Coming up on a forth entry, the Sniper Elite series has become a bit of a phenomena. In a genre overrun with run-and-gun experiences, Sniper Elite takes a far more conservative approach to the shooter formula. Players are instead tasked with deliberately exploring their environment, searching for the best place and moment to strike and delivering lead death in a decisive action. Rebellion Developments aims to take this formula to a whole new scope in Sniper Elite 4.
Sniper Elite 4 picks up right where Sniper Elite 3 left off, this time taking players to the countryside of Italy. Assuming the role of a covert soldier, players will take on operations that have them moving through cities, forests, farmlands, and mountainside retreats as they either take on campaign missions alone or with a partner or go head to head in a widened and versatile multiplayer mode.
In a recent interview here at GameWatcher, we had the opportunity to speak with the Head of Creative at Rebellion, Mr. Tim Jones, about what changes and opportunities we can expect in the newest and most expansive of the Sniper Elite series. Settle in and enjoy as we lay out everything we know about the upcoming Sniper Elite 4.
Updated 14.06.2016
Gameplay
Sniper Elite 4 picks up in the aftermath of Sniper Elite 3. The year is 1943 and players will be taking up the role of covert agent and marksman Karl Fairburne. Fairburne is part of a resistance who is attempting to fight back and turn the tide against the fascist regime in control of Italy. Moreover, it is revealed that the Nazis are developing a new and fearsome weapon. This threat has the means to turn the tide against the oncoming Allied assault well before Operation Overlord or D-Day ever happen. Karl must survive and complete his mission if victory in Europe is to be obtained.
One of the most apparent and grand of improvements and changes to form in Sniper Elite 4 is the size of the playable maps. In our interview with Tim Jones, he revealed that even the smallest map in Sniper Elite 4 is three times larger than the biggest map in Sniper Elite 3. That’s a lot of ground to cover, but it’s not just space for the sake of space either. Jones stated that his team is working to make sure that every environment is constructed with realism in mind, giving buildings full interiors with suitable objects and giving forests and mountains nooks and crannies that will make everything interesting to explore.
Speaking of exploration, players will be getting more abilities for traversing these massive environments. We’re not looking at Mirror’s Edge levels of mobility, but players will be able to climb, shimmy, and generally scale the environment more fluidly than ever before in the series’ history, making for more versatility when it comes to seeking, hiding, and finding that perfect next and making your attack. With the grand scale of the maps and the addition of new mobility, Sniper Elite 4 is set to reward the explorer in their strategies more than ever.
And on the topic of strategies, Sniper Elite 4’s single-player and co-op are building towards actively engaging players in tactical adaptation. The AI system has been completely reworked. Enemies no longer wait in a static place until you show up. The world moves in real-time and all NPC characters are active at all times. They’ll have their routines of course, such as patrols and lookout, but whatever they’re doing, they’ll certainly be paying attention as soon as they know the player is around.
Once the player is noticed, the AI adapts to what the player does. Enemies won’t be as stupid as before, especially with the presence of hierarchy. With officers on the field, troops will be coordinated to attack and defend against players rationally. Kill the officer and the troops will become uncoordinated. Chip a soldier, wounding them, and the other troops will attempt to safely secure the wounded and revive them. If the enemies find a corpse, appropriate countermeasures will be employed to raise the alarm. All in all, Sniper Elite 4 aims to address almost all complaints players have had about AI in the past and push the limits on enemy interaction.
Sniper Elite 4 is a game that’s going to attempt to cater to all fans. The game is meant to be accessible in its richness, allowing casual players to enjoy the kill cams that have been favored in the series’ history, but it’s also going to cater to hardcore fans just as much as ever. On harder difficulties, players will be dealing with all of the immersive physics one can expect out of long range marksmanship. Bullet drop, weather patterns, obstructions, organ penetration, and more are just as prevalent as ever and then some to the series. Rebellion wants players of all skill levels to enjoy the game, but they won’t be alienating the hardcore fans that love to play with realism set at the highest degree.
Modding Support
Nothing is concrete yet, but mod support is not off the table either. In the interview with Tim Jones, he mentioned that the team is currently far more interested in building a great game than offering mod support at this time. That said, Jones also stated that the option of mod support was a conceivable possibility, albeit a challenging one. He and his team are nonetheless dedicated to hearing the community out and supplying additional content that will be enjoyed well after the game’s release.
System Requirements
At this time, the system requirements for Sniper Elite 4 are yet unknown. We will be updating this section as soon as the information becomes available.
Release Date
As of E3 2016, we finally have a release date for Sniper Elite 4! The game will be arriving on February 14 2017 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
Additional Thoughts
The sheer scope of Sniper Elite 4 is astounding. That even the smallest maps are going to be enormous gorgeous affairs opens the game up to an amazingly different experience. Moving through the different environments, rural, urban, and wilderness, almost sounds like it’s going to be as much of a sightseeing tour as it will be a dangerous and deadly mission.
It’s good to see the game expanding in the way of mobility as well. You never expect a shooter to get accolades as a platformer, but Sniper Elite 4 giving more movement skills to players is something that can only help give variety to a game that depends upon a sort of hide n’ seek nature. It will be cool to find out more about what kind of mobility we can expect once more information becomes available.
Of course, that mobility is going to transfer most to the co-op and multiplayer experiences. With new options to get around the map, players are going have to be aware of their surroundings more than ever before as they aim to stay hidden as well as achieve the upper hand in attack. In co-op, achieving a synchronization of spotter and shooter will be more fun than ever as you decide on the fly who goes high and who scouts on the ground.
Most Anticipated Feature – Enemy AI: AI is always an difficult beast to tackle in video games, especially shooters. The improved approach to AI in Sniper Elite 4 sounds extremely interesting. The idea of a living environment that not only has its routines, but also responds to your actions appropriately at all times is a dance that very seldom delivers in most video games, but if Rebellion can pull it off, then it will make for an extremely different and adaptive experience that will make for a lot of replayability.
