Just call me the testi-killer

The Sniper Elite series really hit gold with its X-ray kills. Being a sniper is satisfying and all, but killing Nazis at a distance just lacks intimacy. With the "X-Ray" cam, you get that up-close and personal touch, and watching your shot tear through the innards of Germany’s footsoldiers is just gravy. I remember how cool it was to shoot the hats off of enemies in Goldeneye for the N64, but look at how far we’ve come with Sniper Elite 5!

W?ho would have guessed the series would have such legs, though? Or that Karl Fairburne would get around so much. Africa, Italy, France, Berlin? Wha?t’s next? Did he have a stint sniping on Iwo Jima scarce months before the Battle of Berlin?

Sniper Elite 5 (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Rebellion
Publisher: Rebellion
Released: May 26, 2022
MSRP: $59.99

Sniper Elite 5 follows the continued exploits of one of the most boring ?protagonists in gaming: Karl Fairburne. Th?e most interesting fact about him is that he was German-born, but it’s a bit foggy. Everything else is “not much is known about him.�He also has an American accent and eats apple pie, so there’s no real moral conflict here. Not that there should be. Nazis are bad.

Speaking of which, this time he is in France around the time of the Normandy invasion. He hits the beach first to sabotage some stuff, then gallivants around with the French Resistance getting in Nazi business. Their business in this case is a super-weapon, try to act surp?rised.

What I’m saying is the story is absolute garbage. It’s not only staggeringly trite, it fumbles over itself. I really want to spoil the ending because of how daft the climax is, but I won’t ruin anything. What annoys me is that Sniper Elite 5 sometimes shows some awareness of its wackier side, but does nothing with it. Give me something to stop that would actually turn the tides of the war in 1944, like an orb??ital laser or something. Just enough with the V2 rockets.

[embed]//youtu.be/-QpmtRbH33I[/embed]

Guten Tag, Fritz

The narrative is maybe not all that important, but it’s one of a few areas where the Sniper Elite series has room for improvement. Much of everything else is the same. Once again, you get plopped down in little sandboxes, and it’s up to you to f??igure out how best to accomplish your obje??ctives.

I’ll be honest, the first few missions left me feeling cold on Sniper Elite 5, but that warmed over time. I appreciate how adaptable it is. If I wanted to, I could find a covert route into the Nazi installation, or I could just feed them all a high-caliber breakfast from a safe distance before moving in and spreading the love to their countrymen. I did a bit of both, honestly. There were missions where I was only glimpsed by the enemy. Then there were enemies where I crisscrossed the map between hiding spots and took out every fancy uniform on the map. Then there were times when I blew everything up and shot anything that moved, and Sniper Elite 5 was all right with it.

You have to be smart about it if you want to climb a mountain of Nazi carcasses. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and Karl isn’t that great at close range. He mostly loads his SMG with Nerf because the Nazis seem? to be minorly inconvenienced when you hit them. It works better if you hit them in the face, because f?aces are fragile creatures, but sometimes you don’t have the luxury to take careful aim. I usually just sprinted into an aggressor and stabbed them, but later enemies get the ability to fight back. That's no fun.

Auf Wiedersehen, Hans

Objectives also give you some variety. Ty??pically you can go loud or make it look like an accident. Even if you take the raucous approach, you can switch back to stealth. Nazis are not only quick to forget but also only conce??rned with things that happen in their immediate proximity. I once dropped a pallet of explosives on a construction site, then immediately walked by a pair of guards talking about how uneasy they felt with the explosives there. It doesn’t hurt anything aside from immersion, but when you’re watching Nazi skulls cave in from 300 meters away, it’s not the most absorbing to begin with.

For that matter, you can fine-tune the difficulty to your heart’s content. There are lots of mechanics that can be tweaked to your tastes, allowing you to turn Sniper Elite 5 more into an arcade shooter or a simulator. ?Not that it’s ever truly realistic, but certain assists can be t?oggled.

You can also disable the new Axis invasion feature, which is probably going to be very hit and miss for people. It’s a bit like the invasion system from Demon’s Souls. Some jerk from across the internet drops in to make things harder fo??r you.

Adversarial sniping sounds like a fun time, but if you’re trying to be stealthy, it can be a bit of a pain. W?hen another player shows up, you don’t have a lot of time to switch over to sub-sonic rounds or wait until you can mask the sound of your shots, so the chances of you blowing your cover are high.

It provides the potential for tense showdowns, but that’s ?not guaranteed. Usually, a player would show up immediately after I made a mistake and alerted every Nazi in the country to my position. So this Axis invader would just get to watch me embarrass myself. I eventually toggled it off, since I just wanted to frustrate the enemy without it suddenly turning into a deathmatch.

Schnitzelbrötchen, Jerry

There’s also the option for Co-op in the main campaign, which is always a nice addition, even if it doesn’t really feel like Sniper Elite 5 was built for it. Then there’s survival returning from Sniper Elite 4; another?? decent distraction. Additional repl??ay value can be found in scouring levels for collectibles, mission start points, and upgrades for your weapons.

My biggest issue remains that Sniper Elite 5 isn’t a very noteworthy improvement over Sniper Elite 4. Killing Nazis is always a lot of fun, but buying what feels like the same experience repeatedly isn’t. The Sniper Elite formula is? fun, but it is absolutely not evergreen and it’s starting to?? brown.

If you’re wondering if it’s worth picking up, I guess I’d say that it probably is. If you’ve never played a Sniper Elite game before, Sniper Elite 5 is as good as any to jump in with. You don’t need previous experience to understand what’s going on. If you’ve played every g??ame in the series, then you know if you’re going to like this one. However, if you bounced off the previous titles, this one absolutely isn’t going to change your mind. Not in the same way a bullet to a Nazi's cerebral cortex does.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Sniper Elite 5 appeared first on Destructoid.

Put this one in your scope

In today's contest you can win a Switch copy of Sniper Elite 4!

Switches be portin'! Or ports be Switchin'! One of those two. What I'm trying to say is the Switch gets a lot of cool ports, including today's faire: Sniper Elite 4. So, you know what that means: Contest time! Win yourself a copy of this porta??ble port and snipe those smelly Nazis from the toilet.

It's still the 1940s, and there's still plenty of Nazis to be sniped. The acclaimed tactical shooting franchise takes the war to ?Italy, where the Axis powers are trying to conduct their wartime strategy. Sucks for them -- you'r?e an elite sniper, and you're probably gonna kill most of them. Snipe your way through Italia and give the Allies the boost they need to knock out ol' shitstache, himself.

• An expansive campaign set in WW2 Italy
• Genre-defining sniping featuring advanced ballistics and boundless strategy
• Trademark X-Ray kill cams, including melee and explosive takedowns
• Iconic WW2 weaponry; sniper rifles, pistols, SMGs, traps, grenades and more
• Upgrade and customize your skills and weaponry as you progress
• Tactical traversal mechanics; climb, hang, shimmy and leap across maps
• Co-op and multiplayer modes across local wireless and online play

Shoot Nazis on the toilet. Need I say more?

To enter to win, comment below telling us your favorite Switch game to play on the john. If you want to pretend you've never done that, you can substitute for favorite Switch game to play while not in front of your TV. But let's be honest, folks -- we've all marked our consoles. Buyer beware to anyone who buys one us?ed!

We have five Switch NA copies to give away; we'll draw winners next Monday. Please comment using a Dtoid account with your current email address on file -- new users can sign up here. Be sure to check out Nintendo Enthusiast to score on another opportunity to win!

Sniper Elite 4 is available now via the eShop.

The post Contest: Win Sniper Elite 4 for Switch appeared first on Destructoid.

The Glimmer Man

This month, stealth 'n' snipe adventure Sniper Elite 4 will arrive ??on Switch, marking the series official debut on the Nintendo platform. Developer Rebellion h?as released a new trailer, giving wannabe sharpshooters their first decent look at the Switch version in action.

It's referred to as a "gameplay trailer," but aside from the opening 10 seconds is still a little too "quick-cut" to really get a feel for how the Switch will handle the third-person adventure. We do get to see our man in Italy, taking down the Nazi regime one bullet at a time, as expertly demonstrated through Sniper Elite's gloriously gory X-ray kill cam.

The video also espouses some of the features incorporated into the Switch port, including gyroscopic aiming, HD Rumble support, character customization, and loc?al multiplayer mo??des for up to four perfect shooters. Let's hope you don't get me on your squad, decades of coffee have left my hands about as steady as a rock grinder.

Sniper Elite 4 launches November 17 on Nintendo Switch. Pre-ordering via the e??Shop will bag ??you a 15% price discount.

The post Sniper Elite 4 revea??ls sharpshooting Switch gameplay appeared first on Destructoid.

Hold your breath

Rebellion's award-winning shooter sequel Sniper Elite 4 has finally been given a rele??ase date for its long-awaited Switch port. The stealth-based shooter will launch on the Nintendo platform on November 17.

Available in both digital and physical form, Sniper Elite 4 puts players in the uber-patient boots of a highly skilled marksman, stationed in Nazi-occupied Italy during the thick of WWII. Through a se??ries of sabotage, stealth, and assassination missions, it will be our hero's duty ??to turn the tide of the war, one bullet at a time.

The Nintendo Switch edition includes the story campaign of the PS4, PC, and Xbox One release - complete with its advanced sniper mechanics, authentic WWII weaponry, and notorious X-ray killcams - but will also add options for gyroscopic aiming, HD Rumble support, and local wireless connectio?n for co-op and other multiplayer modes.

You can check out a new trailer for the Nintendo Switch r?elease b??elow.

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Sniper Elite to be division's first adaptation

British developer Rebellion, known for titles such as Sniper Elite, Strange Brigade and the Zombie Army series, has announce?d an exciting new board game division, Rebellion Unplugged.

Headed up by Duncan Molloy, (formerly of Osprey Games), Rebellion Unplugged will produce tabletop games and other collectible items based on its range of IPs. Several titles are already in pre-production with the first announced game being Sniper Elite: The Board Game. The tabletop take on the stealthy shooter will be unveiled at PAX in December, with a crowdfunding campa??ign to begin in early 2020.

"We're absolutely delighted to be launching Rebell??ion Unplugged," said Rebellion founder Jason Kingsley OBE. "My brother Chris and I have been making video games for more than 25 years, and our love of the medium has its roots in our childhood love of board games. We've got so many great games and comic book heroes and universes to draw from too, so it's going to be a lot of fun."

Given that Rebellion own the 2000 A.D. trademark, I'd personally live to see games based on strips from that particular property, such as Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, or perhaps even A.B.C. Warriors. More games are expected to be revealed next year.

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Because those are mutally exclusive

At long last, Sony has delivered a solid month for PlayStation Plus subscribers. After last month's kerfuffle with removing PES 2019 for the "classic" that is Detroit: Become Human, there really isn't much reason to complain about August's options. Both Sniper Elite 4 and Wipeout Omega Collection are worth? playing and should occu?py even the most discerning of players.

While I don't see the common thread here, you're bound to get some fun out of either title. The current selection will be removed after August 5, so you still have another week to grab last month's options. I'd say don't miss out on Detroit, but I don't want to lie to anyone.

Domina?te the racetrack or decimate the enemy with August's li?neup [PlayStation Blog]

The post August’s PS Plus selection sees Nazi sniping and futuristic racing appeared first on Destructoid.

Local co-op and gryo aiming included

After months of waiting, Rebellion has finally confirmed when Sniper Elite 3 will be heading to Switch. Coming October 1, 2019, the action shooter will be released as the "Ultimat??e Edition" containing all of ?the DLC from the previous versions. You'll be able to pick it up from the eShop or as a physical version when it becomes available.

As for Switch specific features, Sniper Elite 3 will have gyroscope aiming for fine-tuning of your guns, Pro Controller support (if you'd prefer a larger gamepad) and local ad-hoc mult?iplayer support. This comes in addition to the online features, but local wireless play for up to four systems will allow you to experience the co-op campaign (which is a two-player affair) or a smaller-scale version?? of the competitive multiplayer modes without subscribing to Nintendo Switch Online.

Digital pre-orders for Sniper Elite 3 will begin on September 17, 2019. The game will retail for $39.99? USD when i??t comes out.

The post Sniper Eli??te 3 Ultimate Edition shoots over to Switch this October appeared first on Destructoid.

The dead keep rising

I'm not exactly well-versed in the Sniper Elite games, but I am familiar with the Nazi Zombie Army spin-off. Taking a lot of cues from Valve's Left 4 Dead, this diversion from sniping living Nazi soldiers added a more focused campaign to the proceedings while allowing players to team up and shoot some ??undead. They were fine enough, but never really showstoppers in their own right.

The two available titles received a dramatic overhaul in Zombie Army Trilogy, which capped off the series nearly four years ago. With that chapter of Sniper Elite closed, it didn't seem likely that a new sequel would be in the works. I suppose now is the time to strike again, as Rebellion announced shortly before E3 that Zombie Army 4 would be taking us? back to WWII?? to fight undead Hitler and his regime.

While not a huge evolution over what has previously been available, I do have to admit that Zombie Army 4 is a pretty good time.

Without much in the way of story explanation, I was given the reins of a PC to try out this new slice of Nazi zombie slaying. Much like the previous entries, Zombie Army 4 allows you to select one of four characters that represent different classes. I went with the overall basic, machine-gun-focused guy since I didn't wan??t to ?think too much about anything.

You can customize all manner of items from your clothing, to your guns, and even your perks. I get the feeling that Zombie Army 4 is a little loose on the definition of class since it appears as if you can tweak the various attributes to your liking. My guy, for instance, had a perk that would allow him to revive himself when downed by scoring a ??kill. That perk could be applied to whichever character, so it wasn't specific to my generic grunt man.

The various guns are more just playstyle choices than anything too intense. In intense situations, I don't like dealing with bolt-action rifles, so I opted for a semi-automatic one to ease my mind a bit. I also have a penchant for the StG 44, so I took that as my assault rifle for when the hordes got thick. The class screen isn't unlike something you'd find in Call of Duty multiplayer, just that it has a ??WWII tinge to it.

From there, a cutscene played that set up the story for this new installment. The dialogue and acting weren't bad, but I really wanted to see how everything played more than figure out why I was playing it. After skipping it, I started off in a small encampment that was getting overrun by zombies. Controlling just like any other third-person shooter, Zombie Army 4 felt pretty good. There is a certain heft to your character that makes turning feel sluggish, but it also grounds you in the wor??ld Rebellion has created.

Your character will have special moves available to them, which is where the class selection really comes into play. My character had a basic shovel bash attack that could take out a whole group if he got surrounde??d, but it was set to a cooldown to reduce spamming. Along with that, he had a power-up that would add electricity to his shots and even chain across enemies to thin out groups with ease. These are all mechanics that don't reinvent the wheel, but at least give you a reason to think more tactically in combat. You can set up scenarios where you run to an ammo box but do so to allow zombies to crowd near you. Rip out that special melee and you're good to go.

After fending off a few waves, the game proceeded through some railyards and a small town. It all felt appropriately WWII, looking almost as if it was in Italy. The setting won't wow you with how original it is, but that also isn't the point. Zombie Army 4 is a refinemen??t of what came before and a continuation fo?r fans who want another taste of Rebellion's unique brand of shooting.

While not as realistic as Sniper Elite, the general act of pointing a gun and shooting it feels weighty in Zombie Army 4. When I first took out my sniper, I missed my shot because I wasn't prepared for how heavy the rifle would feel. You won't need to account for wind, but you also can't expect to be zipping around from target to target like nothing. About the only weapon that does allow that is a pistol due ??to its small size.

It's certainly different from what Valve started all those years ago, if a bit derivative. Still, in the absence of a new Left 4 Dead and with World War Z showing that people are craving this type of experience, Zombie Army 4 is primed to take the zombie market by storm. Zombies have never fully gone out of style and with comparatively few ex??periences available, Rebellion could have released anything and gotten away with it.

Thankfully, that isn't the case. As I said, I'm not blown away by what I played, but Zombie Army 4 is pretty good. It doesn't revolutionize shooting or zombies, but it gives you what you'd expect and does it with more polish than before. It has full co-op support, includes a full-length campaign, and allows you t??o shoot zombie Hitler. I'm not sure what else you really need to have a good time.

The post It may be derivative, but Zombie Army 4 is a good t?ime appeared first on Destructoid.

Silent Scope

I'm not exactly? well versed in the world o??f VR gaming. While I think the technology is cool and all, I feel it has more value in academics than gaming. You can certainly make interesting games around the technology, but there hasn't been much that sticks out to me. I like first-person shooters, and there are a ton of first-person VR games, but they are almost always compromised by the limitations of VR headsets, usually playing dramatically slower than what you can play on a standard system.

Having heard nothing about Sniper Elite VR, I wasn't sure what to expect. I figured this would be akin to something like Hitman: Sniper Assassin, where you're perched in one spot and taking shots at targets from far away. While that gameplay does feature a little, imagine my surprise when I discovered that this is a full-on FPS like the rest of the series. No teleporting around, no downgraded arenas to compensate for limited movement, no stationary segments that feel like glorified shooting galleries. Somehow, Sniper Elite VR is a fully featured FPS in VR form.

The E3 demo I played was a relatively short slice of what the final campaign will be. In a mission that took roughly five minutes to complete, I was tasked with storming a village and clearing it of Nazis before my troop could proceed forward. I'm not sure where this takes place in the Sniper Elite canon, but it seems World War II is still raging on an??d you're all but ready to ?shoot more Nazi scum.

For this specific demo, I was playing the PlayStation VR version of the game using the PSVR Aim controller. Since that device has two joystic?ks like a regular gamepad, I was allowed the option for free movement and aiming. It works exactly like any other FPS title, so you're able to roam around, sprinting with the left stick while the right stick helps you turn. You could get fully immersed with the VR helmet, but I decided to utilize it more for slight adjustments, instead of full body movement.

It's surprising how intuitive Sniper Elite VR felt, especially since I have next to no experience with VR games. Other than missing some button presses on the completely foreign ?controller, I was looking through the sniper scope with little practice and picking off guys from far away.

There are a few concessions given to the player to help acclimatize to this new environment. By holding one of the triggers on the Aim controller, you'll enter a slow-motion state that lets you line-up your shots without fear of taking too much enemy fire. Once you become accustomed to how Sniper Elite VR feels, you'll rarely need it. Still, for my fir?st run through the demo, I was makin?g liberal use of this function and picking off foes like a pro.

The other comes in the form of difficulty options. On any setting lower than "Sniper Elite", you don't have to worry about distance or wind direction/intensity. While that sort of destroys the whole point of what Sniper Elite is about, it does at least let you familiarize yoursel?f with the VR mechanics while practicing the art of pointing and shooting. I honestly?? don't believe you'll need much practice, though, because the game feels very natural.

Once you're closer to foes, you're able to swap weapons to a close range machine gun, but it felt much less accurate. That's probably more because I was afraid to move too much than anything to do with the VR sensor. I had no idea where I was in relation to the TV set, so I really didn't want to pu??nch over the unit and leave with a very expensive broken display. Regardle??ss of my spatial fear, using the machine guns feel just as natural as the sniper rifle. You move the iron sights up to your face to aim and the extra depth provided by VR makes judging distance easy to understand..

It's truly outstanding how well something like a shooter translates to VR. Since everything in?? the environment now has an appropriate sense of scale and depth, making split-second shots without having to fumble with sometimes complicated control schemes keeps the action moving at a brisk pace. You don't need to remember to hold L2, then tweak your reticle with the right stick, but simply point and shoot as if holding a real w??eapon. You're also easily able to better gauge distance when the world is in 3D, instead of being filtered through a traditional display.

That all came together for me when I ran through "Sniper Elite" difficulty mode. My practice with the easier option had benefited me greatly, as I was now lifting the gun and making shots within seconds. Having to compensate for wind was challenging, but a meter underneath your scope keeps the HUD concise and focused. That clarity is appreciated, especially when the screen in VR ??is massive.

The only thing I wasn't able to test is how the game would play with standard PlayStation VR controls. A teleport option does exist for people that would prefer it, but you can also opt to use the regular DualShock 4 if you want to retain that free movement. I don't think I could go back to teleporting around, because having that freedom to play like a standard FPS transforms Sniper Elite VR from being a cheap cash-in to a fully featured exp?erience. I truly can't believe how much I enjoyed this, especially since I'm very cynical about the future of VR gaming.

While I'm still not quite sold on getting VR, Sniper Elite VR makes a very compelling case for investing in a unit. I might personally opt for the PC version of the game (which will be coming to both Oculus and Vive), but Sony's Aim controller really does complete the illusion of being a WWII sniper. Currently, there is no planned release date, but this will be one t??o keep you?r eyes on.

The post Sniper Elite VR may ju??st convince me to get a VR headset appeared first on Destructoid.

One Shot. One Kill. Lots of Cables.

Rebellion has unveiled a new VR experience based on their popular sharpshooting series Sniper Elite, fully immersing the player in the tense, pulse-quickening w??orld of?? long-distance assassination.

Sniper Elite VR, which is a prequel to canon entry Sniper Elite 4, will hand players the scope of a fighter in the Italian resistance, on a?? mission to sabotage Nazi U-boats in the sunny bays of Sicily??. Moving through enemy-controlled territory, players will have to be fast and accurate to take out patrolling soldiers, utilising an arsenal of authentic WWII weapons to best fit the given situation.

Sniper Elite VR is in development for PlayStation VR, Ocul??us Rift, Vive and SteamVR.

The post Get your virtual scope on in Rebellion’s Sniper Elite VR appeared first on Destructoid.

Tom Berenger is stoked

Developer Rebellion has dropped a launch trailer for Sniper Elite V2 Remastered,?? which launches today digitally on PC and console formats, with a physical release to follow later in the week.

Originally released in 2012 for PS3, PC and Xbox 360, before later being ported to the Wii U, Sniper Elite V2 gave players the opportunity to take a break from the lead-spraying shooters crowding the market, offering ??a slower-paced, more tactical, single-shot?? experience. It gained much press coverage for its "X-Ray Kill Cam" which allowed players a grossly-detailed look at the aftermath of their marksmanship.

Those of you who missed Sniper Elite V2 on its first go-around can check out this new remastered edition today. Featuring all of the original release's DLC, along with new playable characters, a photo mode, and glorious 4K visuals, Sniper Elite V2 Remastered looks like it might also be wor?th a double-dip for fans of the original release.

Sniper Elite V2 Remastered is available today, digita??lly, on PS4, PC, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. A physical release will launch later this week on? May 17.

The post Sniper?? Elite V2 Remastered pulls the trigger this w??eek appeared first on Destructoid.

May 14, priced at $35

If looks could really kill, then Sniper Elite V2 Remastered might just put everyone in the grave. What else would you exp??ect from a professional assassin?

Just a few weeks after announcing a remaster of Sniper Elite V2 (and three other Sniper Elite projects), developer Rebellion has already confirmed that a release is imminent. It'll launch on May 14 on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One for $35. However, Steam users who already own the original can upgrade to the remaster for $10; in case you thought you'd game the system, the origin??al version has already been pulled fro??m Steam.

Rebellion promises the remaster will have 4K resol??ution and HDR support. I only mention this so you understand the visual fidelity at which y??ou'll be watching nuts shatter into balldust.

The post Sniper Elite V2’s remaster shoots to kill next month appeared first on Destructoid.