[Sniper Ghost Warrior 2] Looks even prettier, game's so-so

[Kasey Chang]

Was playing through Sniper Ghost Warrior 2, no subtitle and no tagline. Just finished Act 1, and it's a true mess allright. It's your typical sneak your way through enemy territory, clear enemies out of a particular area by watching sight lines and eliminate them without raising alarms, then finally, camp a sniper spot and take out enemies as needed. Repeat ad infinitum.

Sending sniper alone is a joke, and so is sending a spotter who's not armed right. in the Sarajevo mission there's your "partner" who's not even armed with an assault rifle (looks like a M-14 Marksman rifle) Then there's the portions where you operate alone. A sniper is NOT used that way! Make your own way up to the OP, yeah right.

Some stealth sections are good, but there's enough of the mission where you basically RUN! And that's like... WTF?!

[Zekester]

Is there actually a good sniper game out there?

[Giles Habibula]

Is there actually a good sniper game out there?

I actually liked the first "Ghost Warrior" quite a lot. Also, "Sniper Elite" and "Sniper Elite V2" are very good sniper games (although I still prefer the original from around 2005 - The original "Sniper Elite" for the PC is probably my favorite sniper game of all time, thus far).

Also deserving of special mention is "My Worst Day WWII", which took up a lot of my time a few years ago. It's an indie game, made by one guy somewhere in Europe. First person viewpoint, and amazingly has a nice ballistics model. It's one very large level with a couple of goals, but I put about 20 hours into it over the course of a couple of weeks, and only cleared half of the roughly 200 enemies the island is poulated with. This game is for the very patient sniper, and I loved it. I keep meaning to play it again. The free demo is very long (I'm not convinced it's not the whole game), but I ponied up and paid the guy anyway, because I thought he deserved it.

But yeah, regarding "Ghost Warrior 2", I'm only a couple of missions into it, and my main problem is how, when you reach a critical sniping set-piece, the game literally locks you into position, so you can't move until the piece is over. Also, there are far too many invisible walls, along with forbidden areas where you get the "You are leaving the mission area", and then you have 5 seconds to get back. Those things are really aggravating, and take away the main aspect of why I love sniper games: The freedom to explore and find your own optimal sniping spot.

Other than that, it's okay so far. It's very pretty, and everything else from the previous game is still there, as far as the mechanics of it. I do plan on finishing it, so I don't think it's terrible.

I actually pre-ordered this many months ago, and started playing as soon as it arrived, but real life has been interfering in all of my gaming lately. I haven't played any game in a long time.

[Kasey Chang]

Yeah, the Crytek 3 engine is REALLY pretty. And this game has good production values. It's your typical traitor, played for a fool, make it right plot, typical of lazily written spy movies, but it works. The final "sniper vs. sniper" showdown is pretty good, though sometimes it feels too much like a ... whack-a-mole. Really needs more environmental kills.

I like sniper games too, and I did make a post or two about the original here. The original, IMHO, tried too hard to do Call of Duty: MW and came off looking like a cheap imitation. It should have stuck to sniping. But it's still quite good. There's a couple that's just, "ha!" I think I reviewed "marine sharpshooter" 1 and 2 a while back, as well as one of those cheap WW2 titles.

I agree that the original sniper elite is probably the best "sandbox sniper" game. Though if you play Sniper Elite 2 in the skirmish mode (i.e. play against AI bots of increasing levels) it's pretty good as you have to run around the level, kill people that pop up and displace after every shot, plant traps behind you to guard your back, and so on. You can't camp a spot forever, how long and where next is up to you.

[Kasey Chang]

Playing Sniper Ghost Warrior 2's DLC: Siberian Strike. Got a section that was really tough... UNTIL I figured out a way to sorta cheat: shoot from UNDER the house. They'll NEVER find you if you're careful. And you can shoot out. And they're completely stymied on where the shots are coming from. Kill everybody this way.

The game really expects you to rack up a body count any way. There's a few sections where it's IMPOSSIBLE to sneak through. There's just too many guards covering too many angles. Once I got close, was moving through grass, when I got the "visible warning". I backed up and stayed still. Turn around... There's a guy looking out the window. I had passed underneath him, and there's no cover after that. I snuck back underneath him and tried to do a stealth kill on him, came at him from the back, except he was covered by a couple guards. Died. Next time, saw this guy through the door of trailer, shot him (I know it's a clear hit)... NOTHING HAPPENED except he's alerted. Somehow I can't shoot him through the open door of trailer. WTF?!

Back in the main campaign there was also a guy that's unkillable in the sewers. I snuck up behind him and stealth kill did nothing. Decided NOT to kill him. MEH.

The AI is also heavily dependent on your former location. If you can sneak away into a different hiding spot you can often ambush the folks who come at you. Did that with a pistol a couple times.

[Kasey Chang]

I'm "near" the end, when I made it to the lab and confronted one of the bad guys. I'm at the last leg, and somehow I keep getting discovered? I was about to take out the last two guards when the game crashed! WTF?!

[Kasey Chang]

Finished the DLC, it's a rush as you basically have to make the 100 meter dash for the end. It does give you a bit more freedom to tackle the missions.

The encounter right up to it is a lot of fun, as you have to take out no less than 12 guards, one a t time, without them figuring out they're under attack. As usual, higher level first, farthest first, out of view / obstructed first, the guys in the back first, etc.

Here's a spoiler for the "main" campaign, making your way to the compound in the Philippines

Spoiler:

There's a section where you have to go underground, in near total darkness, while trying to get by 4 guys around a fire. They all have night-vis so can't really hide from them... UNLESS you also hide in foliage. So here's the strategy:

First, take care of the guy upstairs. He walks off, so you have to catch him before he gets too close to the fire and the kill gets spotted.

Then you belly slither along the left side of the ground until you're about 50 yards from the fire. One of the 4 around the fire will move out. Shoot him when he's out of view of his comrades.

Third, move up so the fire is to your right. Turn right 90, arm pistol, and you should be able to shoot two of them before the rest run off. As you have silencer and is in grass, they don't know where the shots are coming from, so they'll just madly run off.

Now you can either pick off the remainder, or sneak off and leave that run in fear.

[Smoove_B]

Clearly personal tastes differ, but I'm not finding this nearly as bad as presented here. Yes, it's heavily scripted and for many of the sections you need to follow the recommended strategy provided by a spotter. It's not nearly as visceral as Sniper Elite 3 (my current favorite), but I do find the environments and modern theme quite enjoyable. The game looks fantastic with the CryEngine and it's a real treat to creep around the jungle and in and out of swamps to make it to your target. I've only played through the first act and each of the missions has a very similar feel in terms of organization, but I really do enjoy creeping into position and pulling off ridiculous shots. And while it might be a mechanic cribbed from the Call of Duty series (I'm not even sure at this point), sitting on a ridge and providing sniper support to a team of soldiers infiltrating a compound hundreds of yards away is what I enjoy the most. Either providing cover fire for them or clearing pathways by removing snipers so they can advance on an objective never gets old.

Anyway, I figured I'd bump the thread on the off chance anyone else picked it up during the Winter sale. It's definitely been worth the time spent so far. A bit of a learning curve for the shooting model, but nothing too crazy on standard difficulty.

[Giles Habibula]

I finished the main campaign last year, and enjoyed it much more than I thought I would.

I stand by what I wrote in 2013 (which applied to the beginning of the game): I really dislike a sniper game that picks the sniping spot for you, and THEN goes further by physically locking you down into that position. That's just...sacrilege in a sniping game, and there should be some kind of law against it.

That said, I dropped the game when I thought the whole game was going to be nothing but that, and then picked it up again a couple years later, and was pleased to find out that those "locked-down" spots didn't actually happen all that much during the rest of the game. But of course, they had to make sure the final scene was locked down again (sigh). I thought it played for the most part like the first game in the series, which I enjoyed (aside from the run and gun bits).

So overall, I like Ghost Warrior 2 for what it is; a very pretty semi-budget shooter that's mostly fun to play. In fact, I'm looking forward to Ghost Warrior 3, which I think is coming out this year. CI Games is promising a Triple-A title this time around, and have even hired a designer away from Rebellion (the Sniper Elite devs).

It's been a while since I watched it, but here's 24 minutes of developer commentary with Ghost Warrior 3 gameplay.

And by the way, when I call something a "budget title", I don't mean it as an insult. Some of my favorite games have been budget titles. I have a great fondness for them. And some are far better than others. Ghost Warrior 2 was one of the better ones. I don't know if I could even call it a budget title. It was somewhere in between. Maybe a Single-A title. I think it retailed for $29.99 IIRC.

[Smoove_B]

Just finished - 6 hours. It was solid - not great - but enjoyable. As strange as it sounds, ending it at 6 hours was probably a smart move. If they somehow tried to double it by adding more and more areas where you're doing the same thing over and over again I'm not sure it would have worked as well. To that end - I finished this game and not RAGE, which I think speaks volumes.

Anyway, I am guessing if you wanted to play it on expert you could probably spend much more time in the game, perfecting the shots and somehow figuring it all out. That's not for me but that mechanic is there for those so inclined. I also had no idea there was a third one en-route so that's something to look forward to. Probably not a day one $60 purchase, but definitely something I'll keep an eye out for.

[Giles Habibula]

I play all my sniper games on the highest difficulty, because I don't want any help with knowing exactly where my bullet will land, or help with my breathing, bullet-drop, heart rate, or compensation for wind. After you've played on expert for a while, you take real pride in every successful shot, and you do get good at it, as the way they've programmed it, those things are consistent from shot to shot, so practice really does make perfect. You just have to pay close attention to all of the varying conditions. So yes, in Ghost Warrior 2, on expert setting, I finished at around 18 hours. Ghost Warrior 1 took me 14 hours.

If you watch that video on Ghost Warrior 3, you'll see that you have a drone available to you this time for recon work. It shows you where enemies are patrolling. Thus, what I'm hoping is that in this game, the enemies will be pre-placed, and not spawn in based on triggers the way most games do it these days. Pre-placed patrolling enemies for me would mean far greater options as far as clearing an area. I hate games that use triggers or scripting to spawn in your enemies. I understand why pretty much all games do it this way these days, but I've never liked it, and I'm hoping that based on what they show in the video, they allow you to clear an area any way or any time you like.

Here's the Wiki entry for Ghost Warrior 3. Apparently due out Q2 of this year. They are claiming much less linear gameplay this time.

[Smoove_B]

Much respect for finishing that on expert as that's no joke. I don't have the patience for it, but I can appreciate that it must feel awesome to pull off a shot. I'm definitely interested in seeing what Sniper 3 looks like after finishing this one, that's for sure.

[Giles Habibula]

... I don't have the patience for it, but I can appreciate that it must feel awesome to pull off a shot..

It really does. And it does require a bit more patience I suppose, but after some practice, it's not all that difficult. And while I understand that it's not for everyone, I'll recommend it anyway: The first real mission in Sniper Elite V2 is a great place for practice (and it only takes maybe 30 minutes to get it down). At some point, you should be camped out in a building at the end of a long street. Go prone in a spot with good visibility of the entire street, turn off all aids (highest difficulty should shut it all off automatically - IIRC, the gauges will still be there, but the red dot won't be), and then start sniping the enemies as they approach. This will give you a good feel for holding your breath and compensating for bullet drop at a variety of distances. Wind won't be much of a factor here.

As you get better and better, as the game progresses, you won't require looking at any of the on-screen gauges except for wind and your cross-hairs. You'll develop an instinct for distance and bullet-drop, heart rate, and breath (audio cues help with those last two). It really does become second-nature, and is extremely satisfying. If an enemy is particularly far away and/or difficult to judge distance because they are just a head in a distant window, I'll take my best shot, watch where the bullet hits, and compensate accordingly.

That said, playing it that way does take longer to complete the game, but I hardly notice.

I do remember Sniper Elite V2 being a bit more difficult in that whenever you draw a bead on an enemy, the AI seems to immediately know this, and will move away. Every time. Frustrating, but also challenging.

Anyone who likes sniper games should at least give it a try. And if it's just too frustrating, or just not worth it, I can certainly understand.

[Isgrimnur]

The complete trilogy is up on Bundle Stars for $1 until 9 am CST tomrrow or they run out of keys.

[Kasey Chang]

Technically It's Sniper: Art of Victory + Sniper Ghost Warrior 1 and 2 (2 includes DLC Siberian Strike)

[Isgrimnur]

Apologies. Their choice of words to use trilogy.

[KDH]

.
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 Delayed Until April 25, 2017

WARSAW, Poland (Monday, March 6th, 2017) - CI Games, creators of the Sniper Ghost Warrior and Lords of the Fallen series of games, has announced that Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 will be delayed until Tuesday, April 25, 2017.

After some internal discussion with the development team, a decision was made to delay the release three more weeks to complete some final implementations based on feedback CI Games received during the beta.

“We’ve worked tirelessly creating a whole new Sniper Ghost Warrior experience set in an ambitiously crafted open world new to the series,” said said Marek Tyminski, CEO of CI Games. “While it’s an unfortunate decision to delay the game one last time, we believe these final changes will result in a better experience for players worldwide on day one. Thank you for your patience – we know the wait will be worth it.”

previously:
1) .. announced: release 2016
2) .. January 2017
3) .. April 4 2017

[KDH]

...

Still no SGW3 thread .. ergo .. ... Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 dev admits it screwed up, explains why

It's fair to say Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 launched in a bit of a state. It came with five minute load times but without its planned multiplayer portion. Oh, and there were more than a few technical hitches.

The fact the game had been delayed multiple times signalled a troubled development - and now developer CI Games has held its hands up. In a note to press, the Polish company admitted it had made a "big mistake" with the game, and explained what went wrong.

In short, CI Games bit off more than it could chew as it struggled to take the Sniper Ghost Warrior series triple-A and open world.

"We've learned a lot as a team over the course of development for Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, much of which I believe has shaped the talented individuals within CI Games and the entire studio for the better," said company boss Marek Tymiñski.

"When we began development of SGW3, we decided on such a relatively large scale of the game with its open world that now we realise it was just too ambitious versus what we could have been able to deliver in any reasonable amount of time.

"We simply made the wrong math considering the size of our team and the originally given timeframe. By positioning the game in a AAA category, it took us away from what we could have done great. Instead we spent too much effort trying to catch up with other AAA titles in terms of their production values and features. That was a big mistake."

Tymiñski added that CI Games has learned its lesson, and plans to make a new tactical shooter without an open world.

"We're planning to make a great tactical shooter where we can focus on exciting gameplay, some key mechanics, and missions that have depth without all of the trappings of a large open-world setting," Tymiñski said.

"We want to make this game even more tactical than SGW3, and I believe the last three years have created a wonderful foundation that we can build upon for our next game."

CI stressed that it will continue to support Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 with future updates through 2017, and it's also working on a sequel for Lords of the Fallen.

[KDH]

...

.. Stand-Alone version of Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 arrives on Steam!

<snip>

From today now on Steam users can chose to purchase the stand-alone game Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 without the Season Pass at a price of 29,99 EUR/ USD!

um .. they were forcing you to buy, in advance, DLC for a game that launched in an extremely buggy state? .. odd decision

[Suitably Ironic Moniker]

Well, they probably weren't going to see many sales for the DLC alone, considering the buggy state of the base game .