping, then look no further; Sniper Elite 4 is your game. It’s just fun to play! The missions are very long (around 2-2 ½ hours long) and there is a lot to do in the game… it’s not just “go out there and kill everything”, but more of a thinking game of how to approach your target. The enemy A.I. can be a little dim at times, but it is smart enough to attack you; again, this is not just a mindless shooter, but one in which you have to think. Also, with side mission within the main mission, a survival mode and multiplayer (due to being a reviewer of the game before it was publicly available, we were not yet able to test the multiplayer portion of the game), you’re getting your money’s worth with Sniper Elite 4.
Family Friendly
We cover a majority of games from independent developers, but from time to time we will cover a “AAA” title, and if the title is a mature-rated game, we will cover it – a family does contain grown-up gamers! Sniper Elite 4 is not for young children but it’s not one of the many mindless shooters that are in the market. The game is well thought-out from its game design to levels, voice over work and range of how long the game is. I am not a big fan of long levels, but this game’s levels went by without even noticing that 2 hours had passed! If you are fan of military shooters, then this is a great game to have. For parents, this is probably a game that you would not want to have a younger gamer play because of the anatomic detail of the bullet’s path. However, before you dismiss the game because of its rating, understand that it is still not as violent as other games in the market! Yes, it does involve shooting and seeing the ballistics of the bullet traveling to its target, but as you progress in the game, you’ll find little violence other than the x-ray kills. As a father I would not allow my 8 year old son to play this game, but as for my 14 year-old daughter, I may allow her to play this as she has already seen much worse in the movies… and this is, believe it or not, milder than many other AAA-title games out there. Again, I want you as the parent/guardian to be the most informed, so I highly recommend that you watch our video review of Sniper Elite 4 and decide for yourself. The mature language is in the game is likely to be less than most R-rated military movies you may have seen. Again, keep an open mind as I agree 100% that this is not for younger children, but for your older teens, for yourself or another mature gamer in your family, this may be a fun title for your game library. We found from our playtest that the story was predictable, but still fun to go through. With at least (to our count) 20+ hours of gameplay and DLC coming out later this year, you do get your money’s worth. Again the game is mature-rated, so download the demo and see for yourself if this would be a good fit for your gaming family. During our playtest with our (adult) special needs gaming family members, no one had any issues with the game or the mature content. We were actually surprised, as one of our family gaming members is scared by blood and gore, and she was able to play the game without any trouble.
Closing
Sniper Elite 4 is a mature game that is great for those who love military shooters, long, planned-out missions, survival mode and multiplayer. Sniper Elite 4 has everything a shooter fan would want.
