Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 - Being More

Developer CI Games
Publisher CI Games
Distributor Apex Interactive
Where we got our copy Apex Interactive
Genre FPS
Game modes Single Player
Players 1
Reviewed on PC

Available on Playstation 4, Xbox One

Where to buy Steam , Xbox Store , PS Store

Stunt

Published May 9, 2017

Come with me if you want to live

As with previous games in the series, SGW3’s storyline plays out like a B Movie:

As Jon North, an elite soldier bent on finding his missing brother who was kidnapped after a sabotage mission gone wrong, scours the oppressed Georgian Country side helping the helpless and killing the ruthless as he grunts with manly enthusiasm. Featuring supporting acts by a couple of stereotypically cast female characters that pop out of nowhere (in rural Georgia of all places) and have an intense romantic history with this man’s man, it’s all wrapped in hilariously bad dialogue with average voice acting.

This time around, you’re able to level up in 3 distinctive yet not restrictive skill trees. Aptly named after the title, these skill trees are Sniper, Ghost and Warrior – Likely also the first names of Talladega Nights’ Ricky Bobby’s next 3 children.

Each skill tree does to some degree improve your chances of success when playing as a Sniper, a stealthy assassin or gun nut respectively but not nearly enough to classify them as individual play styles. If anything, they’re just passive skills that assist you no matter your approach, which is a massively missed opportunity if you ask me. Yet, with SGW3 first and foremost being a Sniping game, it might have intentionally not dwelled too far from its core audience with that decision.

Fortunately the gun play is fantastic. Using a variety of key indicators like wind speed and direction, sight zeroing and zoom; pulling off a long range shot as you watch your bullet curve and drop as physics and nature have their way with it is a tense experience that never gets old. With the premise of the game being a stealthy, silent, one-shot killer, missing a shot can mean immediate failure at the worst of times and a difficult encounter at the best of times. But when you get it right, it’s fantastic and just downright awesome! Even the most hardcore, melee savages among us enjoy seeing that sweet, sweet red mist cloud up in the distance as you get a confirmed hit on your designated target. There is no end to the supply of these moments and they carried me well through the game. Moments intensify more and get a lot tougher as groups of soldiers hold tighter quarters to each other, making the long range approach a difficult one. Though easily handled by the sniper pro’s among us, the enemy AI is suspiciously too certain of your location when a random thug get’s taken out. With weapon suppressors being a consumable component that requires resources to repair, you’d think they’d play a larger role than just hiding your presence when a shot is taken. It infuriated me every time an enemy would hear a buddy drop and then not only immediately know where the shot game from also telepathically inform every other enemy in a 200m radius as well. This forces relocation, which is in the Sniping 101 tactic, though draws a perfect picture of how stupidly basic the games AI is. Don’t get me wrong, they could all just be soulless mercs with nothing to lose, but launching mortars within 5 meters of my location after seeing a teammate fall on his face 20m behind him seems a little dodgy.

Another thing that really bums the experience is the bullet cinematics. When firing a round and being treated to a Sniper Elite-like visual cinematic, North is often in an odd position given the stance you’d expect, not to mention that all bullets seem to hit your targets perfectly lateral, despite the true angle the shot was taken from, see below for a better indication:

Open, but lifeless

Taking place within Georgia and across 3 wildly expansive areas, SGW3’s world lacks character. Even though it’s saturated with a massive separatist presence, it doesn’t ever feel like it. Roads are always empty and I swear you own the only drivable vehicle that is not part of a scripted scene. Unoccupied villages, lack people and atmosphere – even a dreaded, fearful atmosphere would suffice but the neutral AI is flat and featureless. This breaks immersion as you don’t ever feel like you’re fighting for a better Georgia. The presence of mini-quests in the form of question marks all over the map, do lead to instances (almost always) of rescuing local captives being forced into labour or imprisonment by the separatists – being nothing more than a tactical challenge, the disregard for character interaction or truly thankful villagers, leaves a lot to be desired.

The environments across the three large areas are also a little too similar. Yes, one area is snowed in, but the general landscape does not offer enough variety or uniqueness to make it feel any different to the others. There are also only two animal species that I managed to encounter; Animal behavior is odd at best. Wolves attack as individuals as opposed to packs and deer are uncharacteristically unaware of the happenings around them.

Across these 3 rather uneventful regions, the story progresses through 4 acts featuring 26 main missions and an additional 16 side missions to flesh things out a little more. Missions aren’t time vacuums and often with the option to just take out your designated target and leave, they can easily burn anywhere between 10 minutes to an hour. An hour belonging to more objective driven missions with a series of variables and locations to visit. Each mission is launched from your hideouts of which you have one in each region, it tags a location on your map and highlights a GPS trail to your destination. Your hideouts play a vital role in the experience as they’re not only a safe place (never had anyone chase me there, ever) but allow you to upgrade, craft and purchase weapons, ammo types, gadgets and equipment that you’ll use throughout your missions. This is an entirely new dynamic to the game and one I thoroughly enjoyed – your hideout does lack some character but you slowly outfit it with artifacts you discover after completing mini-quests which does make it feel more like home.

For a pickup and play title SGW3 is an under-performing yet strong addition to your games collection and I guess with some smart patching and an ear for the community it could blossom into a perfect sniping experience. But for now it’s a good enough one. As much fault as I found in certain design and development choices (especially given the lengthy development cycle and 3 delays) SGW3 sums up as a cheesy, enjoyable and accessible experience. Don’t get me wrong, some missions are tough as hell, but not at all impossible. So even if you wait for a sale, if you’re one fond of taking skilled shots from afar at the risk of being exposed and outright obliterated, SGW3 is definitely a game for you!

Though previous titles of the Ghost Warrior series were not particularly well received by players or critics, developers CI Games refused to let up. With Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, they decided to take a bolder, more adventurous approach. By evolving the game into an open world, the series was set to be redefined by allowing bigger varieties in play styles instead of just focusing on long range lethality. After many delays accompanying an already long development cycle, Ghost Warrior 3 is finally available and even if it didn’t blow away my expectations, it definitely surprised me! Come with me if you want to live As with previous games in the series, SGW3’s storyline plays out like a B Movie: As Jon North, an elite soldier bent on finding his missing brother who was kidnapped after a sabotage mission gone wrong, scours the oppressed Georgian Country side helping the helpless and killing the ruthless as he grunts with manly enthusiasm. Featuring supporting acts by a couple of stereotypically cast female characters that pop out of nowhere (in rural Georgia of all places) and have an intense romantic history with this man’s man, it’s all wrapped in hilariously bad dialogue with average voice acting. This time around, you’re able to level up in 3 distinctive yet not restrictive skill trees. Aptly named after the title, these skill trees are Sniper, Ghost and Warrior – Likely also the first names of Talladega Nights’ Ricky Bobby’s next 3 children. Each skill tree does to some degree improve your chances of success when playing as a Sniper, a stealthy assassin or gun nut respectively but not nearly enough to classify them as individual play styles. If anything, they’re just passive skills that assist you no matter your approach, which is a massively missed opportunity if you ask me. Yet, with SGW3 first and foremost being a Sniping game, it might have intentionally not dwelled too far from its core audience with that decision. Fortunately the gun play is fantastic. Using a variety of key indicators like wind speed and direction, sight zeroing and zoom; pulling off a long range shot as you watch your bullet curve and drop as physics and nature have their way with it is a tense experience that never gets old. With the premise of the game being a stealthy, silent, one-shot killer, missing a shot can mean immediate failure at the worst of times and a difficult encounter at the best of times. But when you get it right, it's fantastic and just downright awesome! Even the most hardcore, melee savages among us enjoy seeing that sweet, sweet red mist cloud up in the distance as you get a confirmed hit on your designated target. There is no end to the supply of these moments and they carried me well through the game. Moments intensify more and get a lot tougher as groups of soldiers hold tighter quarters to each other, making the long range approach a difficult one. Though easily handled…

Video Game Review: Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 – Being More

2017-05-09

Stunt

Total - 7.5

75 7.5

B Movie cheese and lackluster cinematics are made up for with fun gun play and a well rounded sniper experience. Not quite as good as it's peers, Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 does bring a uniqueness to its series and sets a higher bar in terms of accomplishment.

User Rating: 3.5 ( 1 votes)

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Stunt

Gaming Editor / Tech Author at Geek Node

Some say that he sees the world at 144 frames per second and his thumbs are actual analog sticks. All we know is he's called Stunt.