Sniper: Ghost Warrior

[Art Blade]

A friend of mine was so kind as to surprise me with a little pack in the mail.. it was this game.

http://sniperghostwarrior.com/

Funny, only two days ago I had watched someone play the demo of it, for those interested, here are the links (2 parts playthrough)

1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BJIyqB1oG0
2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvCcQMNIfNg

Although it definitely isn't open world as you are being guided all the time, it combines very nice graphics (I love jungle) with oh so dearly loved sniping and stealth. I wouldn't have bought it (because of linear game play and because it's again STEAM activated), let's say most probably I wouldn't have, but my mate knew me better and did get the uncut version for me (English language, too).

Now after finishing the tutorial (you can keep your breath to aim better etc) I'm on my first mission. Very nice: I can quicksave and save normally, too. Perhaps because I play on Easy (of course, hehe) and that might help with aiming, too: The game obviously works with ballistics, wind and distance seem to play a role, but on easy you get to see a red dot in the scope where the bullet might hit. I've also got truckloads of rounds for my stealth weapons such as my silenced sniper rifle and pistol (ahhhh yessss) but I've also got a knife (hur hur hur  :-* ) and some hand grenades (hehehehehehe  ;D). What I don't know is why I'm carrying around a grapple.. and how to use it. JustCause2, someone? :)

The game settings are on ultra and it runs smoothly on my rig. So it is a nice addition, I shall think  :-X

[Art Blade]

Looks like the non-surprising-yet-fit-graphics game. A good mixture of Call of Duty (linearity, missions) and ArmA2 (it's not WWII) and perhaps some faint similarities with JustCause2 (grapple to climb to a higher place, yet only in specifically dedicated locations; Jungle Environment, at least one "clear the oil rig" mission) and some weapons seem familiar, we know for example Dragunov and AS50 from FarCry2.

You don't always snipe, you sometimes have to fight your way out along with some comrades or rescue a PoW etc. Highlight is the "bullet-cam" which gives you a slo-mo view of the bullet from leaving the barrel until going through the target's mind -- or in other words, always when you performed superbly with regards to a headshot. I even managed to sever someone's head with an AS50  ;D

[PZ]

Looks like my kind of game even though it is linear.  I've always liked the sniper games.

[Art Blade]

It is better than the usual CoD kind of games I should think. You get lots of sniping to do, there is some kind of freedom in how you handle certain missions, and it is very corridor-like and linear. Nevertheless, it is definitely a lot better so far than I would have guessed. The graphics are very pleasing and the missions are sometimes a little challenging even on easy difficulty level. However, the fun aspect is strong, and the "bullet-cam" (slow motion camera following your bullet) is addictive as in it makes you want to aim properly and do some heads in  ;D

[PZ]

I saw it at the local department store for $30 - almost picked it up, but was unsure of the name and didn't want to get the wrong thing  ;D

[Art Blade]

You go straight back, mate, and get it  ;D ;D ;D

[Art Blade]

Oh one thing I find remarkable about the game:

Loading/Saving time

This game loads and saves so unbelievably quickly it makes me wonder why other games can't do that just half as well as S:GW. Basically the same goes for mission loading times. Just splendid  :)  :-X

[PZ]

You go straight back, mate, and get it  ;D ;D ;D

Next time I'm in town or do an Amazon order, I will  ;)

[Art Blade]

 :)

Although I reckon that this game isn't something to play over and over again, it sure is some fun to have.

I like those throwing knifes you get by default and you can recollect them from the bodies when someone was so nice as to catch them for you when you threw them into their direction ;D Good for silent kills, of course.

Something I consider "silly" is the accuracy stats you get to see. Why silly? Because some missions don't feature single shot sniper rifles but assault rifles and a hectic assault à la "spray and pray" really doesn't help accuracy stats, now does it. You get one stats for and after a mission which is ok for true sniper missions, but they sum up and get thrown into the same pot for the entire game as global stats, which is silly.

Some missions require you to blow up stuff, so you get to place c-4 on say AA-sites or blow up marijuana fields, some are about "rescue a friend" kind of stuff, and some require a lot of stealth, as in "pass unseen" through an army camp. Unseen still means that you can kill most of the guys but you are not allowed to raise an alarm doing so.

You can see your own legs and feet and you do cast a shadow, something we had a long discussion about in other topics ("I want to... cast a shadow")  ;D

The sniper rifles are not always silenced, but for some reason it doesn't really matter. I once kept shooting around in a camp rather noisily and the other guys didn't care much.. nor did I.  :) But apparently you've always got your nice silenced pistol which actually is silent. Just a little "ploff" and someone suddenly suffers from a rather acute frontal lobotomy, even if performed through the back of his head.  :)

Hand grenades are not very spectacular and not your default loadout. Still, it is ok sometimes to toss a 'nade over to a guard post. Like that you may get to meet a lot of his friends rather quickly, and kill them just as well  :)

Oh, forgot to mention: When you hold your breath to aim with a sniper gun, time slows down significantly. Almost like in FO3. You can't do that for very long, though, and if you use that feature you'll pant a little after that which is bad for your consecutive aiming but you'll recover quickly. Also, like the Eagle Vision of AC2, holding your breath changes the colours of the environment when viewed through the scope and enemies usually turn red while sniping (not always, probably to do with being partly visible or distance, not sure yet. That turning-red however is only available on Easy difficulty). Not bad :)

When you're with your spotter reminds me of the passage in CoD:ModernWarfare I think it was, when you were to snipe someone from a hotel room in Pripyat/Chernobyl. The similarity is that your spotter keeps talking and giving tips and commenting (e.g. in Sniper, after you did a well-aimed headshot, he goes "Niiiiiice" etc) and also you always wear that camo suit that makes you looke like a giant vegetarian mop.  :)

[Art Blade]

Funny moments:

1) Didn't aim properly and made his hat jump.
2) Shot off a helmet that went sailing away, leaving the soldier puzzled (before I ventilated his skull).
3) Aimed at a guy in a ditch and fired. That moment another guy popped his head up in front of the first guy, so both met their end with the same bullet at the same time.
3) Killed a cow with a headshot. Nice ragdoll..  ;D
4) Killed a chicken with a stroke of my knife.
5) Shot a head off one's neck (whoa, looks heavy. didn't expect that to happen)
6) Found an eagle sitting on a wooden bridge. Sniped him.

I don't know why, but when playing games that have weapons, I always try to kill all kinds of animals I encounter. Some games allow it, others don't. Those which do allow it not always make it look good. In Sniper:GhostWarrior animals "react" as you expect it. Like, a cow drops dead and may even give a sound, birds kind of explode in a burst of blood and feathers. Haven't found a cat or dog yet (hehe) but I think I'd leave them alone.

Oh, funny moment: Sneaking around very stealthily in a wet environment, I tripped on a fricking crocodile which was about as surprised as I was, and we both ran away in different directions. ;D

[Art Blade]

OK, I'm through. Already.

Game time: 13h 12min
10 of 30 secrets found (useless crap, they are messages I didn't know what to do with them)
35% overall accuracy (while I had 100% in some pure sniper missions)
510 headshots
1040 kills

Those "secrets" are hidden mostly in huts and rooms, that means they aren't hidden at all as they are right on a desk. All you need to do is go into huts and rooms you wouldn't have to by mission design. The secrets are then available on the main game menu and look like a bread box with a sheet of paper on which some typewriter exercises can be found (ie: "join the army, donate money to the army, send your sons to the army" or some such crap)

The overall accuracy goes down the drain when you have missions going that put you like on the back of a truck with an MG and you need to take out enemies while some guy drives you around on narrow bumpy paths at quite some speed. Impossible to get a good accuracy there, and there are more missions that require you to use automatic weapons while you are on a full-blown panic mission and simply don't have time to aim in peace and quiet.

Very nice environment, day and night, sun and rain, jungle and factory, sniping and assault. I'll replay some of the missions as they are available individually once you've played them. I really liked the massive stealth missions, such as the last one named "seek and destroy" where you had to walk around something like Incan or Aztec temple ruins (a maze, basically) and avoid to be seen by your enemies (which means you had to spot them before they spotted you, and then better kill them rather than getting stabbed in the back if you left them be). Not so good was the AI which sometimes really was inhuman as in they were all of a sudden on high alert and madly accurate and spotted me despite a massive camo suit and like 150m away at night and during a rainfall. It was fun to fight against them, though, they hid well and tried to flank me etc.

The game was fun. Fast food for the First Person Shooter fans with a knack for sniping.  :) :-X

[JRD]

Nice reviews Art  :-X

I did see that game on STEAM but the title didn`t inspire me much confidence!

A few questions though!

1-) Is it a one-shot-and-YOU-are-dead kind of game or you can stand a few shots before you die?
2-) How does the heal system w@&k? Medkit? Hide-and-restore?
3-) Do you get injured - as if you get shot on the arm, you can`t aim well or start breathing bad and panting?
4-) Are there timed missions?
5-) You mentioned day/night cycles, but is it "real time" i.e. does the sun moves in the sky and if you take too long the night falls or sun rises? That would be nice to have missions where you could wait for dusk or hurry up before dawn!



I know it`s probably not the case, but I really want to see a game where the position you are in relation to the sun would affect your vision... would be nice to assault a camp against the rising sun and have your enemies blinded by it! Some serious sandbox programming here!

[Art Blade]

My answers in orange:

Nice reviews Art  :-X thanks :)

A few questions though!

1-) Is it a one-shot-and-YOU-are-dead kind of game or you can stand a few shots before you die?
I've never been sniped, but pistols and assault weapons did hit me: I survived injured.

2-) How does the heal system w@&k? Medkit? Hide-and-restore?
Medkits. There are first aid lockers filled with "medicine" and they are quite frequent which allow you to refill your supply. It looks like you're using a pressurised injection tube and stick the needle into your stomach.. hehe. Those injections don't always restore health to 100% so you may need more than one.  I didn't pay attention if or how much "hide-and-restore" worked, but when I was injured, I never recovered to full health without medicine.

3-) Do you get injured - as if you get shot on the arm, you can`t aim well or start breathing bad and panting?
You do get injured but as such it doesn't affect you. Only while being shot at (and hit) your sights jump which makes aiming nearly impossible (or a matter of luck). Apparently there isn't a sophisticated bodypart injury system, it doesn't matter where bullets hit you or the enemy apart from a headshot of course. I've never been shot in the head, though. Bad breath? Never smelled it, no idea  ;) You do pant and aim poorly while and after running around. Three stances: Standing, crouching, prone -- the lower, the better your aim. When you use a scope, you'll see all kinds of info, like your own heart rate. When you're calm you've got 80bpm, when you crouched around it will be like 110bpm and running causes something like 130bpm. You do recover and get your 80bpm quite quickly, amazingly quickly compared to real life, but it still takes time you might not have.

4-) Are there timed missions?
Not the way you think (count down) but some missions require you to for example protect a team which sends you running around, shooting, running to the next spot, shooting, getting shot at and defend yourself while your team wants you to protect them etc.. in other words: hectic.

5-) You mentioned day/night cycles, but is it "real time" i.e. does the sun moves in the sky and if you take too long the night falls or sun rises? That would be nice to have missions where you could wait for dusk or hurry up before dawn!
No, no "real time." The weather is fixed for a mission.

I know it`s probably not the case, but I really want to see a game where the position you are in relation to the sun would affect your vision... would be nice to assault a camp against the rising sun and have your enemies blinded by it! Some serious sandbox programming here!
I didn't notice if you've actually got that kind of advantage. There are either stealth operations with silenced sniper rifles or assault missions with either assault rifles or non-silenced sniper rifles. The real stealth missions are the best ones for my taste because enemies are so extremely alert that you have to pay extra attention. They can literally spot you through a gap in a fence from like 150+m at night during rainfall. One mission was so tough (remember, I played on Easy) I had to aim through and across a tent (through windows) and I could only see a small part of an enemy who on top kept moving around in another tent. It was both stealth and timing which made me take him out nicely.

[PZ]

Great Q&A guys - much appreciated.  Here is some more information I saw on Amazon where the game is $29.99 for the PC version and $39.99 for xBox.
Key Game Features       

• The most  realistic sniping experience in a video game ever, right down to  managing your breathing for increased accuracy of sniper shots.
• Enjoy a fully realistic ballistic system that accounts for  bullet trajectory, including bullet drop and environmental effects such  as wind, fog and rain.
• Pull off the perfect headshot  and watch your bullets strike the enemy with pinpoint  accuracy in Bullet Cam Mode.
• Cooperate with your  spotter for a better performance.
• An arsenal of  explosive weaponry is at your disposal. Defend your perimeter with  Claymore mines, demolish enemy outposts with C4 charges and make silent  kills with throwing knives.
• Four types of sniping rifles:  AS50, MSG90, SR25 and SVD Dragunov.
• A variety of mission  types ranging from sniper vs. sniper elimination, real-time tactical  assault and fixed machine gun combat.
• Built on the Chrome  engine which immerses players in lush jungle and detailed industrial  environments.
• Non-linear gameplay allows players to decide  how they wish to approach a situation. Challenges may be completed in  several different sequences, giving players the freedom to explore.
• Multiplayer mode option supporting up to 12 players.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior is a single player first-person tactical shooter that features game mechanics based primarily on realistic  covert actions of a military sniper. Combat is mission-based  and centers on extended stealth gameplay that challenges  players with a variety of strategic and tactical choices that  affect how they approach their objectives and eliminate their  targets. Sniper gameplay is designed to be realistic, with the player required to cooperate with their AI spotter for pinpointing of  targets, maintain heart beat and breathing control—especially  after running—for maximum accuracy and performance and develop  expertise with four types of sniping rifles: AS50, MSG90, SR25  and SVD Dragunov. Players in sniping situations also must deal  with conditions such as wind, fog and rain that will test even  the most skilled of shooters. Additional features include multiplayer support, a slow-motion Bullet Cam Mode for viewing kills, an arsenal of explosive weaponry like Claymore mines and C4  explosives to defend your perimeter when and/if your position  is discovered or to demolish enemy outposts, melee weapons like  throwing knives for close, quiet kills and the additional  ability to play as a hard-charging assault team member in  up-close and personal firefights.

[Art Blade]

Thanks for that summary, PZ :)

Now some mild rant  ;D

As to "game mechanics based primarily on realistic covert actions of a military sniper"  -- I don't believe that. I mean, I was never a soldier in real life, but if that was realistic, I bet no sniper would a) survive a war and b) kill so many people as I did. Anyone out there confirm to know someone with like 1,000+ kills (within a few hours)?! And what I know about real snipers is that they don't just run around in a jungle and try to kill someone they don't know anything about. As far as I know, a sniper needs to know  his target, observe every move and learn the patterns (when does he get home, where can he be found at a specific time etc). Also, as far as I know, snipers use little computers that do the maths for them regarding Coriolis force, wind, and whatnot. Not just "guessing." Having said all that, it is a game.. the aspect of your own surprise and panic and stress is more dominant than realistic sniping. At least it's diverse, you play all kinds of roles, like sniper, spotter, assault team member.. you name it. I did like it as a "fast food" FPS game, the graphics were really nice, especially "flora and fauna." Faces and mimic and water however looked like from years ago, technically outdated. Some cockpit views from a chopper were incredible cheap, too. But those moments were brief, the general impression was very good.

[PZ]

I like that rant - very useful information  :-X

[Art Blade]

Hehe, thanks..

I have a visual example of how realistic that game is. We, the sniper, are just as cool and professional as that "ninja" in the following short 18 seconds vid.  ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEtIoGQxqQs&NR=1

[JRD]

Nice comments you all...

Here are the first 10 minutes of gameplay to add some colors to the discussion!  ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sh_btp_HNXc&feature=related

As Art said, graphics, specially flora and fauna looks great - even though I reckon this guy is not playing with visual settings maxed out as some shadows appear quite blocky and yet are great!

Linear gameplay for sure... but should have its moments of fun!

I'd give it a try, but will wait for the discount or STEAM sales to consider purchasing!

[Art Blade]

I don't know if you can change those graphics settings on a console, that guy didn't play a PC version. Even on full HD the youtube vid didn't look quite as crisp as it does on my monitor when playing the game. The face of the main character (you) is done better than most of the other guys you'll get to see at some point in the game, though. There were at least two faces that made me think "oh dear, looks like back in the day of HalfLife1"  :)

[JRD]

You're right.. he is on a console!

So maybe its just crapier quality compared with the PC version I saw on other vids!

I also noticed that when you walk through vegetation you pass through it instead of bending the bushes like in FC2... that was a very cool detail in FC2!

[Ricamundo]

Hmmmm, i could actually buy this game today for $30, and it supports XP, unlike some other game thats popular right now. >:(

Kinda reminds me of Crysis, preumably without the flying aliens, which is a good thing. ;) The only things that concern me are the low ratings ive seen for the game, (5.5/10-5.8/10) Anything to do with Steam, and the linear gameplay. Not sure if i want to spend the cash on a dated game, since if i want a quick and dirty time waster in between playthru's of FC2 and FO3, i can play FEAR, which i just played.

[Art Blade]

it's not dated, it's brand new. The only thing "dated" is some cut scenes that involve ugly faces and a dashboard of a chopper. Enough to notice, but nothing that really influences the rest of the game much. In general, what you see is people from far enough away you won't have time to look them into their faces. Maybe if you walk over them to collect ammo. Water is something that in comparison with JC2 or CrySys looks.. dated.  ;D The general visual impression however is that you're walking around in an almost beautiful environment. :)

[Ricamundo]

it's not dated, it's brand new. The only thing "dated" is some cut scenes that involve ugly faces and a dashboard of a chopper. Enough to notice, but nothing that really influences the rest of the game much. In general, what you see is people from far enough away you won't have time to look them into their faces. Maybe if you walk over them to collect ammo. Water is something that in comparison with JC2 or CrySys looks.. dated.  ;D The general visual impression however is that you're walking around in an almost beautiful environment. :)

Yep, i know it was just released a couple of weeks ago, but by "Dated" i was referring to the linear style of gameplay, surely easier to program and design than a sandbox style like FC2. I suppose thats why its a mid-priced game. I agree the graphics do look good, from watching the YT vids.

[Art Blade]

I honestly don't know if I had bought it. But a friend just gave it to me as a gift, so why not play it. Now that I played it, I'd say if you've got a few spare bucks (when it's on discount) or if you want anything  FPS-style to fill a gap, then go for it. You can replay specific missions for fun on Easy difficulty, but I don't want to even think about playing that game on hardcore  ;D

[Ricamundo]

one of the crits the reviewer mentioned was ridiculously hard missions, even on Easy, and dumb AI, or conversly, AI that can spot you a mile away. I think it was a Gamespot crit BTW.