Sniper: Ghost Warrior Review (Microsoft Xbox 360)

Sniper: Ghost Warrior
Developer: City Interactive
Publisher: City interactive
Genre: First Person Shooter
Release Date: 06/29/10

When approached with the idea of playing Sniper: Ghost Warrior, I was extremely enthused. “A FPS that focuses solely on the art of sniping? Sweet!” I can admit that I’m not the best sniper in the world, so this was my chance to brush up on my sniping skills away from the drama and noob tubing in the more mainstream world. I literally smiled as I put the disc in the tray. My smile soon evaporated faster than a sniper shot through the head. “This wasn’t what I expected, at all.”

Sniper: Ghost Warrior starts simply enough. You show off your skills as you go through a training camp and learn the fundamentals of the game. What stands out is the effect when holding your breath. It basically slows down time and gives you a more precise way of hitting your target. This was cool enough and a fun lesson in technique. In addition, showing the scope of the game as you train to shoot targets rather far away is a neat change from the usual “THROW THOSE FRAGS!”

As the storyline starts you begin to realize what you’ve really signed up for by buying this game: Call of Battlefield: Modern Campfest. As the music kicks in leading to the first scene in which you are making your way to your target, you wonder who chose this particular score. It sounds like a Disney movie meets Friday The 13th. Then you begin to get stuck, in all of your surroundings. At this point you try to move away from the rock or bush that is intent on eating you. The issue with this is that once you do this, the enemy notices you and you die VERY fast.

Eventually you make your way to the lookout where you are tasked with sniping a drug lord. When you line up your shot and pull the trigger, it feels so good. “I’m a sniper!” The warm tingly feeling leaves as you learn that you apparently missed. Then a ton of people start firing at you as you try in vain to find a place to throw your damn rappelling device. I died several times searching like a child that separated from his buddy at the pool.

Finally making my way through this level in a way that the game definitely did not expect (RUN…REAL FAST), my veteran colleague becomes separated from me. I am laying it out this way because I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone.

Eventually I came to a level that I am determined was either an inside joke by City Interactive or a crazy glitch because it is impossible to get through this level in the way they intend. The only problem is, this level HAS to be done the way they say so. In essence, I was screwed.

Your storyline is a mixture of every first person shooter that has climbed the ladder of success recently. Essentially you could call your character Soap and your elder Price because there is almost no difference except for City Interactive not having a large budget. You could try to play through this story mode, but heaven help you.

The multiplayer is a paint by numbers scenario that has you pretty much across the map from the other team trying to be expert snipers. It loses its luster when you’re sniped once you spawn. In addition, there is no hectic pace to it unless you try to make your way over to the other side. Good luck trying to evade the snipers. In addition, make sure you unload several clips into every player you come into contact with as apparently very few of them die when shot at point blank range. The graphics, from story mode to multiplayer, range from beautiful to outright clunky. Again, this is your next gen FPS on a budget, and it shows.

I could individually score every aspect of this game for you, or I could be very honest. I’ll be very honest and then tie a bow on it. Sniper: Ghost Warrior is a long shot, no pun intended, fired across a range of FPSers. It is an attempt to be unique that is destroyed by its ability to copy the genre in whole and slow the pace down. It’s one thing to be stealth and have some fun. It is a whole other level to release a game that is clunky, points its finger at the player and laughs and then looks into a mirror and shatters it with its ugliness. (Full disclosure: I bumped myself down to “Easy” to try and get past all these levels. It’s not me, it’s the game.)

The ScoresӬ
Story/Modes: Very Bad
ҬGraphics: Poor
ҬSound: Poor
ҬControl and Gameplay: Mediocre
Replayability: Dreadful
Balance: Dreadful
Originality: Mediocre
Addictiveness: DreadfulӬ
Appeal Factor: MediocreӬ
Miscellaneous: Very Bad
FINAL SCORE: DREADFUL

Short Attention Span Summary
Sniper: Ghost Warrior is an attempt to shake up the FPS genre by focusing solely on those who like to creep behind bushes. That should freak you out enough but hold on to your Amber Alert caps because they didn’t come out of the bushes yet. Because they’re stuck in them. Sniper: Ghost Warrior is a carbon copy of your favorites such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Medal of Honor. The problem is that City Interactive copied the bad parts and made them worse, putting out a game that could only be described as 3/4 finished and 1/4 of rage inducing glitchiness. Run as fast as you can away from this game, but be quiet about it because several people will try to kill you if you’re too loud.