Just imagine; you lay down carefully upon the roof of a building or hidden within some dense undergrowth, your sniper rifle beside you. Controlling your breathing you peer through the sight, knowing that this could be your only chance to achieve that all important headshot. Gently pulling the trigger you watch to see your victim fall, before moving to another location to take out the next target. Sniper: Ghost Warrior has a great premise as one of the only titles in existence that focuses purely on this form of long range combat. And with plenty of functionality to improve your experience, such as the ability to manage your breathing to increase your accuracy, this should be a great title.
Unfortunately, while the idea behind Sniper: Ghost Warrior was sound, the actual reality is a game filled to the brim with bugs and glitches (expect to get trapped in many a wall or stuck behind a six inch high stone as you look for the perfect place to take your shot). With graphics that don’t really match up to the latest and greatest in war games, hilarious animations when crawling along the ground to reach a position and artificial intelligence that must have access to some sort of X-Ray specs to see you hidden in even the thickest undergrowth, this game really does leave a lot to be desired.
Before we dismiss Ghost Warrior immediately though, let’s at least pay some attention to its good points. When you first enter the game you may be impressed with the realism created by the scenarios and environment. Granted, the graphics aren’t exactly photo realistic, but with the shots that you fire being subject to interference from gravity, wind and other effects of the environment, you will need to carefully consider how you are planning to shoot your weapon before pulling the trigger.
This is also a far more accessible game than you might imagine for a serious sniper title, as special abilities will help beginners to get their heads around the controls. On default and easier difficulty levels you will have the ability to slow down the world when zoomed in on a target, and you can even see a display as to where to expect your bullet to land based on any environmental issues. These player aids are removed on the more difficult levels though, so the game isn’t just an easy ride the entire way through.
Despite the excellent ideas that should have made Sniper: Ghost Warrior an excellent title, there are too many bugs that hamper your progress across the world. A plethora of invisible walls in completely random locations may force you onto a main road, running desperately for cover when there was a great location in your original spot. Likewise a vastly undependable frame-rate may lose you a valuable kill. Grammatical errors aplenty within any written text and some diabolical voice acting are just other reason why you are likely to find yourself retiring this title to the shelf to gather dust.
Although there is certainly the occasional moment where Sniper: Ghost Warrior will present a realistic challenge, and therefore some gaming interest, on the whole you will find your time within this title entirely frustrating.
