SNIPER ELITE III AFRICA [2014] STEAM PC REVIEW

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Sniper Elite III was released in 2014 with improvements upon every aspect of the formula. Clearly the best game in the series. Rebellion managed to learn and improve on its already compelling gameplay mechanics and its exciting Nazi killing spree theme. But fun sniping and great mission design just barely eclipse bugs, dumb AI, and a feeling of constant rinse and repeat. 

Any game that starts becoming repetitive in its early hours... does not stand a chance to keep you interested and playing much longer. Any game but Sniper Elite 3. I can spend countless hours engaged in the combat loop that Rebellion crafted, transitioning from planning to stealth execution, to make a mistake and getting detected, then to intense firefight, using clever tools to lose my pursuers, relocate, plan, and attack again. Rinse and repeat. Over and Over. It never gets Old. I can watch those slow-motion animations with X-ray views of Nazi Officers getting their heads blown by precise and deadly sniper fire. You feel like a badass one-man army. But this all comes with a price, of course its going to be unrealistic and the AI needs to be dumb in order for the game to be fun. In real life as soon as a body drops and somebody screams "sniper" everybody and their mother would get so deep behind cover that would be impossible to hit another target, and they wont come for you like in the games, giving you a chance to gun them down. They would take their time to locate the position and take you out with mortars, artillery or even air support. That would NOT be fun for a videogame. So of course the whole thing is silly and of course the AI will be dumb.

Sniper Elite III  was the 1st experience of this franchise for me as previous games were boring and repetitive, they did not fit my play style. Both games focused on over-explored WW2 combat scenarios. Africa was a great and original setting for the 3rd installment, as a theatre of war operations is rarely explored in WWII-based games. SE3 Introduces new stuff like stealth / adapt & overcome gameplay mechanics, improved AI, and the exciting North African theatre of World War II that is not often explored in games. The cinematics are cool and the simple storyline does the job, it's all silly but helps you get focused on your targets and builds tension as most missions take place during well-known battles, like the Siege of Tobruk and the Halfaya Pass. I would have preferred a protagonist with a deep character arc or more immersive lore, but I guess Rebellion uses the setting to give us an excuse to Snipe some Nazi Officers, and that's ok with me.

SAVE CHURCHILL & HUNT THE GREY WOLF DLC

DLC missions are more of the same, if you loved the main game missions, you will definitely love this.  If you were expecting something new, best just to skip into Sniper Elite IV Italy. 

The game has major technical problems, the improved AI works but is still broken, as many said the german soldier's AI works in mysterious ways.  The pacing drops and the game becomes repetitive, and the graphics look good but dated somehow. Despite these problems, it is a game that I can replay over and over.