Sniper Elite III Hands-On: Even More On Target Than Before…

Sniper Elite III_PS3I was on the subway headed down to see and play Sniper Elite III at a 505 Games media preview when I realized I’d forgotten my eyeglasses. Oops. You can’t be a good sniper at all if you can’t see a damn thing even with a scope, but amusingly enough, that absent-minded error on my part made the demo even more enjoyable.

Thanks to veteran developer Rebellion making the game much more flexible and thrilling than its predecessor, even a quarter blind bat like me was able to have a total blast making as many mistakes as I did. Okay, that’s not sounding like a ringing endorsement for the game, but it’s coming – keep reading. Even if I had brought my gaming spectacles along, my plan was to play the demo in as loose a manner as possible, making mistakes to see how the AI would react while seeing how expansive the level designs were this time out. In Sniper Elite V2, despite some alternate routes, most maps felt a wee bit too boxed in and linear and displacement wasn’t emphasized enough throughout the game (although the best players learned those levels and probably did some of their own shoot and scoot tactics… Continue reading

Sniper Elite III “Hunt The Grey Wolf” DLC: Der Fuhrer’s Days Are Numbered (Again!)…

 
Sooo… I played a bit of Rebellion’s upcoming Sniper Elite III today at a 505 Games press event, but I can’t say a peep for two days about how it was thanks to a little embargo I don’t intend to break. SUSPENSE! Anyway, as you can see, like Sniper Elite V2, there’s some Gamestop only Fuhrer-themed DLC to snag if you pre-order and I’m betting it does well, given the improvements to the game engine and gameplay the main game offers up. It’s certainly a VERY lousy time to be a pro-digital Nazi fanatic, what with that new Wolfenstein game out today, The Monuments Men popping up on home video, CI Studios’ Enemy Front and now this upcoming game allowing shooter fans to spend plenty of free time whistling bullets past a few graveyards. Anyway, more (or actual) news on my hands-on with Sniper Elite III in two more days. Stay tuned…

Sniper Elite III 101: “So, What Did YOU Do During The War?” (Part One)

 
With PR folk from 505 Games and a few of the dev team from Rebellion rolling into NYC this week, I’ll finally get some hands-on time with Sniper Elite III on Tuesday morning and report about it here. The team has clearly listened to feedback about Sniper Elite V2 and it looks as if this third chapter addresses all the issues and makes for a more expansive and free form game experience. Sure, the extreme violence isn’t for everyone (and yep, that video is pretty graphic), but I’m not playing this one to see Nazi brains and other bits get shattered and splashed about the large levels. I’m a game design guy first who loves seeing what different developers come up with and Rebellion has been around long enough to keep surprising me. Anyway, expect an update a few days from now on my experience with this one. Sniper Elite III hits retail and download on July 1st in the US on Xbox One, PS4, PS3 and Xbox 360 and of course, the PC version will be a Steam release.

Sniper Elite III: Killing Vehicles Is A Bigger Part Of The Game As Well, Folks…

 
While you could indeed shoot gas tanks and blow up cars and trucks in Sniper Elite V2, that X-Ray camera effect wasn’t used and while optional to some missions, you didn’t have to take out some rides if you didn’t want to. Granted, this made the game much harder if you had more Nazis to mow down, but some players relished that more unrealistic challenge. Anyway, as you can see above, no engine block or gas tank is safe in this installment. Rebellion’s Sniper Elite III, coming on from 505 Games in July, is bringing the pain with more not for the kiddies at all WWII action in an even bigger (and some would say *ouch!* ballsier) manner than before to PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, XBOX One and most likely PC down the road a piece. War is Hell, indeed…

Sniper Elite Nazi Zombie Army 2: Your Next “Horror Movie/FPS” Is Here…

Sure, Activision and Treyarch did the Zombie Nazi thing first as a Call of Duty bonus, but in my opinion, Rebellion is doing it better thanks to the much more realistically violent Sniper Elite V2 engine and its not for the kiddies gore. The first NZA was a nicely nasty surprise (and pretty damn scary when it needed to be) and the just released Sniper Elite Nazi Zombie Army 2 is bringing the pain (wait, can undead even feel pain? Nope? Oops…) in what’s looking like an even better experience. The developer has even gone and posted two live gameplay videos on YouTube (one yesterday and another today) you can check out if this one seems up your alley. Hey, it’s better (and a LOT more interactive) than digging out those musty old VHS copies of Shock Waves and The Keep, right?

Yes, I know Nazi zombies getting filled full of lead (well, actually… that lead is passing through their bodies from what I’ve seen) isn’t for ALL tastes. But the appeal for me is seeing this dev team do such great work on a few fronts and yes, keep the whole “zombies in games” flame alive just a bit longer. It’s so played out that it’s gotten predictable to a fault, but the best zombie games seem to be the ones that go for the expected gore (although a tip of the head goes to the Plants vs. Zombies folks for making the words “cute” and “undead” work perfectly…

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Sniper Elite 3 Trailer: Rebellion’s Up for Another Shot. Are You?

Talk about going out with a bang. 505 Games and UK developer Rebellion are following up their successful Sniper Elite V2 and Sniper Elite Nazi Zombie Army with a new game that leaves a destroyed Berlin for the hot and dusty sands of Africa (or that’s what I’m gathering from this trailer). Granted, blasting holes in assorted Nazis may not be your cup of tea and nope, this isn’t a historical recreation at all, folks. But there’s always that odd satisfaction one gets from this series of tinkering with old history one bullet at a time for all the right reasons, of course…

There’s A Rebellion Afoot: Sniper Elite Series On Sale NOW On Steam!

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So, it seems that you’re not doing anything at the moment (hey, if you’re reading this site, that counts… er, ha ha?) and you KNOW you want to go scope out a bombed-out Berlin in order to take out a bunch of Nazis clinging to their last hope for some kind of magical victory. You also happen to have a decent gaming PC and a Steam account. Therefore, the Allied High Command (or UK developer Rebellion) orders you to click on over to the Steam Store and BUY one, two or ALL of their Sniper Elite series, which just so happens to be on sale for the next… oh, 18 hours or so. This weekend sale (seriously, the clock it TICKING!) gets you access to the original Sniper Elite, Sniper Elite V2 with all its DLC and the mighty gory (well, gorier, as all the games are quite not for the squeamish types) Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army, which is still the award winner for “How can you NOT wonder what this one’s about and/or want to play it immediately upon hearing that title?” for this year (so far).

What, you’re still here? Get going! Those Nazis and Nazi Zombies aren’t going to snipe themselves, you know…

Sniper Elite Nazi Zombie Army Out Now On Steam – Gore Patrol On Duty!

NZA_out nowSo… how, pray tell do we go from happy-happy cartoon ponies to blowing holes in zombies just like that? Easy- you pretend you’re riding a bus, just move along and enjoy what’s outside the window. Which in this case would be that final teaser trailer and the even MORE naughty official launch trailer (both very NSFW, by the way- you’ve been warned!) and maybe even you picking up this standalone co-op focused expansion from Steam at some point. Yeah, you know you want to… and you’ll probably fool everyone by storing the game on that My Little Pony Friendship is Magic X MIMOBOT USB drive you just purchased. Shhhh… I won’t tell a soul. Maybe…

Sniper Elite Nazi Zombie Army Teasers 2 & 3: We Did It! (or Did We?)…

*whipcrack!* See what happens when fans put their collective feet down? Rebellion drops two more Sniper Elite Nazi Zombie Army teasers in one day instead of keeping us all in suspense as they drip them out when they feel like it. VICTORY for the internets! Champagne for everybody! Wheeee!! We won!!! *whipcrack!!*

Wait, what’s that? The game comes out tomorrow? They had this all planned anyway? Oh crap… Well, there goes my champagne allowance for next month. Damn internet moves fast when there’s free booze…

Sniper Elite Nazi Zombie Army Teaser: A Little Atmosphere Before You’re Out of Air…

 

Oh, Rebellion… you sneaky, sneaky little baw-stawds. Tease and tempt us with these bits and pieces of nice-looking in-engine footage while hiding the hordes of scary undead Nazi scum you want us to ventilate before they take over that war-torn Berlin. Too short, guys, TOO short. Ah well, PC gamers get this on the 28th, so I’m sure many will be pleased and playing half under a blanket. That said, I do want this to come to consoles at some point as either a stand alone game or on a disc (preferably with the original Sniper Elite V2 as a bonus at a nice price point). As always, we shall see…