Sniper Elite (video game)

Sniper Elite (also known as Sniper Elite: Berlin 1945) is a third-person tactical shooter stealth video game developed by Rebellion Developments and published by MC2 France in Europe and by Namco Hometek in North America, in 2005. In 2012, to coincide with the release of the remake Sniper Elite V2, it was re-issued through Steam by Rebellion itself.

This article is about the video game. For the series, see Sniper Elite.

Sniper Elite
Developer(s)Rebellion Developments
Publisher(s)
Director(s)
  • Jason Kingsley
  • Christopher Kingsley
Producer(s)Emerson Best
Designer(s)Emerson Best
Programmer(s)
  • Kevin Floyer-Lea
  • Kieran Donaldson
Artist(s)
  • James Fraser
  • Mark Bradshaw
Composer(s)Tom Bible
SeriesSniper Elite
Platform(s)
Release
  • Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2
    • EU: 30 September 2005
    • NA: 18 October 2005
  • Xbox
    • EU: 7 October 2005
    • NA: 18 October 2005
  • Wii
    • NA: September 2010
    • EU: 10 December 2010
  • OS X
    • WW: 23 April 2013
Genre(s)Tactical shooter, stealth
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The main character of Sniper Elite is Karl Fairburne, a German-born American OSS secret agent disguised as a German sniper. He is inserted into the Battle of Berlin in 1945, during the final days of World War II, with the critical objective of obtaining German nuclear technology before the Soviet Union.

Gameplay

Sniper Elite is a third-person shooter that involves stealth and first-person shooter game elements. To reinforce the stealth aspect, there is a camouflage index measured in percentage that displays the visibility of the player character Fairburne. Fairburne uses several World War II-era weapons, including sniper rifles, a silenced pistol, submachine guns, light machine guns, an anti-tank weapon, and hand grenades that can be also used to set up tripwire booby traps.

One of the main features of the game is the option of realistic ballistics, involving factors such as bullet drop, wind strength, and breathing when attempting a shot. Sniping gameplay is performed in first person scope view, whereas movement and use of all other weapons is in third person view. When the player successfully takes a particularly well-placed sniper shot (such as a head shot or a shot on a moving target), the view follows the path of the bullet in slow motion, while the camera rotates around the bullet.

Features include an ability to wound an enemy so that their comrades expose their position by coming to their rescue, detonating grenades and fuel tanks with well-aimed rifle fire, and timing shots so that loud noises such as thunder or artillery blasts mask the sound.

Plot

The game follows protagonist Karl Fairburne as he attempts to prevent the Soviet Union taking control of Germany's nuclear secrets in and around Berlin in April 1945. Very little information is known about his background, other than he was raised in Berlin before the war broke out, that he studied at West Point shortly after America's entrance into the war, and the fact that he was chosen for this mission because the city was his childhood home.

There are several factions active in the city, including the German resistance, who wish to aid Karl, the Soviet NKVD, and the Nazi forces. The historical Nazi official Martin Bormann, an extremely powerful figure within the Third Reich, is one of Karl's targets for assassination as he plans to meet up with an NKVD contact at the Brandenburg Gate to defect to the Soviet Union. The rest of the characters (such as Dr. Max Lohmann, a key German scientist who Fairburne is assigned to help capture and escort out of Berlin to America in order to prevent him from falling into the hands of the NKVD) are fictional with the exception of General Patton who has sent Fairburne on his mission.

Wii version

The Wii version of the game was released by Reef Entertainment in North America in September 2010.[1] It is compatible with the Wii Remote and Wii Zapper and contains a bonus new level. The game was also released in Europe later the same year.[2]

Reception

Sniper Elite was awarded "Best PC/Console Game" in the TIGA Awards of 2005.[10] As of 2010, the game holds GameRankings scores of 73% for the PC version,[3] 77% for the PlayStation 2,[4] and 77% for the Xbox.[5]

Novel

Rebellion Developments' book imprint Abaddon Books released a novel inspired by the game, Sniper Elite: The Spear of Destiny written by Jasper Bark.[11][12] In this book, Karl Fairburne's mission is to stop Nazi SS general Helmstadt from selling a working atomic bomb to the Soviets.

References
  1. Parfitt, Ben (16 February 2010). "Sniper Elite targets Wii | Games Industry | MCV". Mcvuk.com. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  2. "Sniper Elite released date confirmed". The Gaming Liberty. 9 December 2010. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  3. "Sniper Elite for PC". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  4. "Sniper Elite for PlayStation 2". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  5. "Sniper Elite for Xbox". GameRankings. Archived from the original on 9 December 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  6. "Sniper Elite for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  7. "Sniper Elite for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  8. "Sniper Elite for Xbox Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  9. "Sniper Elite for Wii Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  10. "Rebellion picks up Tiga's game of the year award". Gamesindustry.biz. 16 December 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  11. Jasper Bark, Abaddon Books, August 2006, ISBN 1-905437-04-8
  12. "Sniper Elite: Spear Of Destiny". Jasperbark.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
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