Sniper: Ghost Warrior (SGW) is a game that seems to have a little bit of a few different games thrown into one. The release of this game was anticipated with skeptical but hopeful cynicism. Maybe it could be a sleeper game that could at least bring a decent game to the forefront for PC. As with the other games I reviewed, we will go through the game to see if it’s on par with other decent shooters, or if it will fall flat like so many other First Person Shooters to come and go.
We will start first with the positives for this title. The visuals provide the lush jungles with pretty good details. Shadows seem to be well done according to the lighting source. The jungles provide a certain amount of cover (you think…) that the enemy does not seem to be able to see through. The water effects are good enough, and you will have a blurred vision if you happen to look under and then out of the water.
Another positive for SGW is the usage of the bullet cam system and sniping itself. This system is definitely made quite well, in the effect that you can utilize your sniping skills to pull off a perfect shot. The bullet cam system will follow your bullet while it travels and show you the kill when it reaches its destination. Sniping on its own in this game seems to be difficult enough that it will take some time to get used to, and will make the bullet cam system to feel that much more worthwhile in the end. Pulse rate, combat stance (crouching, standing, prone), zoom, and the focus will have a great affect on your kill shot on the enemy. The cross-hair is a bit useless because the game utilizes a hollow dot that will show you TRUE travel of the bullet for it to hit its mark. The cross-hair is a nuisance as it will get in your way and will have an affect on your red dot positioning. On a positive note, if you can pull of the perfect head-shot, the bullet cam system will definitely provide you with a sense of accomplishment.
Another feature to aid you in sniping is the “focus” feature to help you line up the red-dot system. The focus feature will help you slow things down to somewhat of a crawl, which helps in lining up the shot and hopefully getting the bullet-cam system to show its fine self. Here is a quick video of the focus feature below:
There used to be an embeded media player here, but it doesn't work anymore. We blame the Tumbeasts.
Unfortunately, the nice features of this game cannot save it from total disaster of both enemy AI and friendly AI. The enemy AI can see right through EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING! The game has a bar on the bottom of the screen that when filled completely RED all hell is going to break loose on you! Now this is a great feature because it gives you the opportunity to catch whether or not your being seen. The bad thing is that you’re being seen THROUGH everything! Honestly, the foliage does NOTHING for cover, and if it does, it does not last long. If I am supposed to be a sniper, and I am that good, why in the world can they all see me from a distance of over 100m! The enemy AI lock onto your character so fast that soon enough all the enemies lock on to you and it’s pretty much over!
Lets not forget the friendly AI and the fact that they just stand around not doing much at all! While playing the game, my friendly AI was supposed to help me out, but instead they stood behind and just stood there…waiting…and waiting…and waiting… I was able to move about the rest of the level alone, which is fine, but then what is the point of having them around? It does not help that they do nothing while I am being attacked from every angle because the enemies can see through almost everything.
The above picture is of the enemy being able to shoot me from a vantage point I cannot see, but I am also behind cover and they are still doing damage to me! The point is that they needed to do more with the mechanics of cover, enemy AI/Movement is bad, and the movement of your character while running is worse. It almost feels like your gliding over the terrain rather than actually running, walking, or crawling. The obstacles in your way while moving (trees, fences, rocks, etc.) are also hard to get by. The world is supposed to be open, but the fact that I cant go from water onto rocks to try and get by is quite…ridiculous. Here is a pic of me trying to get over a gate which took FOREVER!
Lets get started on the registration for this game. By registration I mean – bullet registration which is the path of the bullet to the target and whether or not the code itself can register the fact that my bullets are HITTING the target and should register for damage. I have a short clip of just one instance (and boy are their MANY) where my shots are on point, I am not spraying the gun, and NOTHING registered? Seriously? Just…wow.
On a positive note, which I know many of you are thinking I am trashing the game, there is a silver lining in the bullet cam system. Even though I feel in my opinion that the bullet cam system is similar to “Max Payne,” it does give you a sense of freshness the way they implemented it into the game. I have to say this system works, and it makes you feel a sense of accomplishment during the campaign to be able to get a perfect shot off. Here is a short clip of the red dot, focus, and bullet cam features in the game!
There used to be an embeded media player here, but it doesn't work anymore. We blame the Tumbeasts.
Overall, the game has some positive points, but the negative ones pretty much negate the positive. The game itself tried to find a niche in the sniping genre of FPS. Many PC gamers love to snipe, I definitely do. I had hopes this game would be able to bring a new take as a sniper, especially in the lush jungles of the amazon. Unfortunately, its take was riddled with bad mechanics on movement, stealth, enemy/friendly AI, and shot registration. The positives would definitely be focus with red dot, bullet cam system, and overall decent graphics/visuals that bring a nice feel to the game. At the time I was playing this game it was around $30. I would have to say that, in my humble opinion, it would have been a nice $20 game. The $30 is pushing a little, but definitely a lot better than the costs of current games in the $50-$60 range. If your looking for a different kind of game, with a decent story, and some decent action, this is right up your alley. Otherwise, I would say if this game happens to go on sale at the Steam store, pick it up and try it. If not, save your money for a game that had a great review…like Transformers: War for Cybertron, or Battlfield: Bad Company 2!
Happy Fraggin’
-r3c0iL
