Berlin 1945... V2 Rockets with deadly nerve gas are ready to launch. An army of German and Russian soldiers are in your path. Make every bullet count or the world goes down with you. X-Ray Kill Cam lets you see organs tear and burst, bones and teeth shatter, as your bullet penetrates your enemy. Advanced sniper simulation allows for gravity, wind, distance and breathing...

I was really looking forward to the release of Sniper Elite V2, having played the free downloadable demo on Xbox Arcade. I was so blown away by the demo that I was already planning to buy the game when it was released if we hadn't been sent a review copy. However, having played the full game, I'm not as impressed as I originally was.

I have to admit that I'm not a huge fan of third person games. I'm a first person shooter geek at heart, but the demo looked incredibly promising.

Set in 1945 the aim of the game is fairly simple. Make your way through each level picking off enemy snipers and soldiers. How you do it is up to you. Scan the area with binoculars and take out the enemy with your sniper rifle from a distance, or get up close and shoot them with your automatic weapon or silenced pistol. Use sounds in each environment (like thunder or church bells) to ensure that you don't alert the enemy when firing, and cover your back by planting trip wire explosives or mines to take out any enemy that tries to sneak up on you.

There are a number of different difficulty settings from complete novice to expert sniper. This does add replayability to the game.

One of the best elements of the game is the x-ray kill cam that on occasion will show you a slow motion replay of a kill where you can see the bullet travel through the body of your victim. If you're a good enough aim you'll see eye balls pop out of their sockets, hearts explode and bits of brains and skull fragments fly through the air. And, if your enemy is lying down, you may get to see the bullet travel from the top of his head, through the rest of his body. It's all gross, but incredibly well realised.

The finished game appears to be a little more limited, or maybe it's just more difficult, when it comes to getting those cool slow motion kills. In the demo I managed to snipe loads of hearts and explode grenades on my enemies person, but in the finished game I only ever managed one heart kill and two grenade kills.

I think the biggest issue I had was close combat. If you're suddenly confronted by an enemy at close quarters it's not easy to change your weapon and kill them - it seems to take an age to switch weapons, and you're never overly confident that you've managed to select the right one. Another issue I had was with the sniping aspect of the game (i.e. the main game play). Getting into sniping mode is not always that easy - the controls don't always respond as they should, so it's a case of pressing the button to aim down sight again.

The game can be played offline, in single player mode, or online with Xbox Live mode, which allows for a variety of games. Online play is a little tricky, even two weeks after the release date I was finding it hard to join any games. Also there are no competitive multi-player games, they're mainly co-op offerings where you are facing off against AI enemies.

Make no mistake, this is a fun game, but it's one you might like to rent first.

7

Nick Smithson