To expect a sequel to the first was to be an optimistic person. Wait a third part, an act of faith. However, and despite the lukewarm reception of the review, Sniper Ghost Warrior has returned, and is looking forward to more. This time, however, it seems to have reinvented itself and ... finally, to have something good to offer.
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3: the third is the winner
You are going to allow me the soccer simile, because I have discovered that in Ci Games they are some of the best fans of Diego Pablo " el Cholo " Simeone, coach of Atlético de Madrid. The studio must have their offices papered with Simeone's statements, because they define a philosophy of life and a work ethic that they seem willing to follow at face value. We do not know his goal, but not his road map, crystallized in statements of the coach as the following: " As for how to continue, we have only one way, which is to insist, insist, insist, insist and keep insisting ." That's what Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 is about, to keep insisting. An exercise halfway between stubbornness and masochism. A "no eggs" very Spanish. Another attempt to record, based on stubbornness, the name of the franchise in the annals of the first-person shooter genre . Pick and shovel, hear.
For those who do not know, Ci Games is a company from Poland that develops its own video games and even distributes some aliens in Eastern Europe . Based in Warsaw (yes, they are neighbors of CD Projekt and The Witcher , although that's where any resemblance and relationship ends) and with a year of foundation established in 2002, they have published 86 titles in the last decade and a half, with 150 people approximately make up your template. Yes, yes, 86. Almost nothing. At a rate of 5.73 titles per year. A larger number, for putting us in situation, than the analysis that their games receive, and a higher rate than the average grade of the Metacritic study. Such absurd figures are based on sagas that, even without succeeding, have two hundred and fifty-four chapters and one thousand three hundred and forty-two sequels. Do not be too smart to realize that it is very difficult that such a workflow does not affect the final quality of your products.
However, there are Lords of the Fallen and the TrackMania of Wii and Nintendo DS , for example. Titles that, without being the advent of a new era in the videogame industry, entertain and leave with a good taste in the mouth , even with the bitter pang of all "almost". Without fanfare and without being any portent they demonstrate the know-how of the team. They work .
And in those we got to the Sniper Ghost Warrior saga , which does not. The 55 ( 6.5 in MeriStation ) of the original title in Metacritic and the 52 ( 4.5 in this house ) of its sequel, lead us to ask ourselves what we do here. How we see ourselves in this situation. How is it that we are facing the analysis of a third installment. For those who also ask that question, say that there are 5.5 million reasons behind, 3 of the first part and 2 and a half (and rising) of the second. The franchise has become a guilty pleasure that many enjoy. Love is blind, they say.
Therefore, the time has come to analyze what is behind the return of the most popular saga of the broad cast of Ci Games and see if, in the third, is the loser. An act of faith
The saga is reinvented in Eastern Europe
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 is loaded with new features. Ci Games is aware that its predecessors are not perfect, much less, and has taken good note of the failures and decided to remedy them. He has obtained a mixed success when applying strips and healing deficiencies, and has also found new gaps and problems in his career, as we will see now, but it is appreciated that this time we present something different and renewed. That you notice the desire to change and grow, the ambition to do a superior job .
Although these developments do not start by making a story up to the task. Arguably, Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 is smooth and flat like its predecessors, it moves in both dimensions. Predictable , it is a bucket full of cliches and archetypes . Given the performances of the characters (with a hieratic face that does not transmit any emotion and an overactive dubbing) can be somewhat ridiculous at times.
It's a shame, because the location chosen for the title, Eastern Europe , we love it. We've seen it again and again, why lie (Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, STALKER, Metro 2033, GoldenEye 007, Ghost Recon ... and so on to infinity). We are not going to fool ourselves by saying that it is original or unpublished, but to a title of this nature it feels like a glove, by tone and theme. Dark and leafy forests, golden steppes and locations sunk in the snow are the dream of every sniper, the Olympus of skirmishes based on a precision rifle, many enemies and few bullets.
The problem lies in, instead of basing the plot load on the problems that can be generated by the border between Russia and Georgia (the specific place where it is set), in the rise of nationalism , in the personal history of our protagonist, soporific and seen ad nauseam. If the background had been prepared with real data, it would have been signed by Tom Clancly himself in his day. However, the exhaustive and interesting work of context is limited to serving as the backdrop and setting for the family drama that covers the spotlight and that works less and less as the hours advance.
History places us in the shoes of a Marine of the United States, a specialist in distance fighting. An elite sniper named Jon North who is sent by his own request to Georgia , near the Russian border. The plot revolves around Jon and his brother, Robert, who disappeared in strange circumstances after many years serving with Jon. Through different flashbacks we will know their relationship when they were young while in the present we fulfill our duty in Eastern Europe, keeping an eye on their search.
The vulgarity is consumed with the role of the female characters, totally sexist , who kiss the ground through which we pass and can not surrender more homage. But it is one more, as they are the absence of an enemy to the height, even being who he is, and wasting several endings . In any case, it is not the protagonist and its characters enter and leave the scene without caring.
Where the title does change is in its proposal. For the first time in the saga we are facing a sandbox , or an "intendo de" sandbox (there are three relatively small sections separated by important loading times), with different climate and flora. Ci Games has taken good note of the most repeated complaints to the second title of the franchise, linear and corseted to exhaustion. Yes, it was based on representing the binomial spotter / sniper , but there were forms ... and forms. On this occasion we not only expand the cast of playable aspects at our disposal: action, sigil, driving, plataform and exploration, but we can also choose what to do, when and how, at times (sometimes we miss something a little more guided and palomitero) a blessing.
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 is the title with the longest campaign, with more content and lifespan of the whole saga, being able to add more than the previous ones together. The story mode, composed of 26 levels, several endings (and with extra DLC for the reserve) is more long-lived than the last ones. It may not shoot, but it does sit around 6 and 8 hours. Number that is duplicated to complete the game and discover all its secrets.
The secondary missions are 16 and in many cases they can be as entertaining and recommendable as those of the own campaign , because they come to consist basically of things very similar (infiltrate in bases, steal vehicles, kill X ...) although to a lesser extent Of course.
As for collectibles , they are many, but not too varied. They appear marked on the map and it is a matter of going to the room where they are, activating our senses so that they shine and we identify them, and pick them up. Something more striking is to save civilians in the region and collect snipers, extras for the most complete. For the first we have to eliminate their guards (small houses with three or four units) and for the second, locate other snipers who have planted around them mines and traps so that we do not approach.
They are repetitive objectives , and in the long run not too entertaining. Up to 31 collectibles, 16 whites of the most wanted (many are made during the adventure itself and secondary ones, as it passes close to their domains), 33 fast travel points, 82 civilians to rescue and 195 points of interest, which may well be to be a first aid kit in the middle of the forest that, when we catch it, makes us attack a wolf.
Unfortunately they are set aside and do not arise on the way to the missions, and making several separate blows between chapter and chapter of the campaign (again divided into acts) ends up being monotonous and boring. There is a rupture between the main and the secondary very visible that does not make it natural and fluid.
But not everything is positive. The game world is empty . Or more than empty, dead . Because it has hundreds of secrets in its possession to discover, but its roads are practically not covered by anyone, and between posts and posts civilization seems to have succumbed. In case we have lit a candle recently and have the good fortune to cross another vehicle, we recommend you to stop your car in front of him, get off and watch as he tries to dodge. There will be no better sample of the (rare) possibilities of artificial intelligence of the game. As for the fauna , a couple of chickens and some cow in the towns and cities, and a handful of wolveswho do respawn when we are in specific sites related to collectibles. Maybe some fawn. Run over any animal is like taking a cardboard box in front. Because that's another, driving .
Arcade and without any crumb or grace, Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 seems determined to make us overcome the mileage behind the wheel we accumulated in the Grand Theft Auto saga . As soon as we discover the different fast travel points, we will use the car less than in real life due to the gas prices. In any case, we must admit that in relation to driving there are many things that are funny. First of all, we can not take any other car from the game. If we lose ours, it spoils us or it's better for us to use a closer one, we'd better surrender to the fact that we'll have to teleport to a quick point of travel for the world to reset"and the car appears next to us, the rest will be" closed "and neither shooting at windows and doors nor eliminating their owners will be able to take them in. In Georgia it is not stolen . Warthog from Halo . it is not unusual to tip over like rubber and you have to press a button to make it turn. also vote and returns to previous positions if you get stuck. Finally, has the worst graphics effects the entire title The smoke and subsequent fire on the hood are, without cover, of Nintendo DS .
On board the car you can also see some of the most annoying playable faults, like needing to press twice the button of the lights or the radio to turn on / off, something that also happens when changing weapons.
Another less negative and rather striking aspect is the plataformeo . There are hidden sections with extras and secrets that must be accessed by jumping. Standing on cornices, jumping on the wall behind us ... It's nothing out of the ordinary, but very unusual in the genre, and as developed as many other third-person action titles today.
Action and secrecy at short and long distance, all styles
In the playable, the title offers us the opportunity to play with the style that best suits us . Or at least, that says. Like a sniper , a ghost or a warrior . It is a decision whose emergence seems very influenced by the main rival franchise, Sniper Elite , who seems to inherit these options and who also seems to give the baton that marks where they should go and evolve this series of games. Influences, of course, that the developer has signed Steve Hart (producer of Sniper Elite V2 ) for this occasion.
Being a sniper we can finish the enemies at a great distance, putting dirt in the middle. For this we will have at our disposal a series of precision rifles that we must learn to handle. At the end of the day, the elevation of the viewfinder , the speed and direction of the wind , and our breathingand how rhythmic we are to her, are fundamental aspects that we must keep in mind of wanting to succeed by pulling the trigger. Our results will also vary depending on whether we are standing, squatting or lying down, and whether we use (or not) a support. It is this delivery we do not have a pulmonary marker or pulse line, but a resistance bar, in charge of indicating how much we can hold our breath.
As always, we have a " bullet camera " which allows us to follow the path of the shot in slow motion to see, as if the VATS in Fallout it were, where impacts and what causes damage to our goal. Between the gore and the shabby , at the beginning it is funny, but we will soon deactivate it. Break the rhythm and annoy, more than anything else. If we really want to live a more realistic experience and close to that of a real sniper, it will not take too long to deactivate in the settings menu the assisted aim and the " red dot ""Which indicates the degree of deviation of the bullet (another old acquaintance that, again, is eradicated in the highest and recommended difficulties).
We miss that the wind is more aggressive and hostile, since it never ends up being a fearsome enemy, but to shoot more than 400 meters without help and with success is as comforting as ever. Calculate is fun and, what is said, that feeling of euphoria of the final moment, which is triggered even more when we perform a series of fast and calculated shots, very precise and well thought out, is the best reason to play Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 . As expected, playing as a sniper is the jewel in the crown, although now there is much more to do and do not do so often.
We have up to 14 precision , bolt or semi-automatic rifles; with calibers 7.62 MM, .338 and .50; sights of NATO, Russia and fixed; as well as coupled or integrated silencers. There are nine types of sight, the best with up to four magnifications (4x the minimum and 34x the maximum), enlargements for the loaders, bipods and more than forty types of camouflage. It is very fun to watch, try and play with the recoil, the noise and the speed of the shot. And, of course, we still have thermal and night vision goggles to help us.
As we said, definitely the most fun of the title is to sniper . Something that, ironically in a title called Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 , we do less than ever.
As for stealth, which would be the " ghost " style of play , it has improved and expanded its offer, following current market trends. So, we can make a silent elimination approaching our enemies from behind, jumping on them or pressing the appropriate button when they pass over the overhang of which we are hanging. Also, instead of going through the edge of our knife, we can choose to question them before knocking them out and get some information about their partners or the most relevant objects in the area. And we can even take the corpses and hide them in different places.
However, it is not enough. Mainly by artificial intelligence , which is nothing special (and that being generous). Half of the soldiers we face are deaf and will only see us if we go straight to them. Anyone would say that they wear earmuffs like donkeys. Some will not act if they see us attacking their companions until we have finished with the animation through which they are killed. They have few routinesand they are very predictable. And to locate us, either do not ask for help, or else they make the rest of them in the area put on a magical and automatic alert. Something that would not matter, because in no case will reinforcements from other bases come, they will take out heavy weapons or reinforce security measures. If, as a sniper, we miss a shot and do not correct it quickly, they will know as if they were super soldiers , where we are located, hiding and flanking us as the best of the elite forces. Only with listening to a shot!
There are also security cameras , but they take time to activate (when they should do it right away) and hacking them is as simple as going to the power box and pressing a button. No need of any tool or minigame. The thing ends up losing all the grace if we use the sixth sense that has our character and how fashionable is betting in the last decade. We will see silhouettes through the walls, footsteps, cameras ... too much help.
Perhaps the worst of stealth is our drone, precisely one of the new additions with more weight. It is a flying reconnaissance device that we can equip with up to four improvements among nine unlockables (like more battery, better camouflage, thermal vision ... etc.). If we take it flying and plan on the base in which we are going to infiltrate, we will locate it almost automaticallythe great bulk of enemies in the area. No need to zoom, or observe a few seconds or mark them manually. When they appear on the screen, even in the distance or in a tiny way, they will be recorded. The same with cameras, traps and secrets. With the shortcuts and usable objects. Very difficult to locate by enemies, it makes all map elements is knowing where they are extremely easy . Although there is always the option of not using it, of course. They miss the binoculars, the role of the spotter or that we should watch the sites with our rifles from afar for a while before launching into the adventure.
Finally, we have the option of acting as a commando and assault soldier going as a " warrior ". At the moment of truth, it is suicide . We can equip ourselves with up to three types of armor, but they do not serve much. The enemies have extraordinary marksmanship and our life goes down at an insane pace, even though we use the three types of medicine cabinets. At our disposal we have assault rifles, shotguns, machine guns and even arcs. A total of eleven weapons not very used, since almost all enemies will carry an AKA-47 , the most recommended. But the option there is.
Of the path of the warrior perhaps the most striking are the explosives. We have smoke grenades, blinding, PEM, gas, warning devices, Bounce Betty, C4, decoys and a whole series of tools that is good to combine with the other two styles.
As we play, we will gain experience points . Every 1,000 we unlock a skill point and we can improve in different styles: sniper, ghost and warrior. Each one has up to 9 extra abilities to unlock: such as holding more breath, 33% more health, or greater speed when sitting. Nothing too deep and complex.
Perhaps the worst of stealth is our drone, precisely one of the new additions with more weight. It is a flying reconnaissance device that we can equip with up to four improvements among nine unlockables (like more battery, better camouflage, thermal vision ... etc.). If we take it flying and plan on the base in which we are going to infiltrate, we will locate it almost automaticallythe great bulk of enemies in the area. No need to zoom, or observe a few seconds or mark them manually. When they appear on the screen, even in the distance or in a tiny way, they will be recorded. The same with cameras, traps and secrets. With the shortcuts and usable objects. Very difficult to locate by enemies, it makes all map elements is knowing where they are extremely easy . Although there is always the option of not using it, of course. They miss the binoculars, the role of the spotter or that we should watch the sites with our rifles from afar for a while before launching into the adventure.
Finally, we have the option of acting as a commando and assault soldier going as a " warrior ". At the moment of truth, it is suicide . We can equip ourselves with up to three types of armor, but they do not serve much. The enemies have extraordinary marksmanship and our life goes down at an insane pace, even though we use the three types of medicine cabinets. At our disposal we have assault rifles, shotguns, machine guns and even arcs. A total of eleven weapons not very used, since almost all enemies will carry an AKA-47 , the most recommended. But the option there is.
Of the path of the warrior perhaps the most striking are the explosives. We have smoke grenades, blinding, PEM, gas, warning devices, Bounce Betty, C4, decoys and a whole series of tools that is good to combine with the other two styles.
As we play, we will gain experience points . Every 1,000 we unlock a skill point and we can improve in different styles: sniper, ghost and warrior. Each one has up to 9 extra abilities to unlock: such as holding more breath, 33% more health, or greater speed when sitting. Nothing too deep and complex.
Welcome to Far Cry
We are very afraid that the mix of options makes the title look like a war game to use . More generic and mundane. That it is impossible for us not to feel a certain sense of déjà vu when traveling through Georgia. There is not a player from Far Cry who is not going to evoke the franchise in Sniper Ghost Warrior 3. Even other names will come to mind, such as Deus Ex or Metal Gear Solid . More opponents with which to compare and who, except in relation to the scope sniper, usually win. He has lost personalityby folding his proposal to the current times, and his ambitious broadening of horizons has made him something we are more than accustomed to seeing. In something much easier to find in the market.
In addition, the freedom that it offers us is more limited than we would expect, and it does not finish freeing us of the corset of its predecessor, linear and mechanical like few others . We are not talking only that going in a warrior plan is a suicide and a ridiculous option (after all, it does not matter, no one buys or plays Sniper Ghost Warrior looking to do it that way), but that the missions are still at their best part the same routine. We leave our base, we drive to a certain point on the map, we release the drone so that a quick turn around the area and mark all our enemies, we knock down those who are isolated from afar and take care of the rest closely, in stealth. Again and again, again and again.
There is more. In certain missions the alarm will jump automatically, no matter how stealthy we are, and there will be others in which we will discover hidden paths of entry and exit to a base that, until we do some action they wish and wake up their corresponding event, will be blocked by walls invisible and bars that, later, it will seem that they were never there. Even we are shown the possibility of disguising ourselves as a civilian, in a stealthy way, to go unnoticed, but we can only do it in the mission they want and when they want. And if we do not, as in the previous one, problems .
An open world does not necessarily imply freedom and variety . We are still prey to a pre-established script and certain repetitive procedures that invite the appearance of monotony and boredom . If we do not set our own goals (beat our distance record, avoid shooting anyone, etc.) it can become simple and bland with the passing of the hours.
Next to the previous one, we have more options than in any other game, but in a subtle way we do what we are told and we will have the feeling of following a list of instructions on more than one occasion.
The funniest missions are like a dagger in the heart. They are those that consist of doing only and exclusively sniper . In it we must find a high point, clear it and prepare to study an area to which, sooner or later, our objective will arrive. We look for enemies, things to distract them with, possible escape routes ... and everything that can serve us, and then we end up with an objective or protect someone according to the strategy.
Precisely those of more classic character that have been relegated to a minor role. What is eaten for what is served, we suppose.
Graphics and sound, optimized?
Graphically, the game makes use once again of the Cryengine 3 . Although it still does not reach the levels of quality shown by Crysis , the best technical showcase of the engine, its result is already more than acceptable. There is a lot to improve. From the artificial intelligence of which we spoke before to the "life" of the scenarios, passing through the facial animations that we have commented at the beginning of the analysis. And from there, to issues that we have not yet said, such as blood and the way in which the bullet hits (at what point do we leave the path of titles like Call of Duty: World at War and Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, more honest in the representation of blood and violence?), the scarce effect of air and storms on vegetation ... etc.
However, the scenarios look fantastic, and in terms of lighting the title is in very good health. On more than one occasion we will enjoy driving or we will be surprised by the appearance of some of the bases on which the campaign takes place (such as the dam, the society 23 lair or the snowy mountain areas). And even the animations, still to be polished, are light years away from the previous ones.
All talking about the PlayStation 4 version . We have seen several videos of the PC and it seems broadly above. In consoles, the title goes to 1080p on the Sony platform and 900p on Xbox One , repeating in both its frame rate: 30 images per second . In these systems effects such as clipping and popping they are present, of course , and missing much more softness in the movements. A lot. It is also not uncommon to find some other bugpunctual: enemies that disappear, a character that stays in the middle of a jump and does not stop falling ... etcetera. Minors, but never endearing.
In any case, we hope that the most serious details (duration of loading times and bugs) will be solved in the coming months, based on patches and updates, as was done with many, not all, in Sniper Ghost Warrior 2.
As for the sound , it will attract our attention from the moment we step on the main menu. It is not for less, behind this field we find the figure of Mikolai Stroinski , habitual of the sector to which we have already seen work in titles like The Vanishing of Ethan Carter and that is especially known for his work in the analogous section of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It is the first FPS of his career. While the melodies to put in situation and to give context, those that sound by the radio and are fused with the geographical folklore of the area, they are great and nail their mission (in spite of being very few), those that accompany us during the missions and try to give emotion and tension to the situation, call less attention and usually go unnoticed. We would have liked to have a larger cast, more balanced in terms of quality, but complies, although without great fanfare or frills.
Unfortunately, the title is in English , like the rest of the saga, and the truth is that a dubbing would suit a thousand wonders . Yes, it is translated and subtitled (keep in mind, because the subtitles to our language are not activated first and we recommend going through the menus before starting), but this translation is difficult to follow for the less experienced Spanish speakers in the Anglo-Saxon language, and also leaves much to be desired. The subtitles seem to be under the direction and guardianship of Rockstar Gamesgiven its size. In many occasions they advance, in many others, they do not appear, and we have even seen how, during a loading time, the voices of the following sequence were heard (without subtitles) while we still saw a bar filling up. Not only do we say it for these failures and for licenses that are sometimes taken, attending driving or while calibrating our rifle can be complicated. As always, it depends on the level of each one. Although with more difficulties than normal, it can be perfectly followed. Now, it would be great for him to do dubbing, and he is missing more than usual.
Goodbye to multiplayer
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 says goodbye to the multiplayer modes and focuses all its efforts on the campaign . This decision, which in the past so many times would have sounded like glory to us, here seems to us a real pity, the truth. Yes, it is true that his predecessor, in that area, had a lot - very much - to improve. I had very few maps and even fewer modes (one!), Which was not well balanced and was destined for a very specific target and limited, to a very specific audience. But for those brave willing to enter the hardcore servers and play without aid, pulling patience and good pulse, for those open to the idea of facing matches in which they could be lying without seeing anything for 15 minutes, was a unique bet . One of the few opportunities in the genre of something similar. Of something more leisurely and calm, more tactical . And even, outside of a competitive mode, a cooperative for the story mode would have also been great. We were disappointed.
For those who think of some of the promotional events, in which they talked about him, say yes, that the studio plans to add multiplayer options in the future, free for all its users, but will arrive, at the earliest, at the end of 2017. The season pass already points to some content in that aspect. For now, it catches us by surprise and grieves.
conclusion
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 is the best game in the franchise ... and at the same time the worst. The least faithful to its roots and origins. It has become more generic and, who was going to tell us, mundane. His proposal is more usual within the genre of first-person shooters. However, that does not stop being bad, and if we accept it and give it a chance, we will find a remarkable job, with more content, possibilities and duration than ever.
It is true that it has many gaps. The story is bad, there is no multiplayer mode, the mapping is not very big and it is dead, it ends up repeating mechanics and becoming something monotonous in its approach, the subtitles ... But it does compensate us with one of the things that we demand more to his predecessor, to give us freedom. Let us play as we want.
At times, and although it is a freedom with "buts", it has no price and the sea seems to be entertaining. In the same way, managing a sniper successfully without aids and having to handle so many variables is very fun. And what is this about except entertainment and fun? This time we will wait impatiently for a Sniper Ghost Warrior 4 to continue polishing the formula, which seems to have stopped giving blind sticks.
The best
- Longer and with more content than ever.
- Handle a sniper without help and with success, as fun as ever.
- Free, at last.
Worst
- The AI
- The history and loading times.
- The absence of multiplayer mode.
- It becomes monotonous and repetitive over time.
- He has lost personality and has become more worldly and generic.
- The technical problems, subtitles and bugs.
1-6 IMAGECREDIT
THANKS FOR READING, ALSO CHECK OUT MY PREVIOUS REVIEW ON SECRET WORLD LEGENDS (PC)
