Sniper Elite 5
PREVIEW
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I swear at myselfin frustration while
launching over a countryside fenceand
running into a patchof longgrass to evade
my pursuers. Crouching down, I steady
my breath as the guards anxiously amble
over. That wasa very stupid move... but I
can’thelp but laugh.
Sniper Elite 5is the latest game in
the World WarII shooter series from
Rebellion. Although solidly set in the
serious events surrounding the
conflict, with your American James
Bond-esque infiltratorKarl onvital
missions for the Allies, there’s plenty of
goofyfun to be had while popping Nazis.
Gaining crucial information to support the
war effort is the aim of the game, but
aiming at fascist crotchesand shooting
their nards offis certainly a perk of the job.
The formand function of Sniper Elite 5
do feel a little at odds, butthat’sreally the
pleasure of the series for anyone but the
most hardcore military historybuff.
Though very po-faced in form, the
function is to makeyou laugh and feel
ultimately satisfiedby pulling offyour
most ridiculous plans. The game wearsa
frowning Greek tragedy mask, but theperformer underneath isgiggling along
with you,enjoying its time gallivanting
around the stage. You’re encouraged to
play however you want. Andhow I like
playing Sniper Eliteis by goingwith the
flow,no matter how silly that flow gets.
What’smade theSniper Eliteseries
stand out over the years, in asea of World
War II based shooters from Call of Dutyto
Medal of Honor, is that when you pull off
shots and kills,you’re rewarded with a
slow-motion,hyper-realistic shot of your
bullet entering, damaging, and killing your
opponent, with gloriousX-ray so you can
see every detail. While as a sniper you
spend most of thetime shooting at heads,
you can also kill with shots toother parts
of the body...like thecrown jewels. The
drama thisinvests in even the most
wince-inducingshotsis a treat.
It’sa little crass, and even gross, but
mostly it’s very funny.Evenwhen hard-ass
Lieutenant Fairburne istaking his job very
seriously, there’s a flair and sense of
humour tobe found in every scenario. To
be that stoic and focused, andthen to
canonically shoot your enemyin the groin
just has a certain comicje ne sais quoi.
And youget ample pointsfor
defeating your enemies in any way
you can find,so balls to the walls is
practically encouraged.GUNNING FOR SUCCESS
My hands-on preview certainly gives me
plenty of opportunities toembraceboth
the serious and the silly. The setting of the
mission at hand sees Lieutenant Fairburne
hot on thetail of a Nazi plan. Something
called Project Kraken is rumoured to be
the Nazis’ next bigmove, and I need to
find and preventwhatever atrocities the
rotters are cooking up in their war crime
kitchen. Todo so, I need to infiltrate a
French chateau, heavily guardedby
soldiers, at postsand onpatrol with keen
eyes and earsat the ready.Karl’s foiled
Nazi plansbefore and they cannot risk it
happening again.
My journeystarts with whispering
amongst French rebels with rifles and
perfectly rolledcigarettes in hand.They’ve
heard murmurs ofthis potential planbut
need toknow exact details. The Nazi in
charge has already moved on from this
site, buthas hopefully left ample
documents behind toinform my nextL
ieutenant Karl Fairburne is nothing if
not a professional. A deep grizzled voice
that would make any 1 940s woman
swoon, short back and sides haircut, and
far too many pockets – you can tell he’s a man on a
world-changing mission. Even if he has just
accidentally fired his pistol into the ground,
alerting several nearby Nazis to his position.
Bringing history to life, and then
making it very dead
SNIPER ELITE 5
SOMETHING CALLED PROJECT
KRAKEN IS RUMOURED TO BE
THE NAZIS’ NEXT BIG MOVE
RELEASE
May 26 , 2022
DEVELOPER
Rebellion DevelopmentsPUBLISHER
In-houseLINK
sniperelitegames.comNEED TO KNOW
PLAYED
IT
Charlie Chaplin off
out to do some
shopping.