The copy used in this review was provided by the Publisher.
Sniper Elite v2 Remastered is the remastered version of Sniper Elite v2 that originally came out in May of 2012. For those who are unaware the Sniper Ellite franchise follows Karl Fairbourne though his time as a sniper though different parts of World War II. Sniper Elite v2 takes place during the battle of Berlin in April through May of 1945. Did this game really need a remake?
It’s always a weird place to be, reviewing a remastered version of a game. On one hand you have a game that is already been reviewed and played by loads of people and they already have opinions and time with the title. On the other hand the game is getting re-released with supposedly improvements and all DLC included along with improved textures and visual to better function on modern hardware. Sniper Elite v2 Remastered has 4k textures along with HDR support and a camera mode for taking neat screenshots.
So let’s start with the game itself. It an overall a rather enjoyable game at face value when you look at it as if it we are in 2012 again. It’s a third person stealth action game set during the Second World War and you’re a sniper on a mission to find potential allied defectors or blowing up bridges to stop armies from crossing rivers. You can get lost in it for moments as you make a headshot from across the way and are rewarded with the brilliant x-ray camera of the bullet destroying bones and flesh alike.
X-ray camera effect in action!
You start off at the start of each mission with a predetermined set of weapons with objectives marked on your map. It’s then your job to figure out how to complete those missions. In one early mission you’re tasked with infiltrating an underground missile installation to look for a Nazi scientist and destroy the German’s test facility. When you get inside you’re then tasked with setting explosives on three objectives inside the installation. You’re free to destroy these three objectives in whatever order you wish, creating quite a bit of freedom for the player. Its things like this that were improved upon in later iterations of the series that really make this remastered version rub me the wrong way. Issues with picking up weapons off of enemies remains from the original version where you are just holding the F key and hope that you pick up the weapon and not loot the enemy.
Bullet cam (remastered)
Once the excitement of the x-ray camera wears off again you’re brought back to reality that you’re indeed playing a game that originally came out in 2012. While there are marginal improvements to the visuals the series has made such drastic and great improvements since this version of the game that you’re kind of let down with how poorly the previous games used to play. The enemy AI is limited even at higher difficulties and you’re just increasing their ability to aim and decreasing any helpers you have. The lack of customization in loadouts that was introduced in later games in the series is noticeably absent in Sniper Elite V2 Remastered. I understand that this is essentially a re-release with minor improvements but it speaks volumes to just how far the series has improved since its early entries.
Sniper Elite v2 comparison.
I want to reiterate that I enjoyed the original game quite a bit and got me started into the Sniper Elite franchise but I just struggle to come up with a good reason to recommend this title when the two games after provide amazing improvements to the series and formula. This is the part of the review that I get a little bit caught up in. The game itself for when it came out was quite good and an enjoyable entry in the series but when you look back on it from years later you’re left scratching your head on why they chose this specific title in the series to remaster and not the quite dated original Sniper Elite game that was released in 2005. I feel that one is much more deserving of a remaster and would benefit the playerbase as I’m assuming I’m not alone in missing the first game due to when it released. I hope that we can get Sniper Elite 1 remade in the modern engine with the modern game mechanics. I guess that is what I wish this was, not a remastered version but a remade version with all the improvements the series has made since 2012.
This glitch in the cutscene was never corrected, I don’t think he was supposed to pull the entire bolt out when picking it up.
As I mentioned previously I have both the original Sniper Elite v2 and the remastered version and while reviewing this remastered copy I went back and played the original Sniper Elite v2. This is really were I felt Sniper Elite v2 Remastered really fell apart in terms of value. I did not notice a huge different between my experience with Sniper Elite v2 and Sniper Elite v2 Remastered visually. I was not taken aback by any visual “improvements” made to the Remastered version of the game and honestly this was disappointing for me to experience. I don’t have any 4k monitors to enjoy the new 4k textures but I was at least expecting to see improvements in regular textures and animations. I felt like I was left holding the bag wondering what I was supposed to getting from this new game that I had already experienced seven years previously. This game is the only true Sniper Elite experience we are expecting to get this year so while it’s not a huge improvement over the original game I’m at least glad we got something to tide us over until Sniper Elite 5 comes out.
