The kill cam shows what really happens when you snipe someone.A bullet erupts from your rifle in slow motion. A camera tracks the trajectory of the projectile until it impacts the target’s chest. Bone shatters as the round rips through his sternum, perforates his still-beating heart, and then explodes out the back. Did we mention you’re watching this from a close-up, X-ray perspective?
If that sounds like the coolest thing you’ve ever heard, then Sniper Elite V2 is a must-buy. This third-person tactical shooter is not for the squeamish: the kill-cam perspective plays after every good sniper shot. Expert marksmanship — taking into account bullet-drop over distance, your heart rate and breathing, and even wind resistance — will reward you with gory demonstrations that include pierced eyeballs, bursting livers, and buckets of red awesomesauce.
In the Overwatch co-op mode, one player completes objectives while the other covers him from a sniper’s nest.But there’s a pretty impressive game here, too. Playing as an elite U.S. sniper behind German enemy lines during the waning days of World War II, you’ll infiltrate compounds, set up booby traps, and assassinate marks using stealth and a handful of toys (trip-wires, dynamite, grenades). Missions are somewhat open playgrounds, giving you a lot of leeway in how to tackle an objective. Do you go covert, sniping targets under the cover of loud noises and then hiding the bodies, or do you Rambo through each gorgeous, highly detailed level?
Glitches keep Sniper Elite V2 from a higher score, though, especially in the game’s innovative co-op modes, where bugs kept us from completing some objectives. Hopefully, an update will fix this otherwise excellent experience.
PUBLISHER: 505 Games • DEVELOPER: Rebellion • ESRB: Mature • MULTIPLAYER: 2-player co-op on Xbox Live • ACHIEVEMENTS: Skilled • COST: $50
+ The graphic “kill cam” earns the game’s Mature rating and our applause.
+ Strategic gameplay and great graphics.
– Bugs prove more dangerous than Nazis.
? Why is a “Kill Hitler” mission available only as free-with-preorder DLC?
SeanWolf
May 01, 2012 at 8:03pm
I played the demo and thought it was pretty cool! Though i have one question: Are the X-Ray kills triggered randomly? It seems most of the kills i got in the game weren't Xrayed.
