Sniper Elite ( Windows )

by Namco

Product Features

• Realistic WWII sniper simulation -- Gain access to the precise sniping position by taking out key enemy obstacles ? machine gun nests, guard posts, and sentries.
• 28 sensitive and challenging missions ? use stealth and skill to infiltrate hostile enemy territory
• Hone your sniping skills ? use gravity, elevation, wind speed and direction, heart rate, breath, posture, background noise, and other conditions to successfully hit your mark
• 4 Modes of play ? Single player, 2-player co-op, 2-player death match, and multiplayer network play
• Deep non-linear levels and sophisticated enemy AI -- freely explore war-torn Berlin and find your window of opportunity to line-up the perfect shot

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B000BHEQ1G
• Item Weight: 1.1 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,561 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

One bullet can change history!Product InformationAs World War II draws to a close the first covert battles of the Cold Warbegin.  Caught in the life and death struggle between the Soviets andGermans in war-torn Berlin you control the fate of a lone American OSSSniper.  Disguised as a German and working deep behind enemy lines you muststop Stalin's forces from gaining control of Germany's nuclear secrets. Prepare to alter the course of history.Product Features Tense multiplayer battles Adjust for wind gravity position heart rate and more in the most realistic sniping system ever 28 single player missions Online play with unique modes Windows Requirements Windows 98 Me 2000 XP 1 GHz CPU Nvidia GeForce 2 32 MB processor 256 MB of RAM 4 GB free Hard Drive space DVD-ROM drive DirectX 9.0c DirectX 8 compatible Sound Card 

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The best Sniper Simulator I've played., November 18, 2005

By 

Matthew Fathers (Wollongong, AUS) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Sniper Elite ( Windows ) (CD-ROM)

This is, in my opinion, the greatest Sniper simulation ever made. Take my word on it : I'm a great fan of all things Sniper related, and I've played just about every game that features realistic (and not so realistic) Sniping, from the bottom of the barrel "CTU Marine Sharp Shooter", to the high-caliber "Operation Flashpoint". Nothing even comes close. The PC version is also MUCH better than the console versions -- the graphics are crisper and the mouse is a god send when compared to console hand controllers, allowing a level of accuracy that you simply cannot obtain on a console.

The bullet physics, which are the "meat and potatoes" of any Sniper game, are incredibly realistic. When taking a shot (on the highest difficulty level) you must account for wind speed, posture, heart rate and, most importantly, gravity.
A long range target will be impossible to hit unless you account for the distance by aiming above the mark's head (the further away the target, the higher you must aim). Wind means that you must also compensate your shot by aiming to the left or right of a target, depending on the actual speed of the wind present in the level. Scoring a head shot on a long-range moving target is incredibly satisfying, as it takes quite a lot of skill to accomplish.

Also, a word of warning : this game is pretty gruesome (mostly because of the headshots), and its most certainly not for the squeamish.
The game physics calculates whether or not your round will be a headshot as soon as you fire and headshot rounds are shown from a slow-motion trailing perspective which follows the bullet to the target.
A direct headshot rewards the player with a fountain of blood, brains and skull fragments which sprays from the target's head.
The entrance wound is also present, so you know exactly where your shot landed -- I still wince and exclaim over a round when it blows through a targets eye or mouth.
Sniper rifles are not the only weapons you can utilize - for close combat, there are a variety of weapons, such as silenced pistols, MP40's, MG42's, grenades, trip mines, time bombs and so on. The close combat is not as fun as Sniping, but it is necessary in some areas of the game, and it does give a welcome change from constant sniping.

The game is no prize pig in the graphics compartment, especially when you compare it to the superb visuals of other games such as Call of Duty 2, but it is adequate for the genre, and it is definitely better than any other Sniper orientated game I've played. The Bloom effect, which is used in many games these days, spices things up a bit, and improves the graphics tenfold.

The environments are also well done, although once again they are not overwhelmingly impressive, but they do suit the style of gameplay that is present. Bombed out buildings and debris is scattered throughout the levels -- the perfect environment for a sniper.
My one complaint when it comes to the levels is that, with a few exceptions, they do seem a little similar, and many objects, such as burning vehicles and debris shelters, are reused throughout the maps. This isn't a huge problem, and it does not reduce the superb gameplay in major way.

The sound in any Sniper game is an important factor, and I'm pleased to say that Sniper Elite features some of the best sound samples I've ever heard in a war game. The gun shots sound brutal, and the background ambiance is great, with mortar explosions, gunfire and occasional distant screams increasing the feeling of danger. One fun feature is the ability to mask your fire when a mortar explodes, ala Jude Law's character in one of the sequences in Enemy at the Gates. You wait for the sound of an incoming mortar (a Vwaaarrrrgghhh kind of sound), and fire just when the mortar lands. Very cool!

The AI is well done and very challenging, but not without a few bugs that do need fixing. Enemies, on the highest difficulty level, occasionally and magically know where you are positioned as soon as you fire a shot. This can detract from the immersion somewhat, but you can set custom difficulty levels, and taking the AI Difficulty down one notch seems to remedy the problem, at least until they patch the game.
Another problem that (thankfully) rarely presents itself is that a single enemy will sometimes ignore your presence completely, even when you are standing right in front of them or firing upon them. This has only happened to me twice thus far, and I've played through half of the game, so it's not a major problem - again, a future patch will probably fix this.

It must be said that if you are a fairly casual gamer and if you are not a fan of the Sniper genre of games, you should give this game a pass. To you, you will probably find this game to be frustrating and boring. However, if you do enjoy Sniper games, you will no doubt squeeze many hours of enjoyment from Sniper Elite. Highly recommended for Sniper fan boys!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than expected and different than the old hum-drum wwII shooters!, December 19, 2005

By 

Jason W. Blanton (Groveport, Oh United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Sniper Elite ( Windows ) (CD-ROM)

I'm not your typical sniper fan but an avid ww11 buff so this game comes to a surprize to me. I've played a long line of wwII games such as COD2, B&A & Earned in blood, MOFH Pacifc and Allied assults which are all great wwII combat similations but this game is a little different than the above mentioned and the difference is what I enjoy the most.

Instead of running and guning or ordering your troops around you are mainly solo and I mean solo. In war know one fights alone and that is true with most soldiers but with a sniper, 9x out of 10 he is alone because he does not want to attract attention to himself moving silently through the rubble.

With Sniper Elite you get to do this and more. Even though the graphics are not state-of-the-art by no means they are suficiant and get the point accross. You have to take out soldiers (Russian's this time) which I like because it seems that almost all wwII themed games these days focus on the Allied side of the wwII and not the Axis. Not saying I wish they won but I like fighting a different adversary once and while. In this game you are represented as an American soldier sent behind enemy lines (Berlin, Germany) at the end of wwII when the Russians had Hitlers SS with their backs against the wall in Berlin where they were defeated. Your job is quit simple, prevent the Russian military from obtaining the Nuculer Bomb plans from the German scientists. Though that seems easy enough it will literally take you 28 missions or so to succeed with this goal and many hours of great gameplay. I don't want to ruin it especially since I am still playing the game so I will narrow it down to and tell you what I like about this game:

Gameplay=1: great stealth gameplay makes you keep your head down and your body out-of-sight (THIS GAME IS not for the quick-fix-war-junkies via COD or MOFH fans)but the patient minded and slow movers taking in the scenery.

Game Physics=1: Awesome, you can't just shoot away expecting to hit your target, you will acually have to aim and take your time but setting the difficulty down to easy will lessen this a bit. Great bullet time effects and grusome blood effects!

Sound=1: It seems as though you were trans-ported to 1945 in the remains of the once mighty German empire! You hear bombs exploding, rockets soring through the air, screams and cries of the wounded, great sound though you may have to adjust your sound acceleration setting on your s card, there seems to be a bug at time making the sound distorted or an ecoing affect.

Graphics=-1: This is were I took off a point because of the overall detail of the graphics and the below adverage pixel count, some levels look better than adverage shooters and others, well not so revolutionary but it gets the job done. Not bad overall, just not great.

Replay Value=1: Once you get through the single player levels you can go online and duke it out will fellow comrades which is about what every other game offers these days to increase their replay value. I am however, not so much into multiplay because of bad past experiences namely (Red Orchastra) which is an awesome Eastern Front Multiplayer combat shooter than raises the bar on realism of war but has some bad players who rather see you dead than to help you out which are on your own team. I believe the multiplayer in this game is a solo advent so you shouldn't have an issue with this.

Overall=4/5: Worth the $29.00 dollars I paid for it! It's stealth gameplay, nerve-wracking missions are worth every penny and it's lengthy campaign will keep you busy for days if not weeks depending of course how often you play. Worth the money but not much more than this.

Final score: 4/5 points

Final comments: If you like to take your time in a game and draw your sites on a relentless enemy, this is the game for you!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superior PC shooter on every level, February 1, 2007

By 

Linda (United States) - See all my reviews

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Sniper Elite ( Windows ) (CD-ROM)

"Sniper Elite" is a very well done military sniper simulation for the Window's PC. Though not 100% realistic, it still has the strong feeling of gritty realism, while still keeping the game really fun on a shooter-type of level. But this is not a mind-numbing run-and-gun game -- you must think how you should assault, defend, or snipe various enemy soldiers -- just as in a real combat situation. And the AI is, bar far, the best of any other combat PC game that I have ever played -- and I have played them all (the AI enemy here actually seems to _think and act_ as real soldiers would. However, I would recommend that you play Sniper Elite on one of the higher levels of difficulty to feel the full effect of this superior AI.) You won't be charging around killing scores of enemies within minutes either (but you will kill enough to satisfy your trigger finger!): The authenticity and feels-like-you're-there atmosphere (even being a bit nervous that some counter-sniper may take you out at any minute) is absolutely amazing, as is some of the gore and sounds one might witness in combat. There are just not many games out there with this winning combination of realism, excitement, enjoyment, and playability: This is one of the few that successfully combines all of these elements. A fantastic PC game indeed!