Dear developers. Remaster the Sniper Elite 1. In the end, because of this part, we fell in love with the sniper series, I think many will support me, as it became the best of all sniper parts.

I enjoyed being a janky sniper during World War II, doing janky sniper things (mostly firing bullets at the no-no areas of baddies). But while it mended my achy janky heart, this isn't a game I would recommend if you're jank-intolerant. Instead, skip it and play Sniper Elite V2, which, strangely enough, isn't a sequel but a kinda remake/reboot. And, just like Microsoft, it seems Rebellion also failed the "How to correctly number things: 101" class. At least they passed "Fun gameplay: 101" with a decent grade. That's what matters.

However, while I like Sniper Elite, now, our first date was rough. I was lost as a cucumber in a straight man's ass. The main culprit — a horrendous tutorial. There was no step-by-step walkthrough of how to play the game, what the gameplay mechanics are and displaying examples of how they work.

Instead, I got random pop-up messages filled with text during the first few missions. In one instance, I was told, "Be wary of a sniper concealed in one of the destroyed buildings near you." That's all fine and dandy, but there is a tiny problem — I was nowhere near this covert enemy's location when I was warned. How do I know? Well, I later found out... the hard way. And since the game didn't lube me up beforehand, there was some discomfort, which almost made me give up on the game. But I'm glad I didn't succumb to this temptation and powered through the roughness, courtesy of the lacklustre tutorial, like a champ.

And the best worst part — a game where I'm supposed to be a sniper doesn't have a good way for me to calibrate my shot. Thus, I had to resort to the fire-and-see tactic, calibrating my aim depending on where the bullet hit.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2982189474
However, things changed. After continuously dying in the name of science, I finally understood how to play the game. And I had fun. Bullets started hitting their mark, gonads were exploding, and stealth is for the weak.

And right off the bat, the size of the playground each mission has in store for you is extraordinary. They're big enough to offer plenty of room for fun combat experimentation using different routes and tactics while not being too daunting to traverse. But most maps do have limited vertical environmental interactivity. So, when the chance arose, I always took the advantage vantage points offered me, picking apart the enemies below, one by one, as I relished in the slow-mo kill cams. And while the scriptures tell of farting on a man's balls being forbidden, shooting them off is fair game.

But that's not all. The freedom you have in deciding how to tackle mission objectives is fantastic. You're told where to go, what to do, and left to your own devices. Everything is peachy as long as you complete your objective. So, employing flanking, distractions, and other Sun Tzu war exploits will give you an upper hand over your enemy. Rebellion also littered the map with plenty of ruined buildings and unique covers that have differently positioned holes you can use. For sniping! Jesus...

Now, I must mention the odd mission design — essentially, a mission is split into multiple mini-missions. And I loved it. Since gear, health, ammo and first aid carry into the next mini-mission, being reckless would potentially spell doom, with the upcoming mission being more challenging. You do get some supplies at the start of each mini-mission and can loot the dead. But I still suggest being careful when traversing a level, taking things slow and finding the perfect spot for sniping. Enemies are plentiful, they will retaliate with force, and you'll just end up wasting ammo and first aid by acting the fool.

As for what you'll do on these missions, they tend to have either one or more objectives — sabotage equipment, kill a person with a weird hat or just good old dispensing freedom (aka. killing anything that moves). I wish there were more kill-person-with-funny-hat missions and leave. But sadly, most have a combo of needing to snipe one specific soldier but also dish out the freedom to the rest. So, expect to clear an entire level of anything with a pulse, like 99% of the time.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2981022839
And now it's time for my first gameplay issue — stealth. It felt useless most of the time and is pretty inconsistent, especially if you bump the difficulty up to hard or above (don't do that). There are some cool concepts here, no doubt. For example, you can mask the sound of your shots with the explosions going off in the background. This can be useful since no sniper has a silencer, and you'll stay undetected if you time it right. However, the whole stealth mechanic is unpredictable, especially sneaking past enemies. Will they see me? Why will/won't they? Why is my little sniper hunk icon in the bottom left corner getting muddier? How do I affect it changing? Who knows. So anyway, I started blasting enemies, not caring about being seen. Unless a mission objective required silence, which is rare, stealth was a mere suggestion for me.

But I mustn't forget to complain about the movement system. Despite almost 15 hours, I still haven't fully adjusted to how it feels. Running/walking is handled unconventionally. The mouse scroll wheel is used for dictating movement speed (scroll) and whether you're about to crouch, prone or standing (press). I personally belive the sniper dude is actually MC Hammer. Whenever I want to go left or right, he does the MC Hammer shuffle and glides across the floor as if the streets of Berlin were covered in ice.

And lastly, the presentation.

It's what you would expect from a game released in 2005, the PS2 era; the models are blocky, levels re-use assets, the enemy design variety isn't great, the voice acting is bad, the animations are stiff, and the story is forgettable. While I did like how war-torn Germany was depicted, levels tend to be set in the same setting; a destroyed city with ruined buildings squished next to a not-as-ruined building. There are some exceptions, and they do enough to spruce up things, offering a nice change of scenery from the desolate ruins of German cities.

But the it factor, which you'll remember the game for, is the sniper slow-mo kill cam. They aren't as detailed as in the later entries, mostly flesh wounds. Nonetheless, it's still fun to watch your bullet glide towards the no-no area of a baddie in slow motion.

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2982315653
Before we part ways, my ultrawide brethren should know that widescreen support is poor. There is a community fix. The screen is no longer stretched, looks good, and cutscenes don't have weird bottom/top black bars. But HUD is displayed like on a 4:3 screen, and interacting with menu buttons is buggy. So, with more headache than relief, I decided to bite down on my pillow, hard, and play without the fix, torturing my eyes with a stretched image.

So, yeah, that's Sniper Elite for you.

While the tutorial was abysmal, and stealth gameplay execution was poor, I had fun once I (mostly) understood how its gameplay mechanics functioned. The levels are as hands-off as possible, giving you the quill and ink to write the story you want across the 28 blank pages waiting for you. All-in-all, while it may not be the fairest game of them all, its душа gives it a certain charm, making it a blast to play.

To those who made it this far, you're all majestic sausages. And if you enjoy this review, come and consume more wisdom from the Gospel of Sv. Prolivije.

Played this so many times on the PS2 I know all the locations of the enemies. This is really a great sniping simulator and WW2 shooter.

+ Realisitic
+ 4 difficulty settings including Custom
+ Many missions that you can do different way
+ 3 different snipers and a few other weapons
+ Bullet cams
+ Better graphics than PS2

9/10 - Played this way to much, recommend.

i have to warn you, it did not age well.
but it is interesting to see where the entire series came from, so i basically played it out of educational reasons.
if you are a huge fan of the series, get it... if not, then rather start of with Sniper Elite V2

great for us older gamers, nothing anyone can't learn or pick up with game experience. I am 61 and pretty much mastered the different instructions and skills.

OK so here's my review of this "Old but Gold" game

Pros:
-Looks solid for a 2005 game
-Ammo and weapons from previous part of the mission gets carried over to the next part
-Actually quite a scary atmosphere in this one unlike in the newer games
-Realistic sniper simulation (including ballistic effects,wind and no tagging assist)
-The game actually wants you to get used to scoping without any "red markers"

Cons:
-Clumsiness
-Raid on Nordsig :(

So,that's about it I guess.BTW I played the game on PS2 before,but really wanted to get it on steam.
If you bought it on anniversary sale for 1$ just like I did you're certainly gonna have a blast.

A stealth title more than 3rd person war time shooter though when you pull out your sniper rifle you're in 1st person. While sniping, you will have to take into account wind, gravity, your heartbeat as well as the air in your lungs, the latter of which you will be unable to exhaust with an elevated heart rate.

The strategic element is important as the AI will investigate noises as well as fallen comrades and quickly gift you a bullet hole too many if you're not mobile enough. The experience of pulling off difficult shots on moving targets is very satisfying. The game employs a bullet cam and provides a stupendously graphic visualization of that soldier's jugular you just punctured complete with blood spurt.

You're scored on your abilities as well and the game recognizes the type of shot in terms of distance, moving targets and parts of the body. The save system is liberal enough so that you can save anytime, though the game will eventually inform you that you have saved too many times and thereby dock your score.

Sniper Elite adds additional realism and tension by allowing you to comprehensively search the dead, many times under threat, for survival necessities as opposed to a brusque pat down which might just yield a couple of bullets, though the ability to move the cadaver to a safer area for inspection is available.

While the visuals are indeed dated, the whole package creates an atmospheric stage consistent with bombed out Dresden and I would like to emphasize this accomplishment given the age of the engine. Once you have created a profile, 1080P is supported. Sniper Elite is the definition of a war time classic.

Every franchise has to start with something.
The First Sniper Elite Game was really good.
But nowadays there's no point in playing it.
It's basically worth it only for the nostalgia.
If you've never played it: You Won't Like It.
But it definitely deserves a positive review.
We have the sequels thanks to this game.
And the sequels are really, really amazing.

The graphics, while not nearly as amazing as other games, hold their own. The inclusion of a "bullet cam" allows you to enjoy your best shots for longer, and from another prospective. While the levels feel a bit "blocked in" the is still plenty of room to get in some very long shots. The best thing I found in this game was the possibility of completing a level however I wished. I could crawl around in well-hidden tunnels and holes to find the best sniping positions, or I could enter a level and do my best to fight through the waves of AI that came running and gunning my way. All-in-all I am happy with this purchase, though the game didn't last long on the normal difficulty. (I suggest Realistic difficulty.)

Rating: 4.5/10

The character drifts like a car while running and turning lol (maybe high FPS issue)
Initially, I thought graphics would be an issue for me, but turns out the gameplay is the real issue.

I found it a weird combination of stealth and shooting, where neither one is fun


UPDATE:

After playing a little more, I think it could be somewhat fun if we avoid stealth and run n shoot like a wild dog from a distance although the movement momentum and stealth are noticeably broken.
I don't recommend this game still. They already have released better ones, play those.