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Platform
PC
Genre
Shooter
Publisher
City Interactive
Developer
City Interactive
ESRB
M (Mature)
Released
September 30, 2008
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- Sounds/atmosphere provide
appropriate tension and anxiety
- Ammo supplies were limited, but sufficient
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- Linear level design
- Geometry/collision problems
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Review: Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (PC)
Review: Death to Spies (PC)
Review: The Suffering (PC)
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Sniper:
Art of Victory
Score: 4.5 / 10
I don’t play many first person shooters, so
unlike a multitude of gamers, I haven’t yet had my fill of the numerous
WWII FPS games available. In real life, I am not a fan of guns and
though I have been called very stealthy for my size, when you resemble
the late Chris Farley that is not necessarily too much of a compliment.
I also tend to play a lot of strategy or tactical games. On the surface
then, Sniper: Art of Victory seems like it should be my type of shooter-
playing as Russian sniper would place the focus on stealth and
marksmanship, letting me be someone I am not, while encouraging tactical
rather than run-and-gun gameplay. Sadly, the product lived up to its
bargain price.
Sniper: Art of Victory does have some points in its favour. Trying the
game on the higher difficulty setting proved extremely challenging. Just
like in real life, I couldn’t hit a darn thing. In many shooters, this
is not too much of an issue as ammunition is always plentiful- not so in
Sniper. For a game that seemed to strive for realism,
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this was a nice touch. The ammo shortages
were never as bad as the actual Russian army experienced- another good
thing. So, suitable chastised, I moved down in difficultly and
discovered a very helpful aiming circle which took into account things
like distance and wind speed to show me where my shot would actually
land. Though it wasn’t mentioned, I had the distinct feeling that the
game also toned down these factors, as |
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the circle was never too far from where I thought I would be hitting in
any case.
I was also happy with the German voice work, though not speaking German
it is difficult to say how it would sound to a native speaker. The
English voice over on the other had a distinctively foreign feel to it-
everything was pronounced and enunciated too exactly. Overall however, I
thought the sound design was well done and contributed to an appropriate
feeling of tension during the missions.
In their pursuit of realism, City Interactive also looked into the
details- things such as your breathing affected your aim, making holding
your breath while shooting almost a necessity. The problem was that
while looking at these details, they missed some large problems which
drag down the game.
Foremost among the problems was strange geometry/collision detection. In
many areas, Sniper: Art of Victory felt more like an Unreal 2k4 mod than
a complete game as bullets were unable to pass through barbwire fences
or would get stopped in midair by invisible walls. The character himself
would also get stuck in places where the geometry did not appear that it
should effect his movement. In one case, I actually had to restart as I
moved into a small area [between a tree and a building] which then
proved impossible to escape.
Normally, I am not that concerned about graphics [heck I still play and
enjoy some Intellivision games on occasion], but in a shooter where you
spend this much time lying in or hiding behind vegetation, obvious
planes of plants and grass floating on the sides of hills just don’t cut
it.
There are also some stability problems- though I never had a crash while
playing like some others have reported, I did find that anytime I
attempted to load a save from the fifth mission, the game would freeze
and have to be closed from the task manager.
Finally, I have to mention the level design and enemy AI. Like the game
itself, neither are terrible, but nor are they good. The level design is
very linear which severely limits the player’s tactical options, but at
the same time, it is possible to avoid, rather than kill, some enemies.
Avoiding the enemies was a very hit and miss proposition though as the
AI was a strange beast- once an enemy detected you, they did not lose
sight of you regardless of where you went. The detection itself was not
always explicable either as sometimes the AI enemies seem to be able to
see you through walls, trees, and numerous tufts of that average at best
vegetation, but in other cases, you were able to not only shoot at, but
actually wound foes who remained blissfully unaware of your presence. On
the more positive side, once they did notice you, enemies tended to go
to ground or head for cover and stay there while keeping you covered,
though it might have been nice to see them attempt a flanking manoeuvre
once in a while.
Sniper: Art of Victory is a budget title and as such can be excused for
some superficial failings. Unfortunately, some of its failings are more
than superficial take much of the fun out of the game. I did get a
couple hours of entertainment from the game before the frustrating
collision and the little annoyances [why do I start panting, making it
impossible to aim, after holding my breath for all of two seconds to
fire a shot?] finally overcame the fun. I suspect this might occur even
faster for someone who has played more shooters or trod more often in
the WWII setting. I simply can’t suggest buying this title when, even at
its low price point, spending the money on a movie might provide more
entertainment value.
- Garett Kutcher
(December 31, 2008) |
