Silent Assassin

Game: Sniper Elite
System: Playstation 2
Release date: October 18, 2005
Developed by: Rebellion Developments
Published by: Namco

Dozens of shooters have been released in the past fifteen years, many of which feature at least one sniper rifle, but rarely (if ever) do these games focus on the silent, stealthy role of the the assassin. In Sniper Elite, developer Rebellion has done just that; and while it's not a total inversion of the shooter genre (such a feat would be a sign of true bravery) Sniper Elite focuses on gameplay elements which figure only marginally in most shooters: camouflage, silent kills and a realistic ballistics engine.

Sniper Elite is the story of Karl Fairburne, an American OSS agent who infiltrates war-torn Berlin in the closing days of World War II. Disguised as a German sniper, Fairburne is tasked with stoping the Soviet NKVD from obtaining Nazi nuclear technology. Although he is sometimes assisted by the German Resistance, Fairburne usually must complete his top-secret missions alone.

Sniper Elite features 28 missions, all of which can be played in a single-player campaign or cooperatively with a friend. Players must sneak through ruined buildings, abandoned factories and NKVD depots, sabotaging enemy supplies, stealing information and assassinating high-ranking Nazi and Soviet officials. A "stealth meter" is visible onscreen to inform the player exactly how likely enemy forces will spot and intercept Fairburne.


Apart from their emphasis on stealth and sabotage, the developement team at Rebellion uses some novel ballistic physics and effects in Sniper Elite. Players can not simply point and shoot at nearby and faraway targets. Factors such as gravity, wind resistance and even Fairburne's heart rate affect where each bullet will travel. Players can even mask the sound of a gunshot by timing it while a rocket bursts overhead. When players do make a one-shot kill from a distance the camera will immediately follow the bullet in slow motion until it reaches its target.

Although Sniper Elite does not reinvent the shooting genre (it can't escape from all its preconditions), it provides several gameplay and technical features which demand much more patience than an average shooter. It strives to accurately recreate wartime conditions in Berlin at the conclusion of WWII and to represent the real-world physics to which every sniper must attend.

Score: 88/100