PC Gamer - March 2012

PREVIEWS
SNIPER ELITE V2

Sniper ’s Berlin has been painstakingly recreated.

first look Blasting Nazis in the groin as the psychopaths of World War II

Sniper Elite was, in the words of Rebellion’s CEO and Creative Director Jason Kingsley, a game “more people have heard of than actually played.” The tactical third-person shooter was set during World War II, with the player sneaking and sniping his way through the Nazi army while trying to discover the secrets of the atomic bomb.

You’re peering down that same sniper’s gun sights this time around, but now World War II is drawing to a close. The Nazis are almost defeated, the Soviets have invaded Germany, and it’s V2 rockets that you’re investigating this time around— hence the name. “[The end is] the most interesting part of any war,” says Steve

Hart, Sniper Elite V2’s producer. “You’re just this lone wolf engaging two separate armies for your own gain.”

READ ME publishER ebellion DEvElopER In-houselink www.rebellion. co.uk

Since the first game’s
release in 2005, many
have fallen in love with
modern combat. For Rebellion though,
the WWII setting remains a perfect fit. “It’s
one of the more modern wars where it’s
clear who the enemy are, and it’s a just

Rebellion is keen to stay
away from the closed
level design that defines
modern shooters.

fight,” says Kingsley. Vietnam, Korea and the Gulf War were touted, but the blurri-ness of just who the good guys are in those conflicts made Rebellion stick to the good-old bad days.

Rebellion is keen to stay away from the
entrenched, closed level design that defines
modern shooters, too. The pre-alpha build
I saw was set in crumbling Berlin, with
multiple paths the player is free to move
between. When you’ve found your angle of
approach, you’ll take out most enemies in
the same way: lift the scope, and shoot
them in the head.