When one hears of a Sniper video game, the first thought is usually Sniper Elite from Rebellion Games. While Rebellion has crafted one of the best World War II Sniper experiences, City Interactive has provided a similar experience in the modern setting with its Sniper: Ghost Warrior franchise. Beginning on the Xbox 360, Sniper: Ghost Warrior has made a solid presence across several systems and generations, with their latest release, Sniper: Ghost Warriors 3, being an open-world sniping action game within a modern setting. Learning from both the triumphs and setbacks of their previous game, CI Games has announced Sniper Ghost Warrior: Contracts, a new refresh on the franchise that will go faster and harder than its previous entry.
Sniper Ghost Warrior: Contracts will take players into the unforgiving Siberian Wilderness. Moving away from an open-world, players will be sent on a variety of scenarios throughout the country. From the frozen tundra to the mountains to various bases and facilities, players will be set across various missions, with one fixed primary objective. The mission will also have various secondary scenarios for players to tackle, as well as an open-ended missions structure that will encourage players to use the environment, terrain, and their skills to tackle each mission in any which way they want. These objectives focus on the new contracts system, in which each mission will be tailor-made for the player. Additionally, they will be competing with other players as well. Upon completing a mission, you will be ranked, and if players feel they can do better, they are free to jump back in to get a better score.
Sniper Ghost Warriors: Contracts will, as expected, deliver on what fans have come to expect. intense missions, great gameplay, solid sniping, and adapting to a harsh environment have become staples of the series. Where the game seems to be focusing on is squarely on the reward. Whether it’s the reward of gunning down a difficult target or using explosives to distract and confuse, Sniper Ghost Warriors Contracts will refine the sniping experience, as well as focus on the pulse of the player. Despite removing the open-world, it is this focus on gameplay that will likely make a big difference for players eager for a refreshing military action experience.
The team at CI Games has learned from its mistakes from Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3. While the predecessor to Sniper Ghost Warriors: Contracts featured an open-world action experience and was ultimately an entertaining and well-made installment, the team felt that the ambition may have been too much for some of the game’s faults, diluting other aspects of the game. Chief Executive Officer, Marek Tymiński of CI Games elaborates further, “We were too ambitious in terms of the scope of Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, but we’ve learned from our missteps. Sniper Ghost Warrior: Contracts will be more focused on emergent gameplay with an open-ended mission design that the team feels strong about, but it will not be set in an open world. It is going to be a more tactical, more condensed experience and the game will offer plenty of replayability, both on the single-player campaign and on the multiplayer modes.”
Seeing this return to form is exciting and I am incredibly glad that CI Games has opted not to walk away from the franchise. Sniper Ghost Warrior, as a series, has provided a different and refreshing experience, making a solid presence despite higher budgeted military action games on the market. This new approach should not be seen as a setback or a regressive move, but instead, as a new way to reinvigorate strong mechanics and provide an entirely new experience. While much of Sniper Ghost Warriors: Contracts remains to be seen, the early details of the game sound incredibly exciting. I am onboard for what is next. Sniper Ghost Warriors: Contracts is launching for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in 2019.
Comments