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Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 aims to deliver the intense experience of a battlefield sniper. Like Sniper Elite 4, it attempts to achieve this under the shadow of its predecessors’ failures. While Sniper Elite 4 successfully revitalized Rebellion’s World War II sniping franchise, can Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 achieve a similar redemption for a series that has struggled to gain traction?

The Good: Realistic Sniping Mechanics

As Jon North, an American sniper deployed to Georgia amidst a civil war, players embark on a mission to locate his missing brother. Beyond the generic storyline, the core gameplay revolves around the sniping mechanics, and here, Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 partially succeeds.

The game realistically simulates factors affecting bullet trajectory, such as gravity, wind speed and direction, and scope sway. While bullet velocity feels somewhat slower than real-life counterparts, it allows players to appreciate the projectile’s arc. Headshots are often rewarded with brief, dramatic kill-cams reminiscent of the Sniper Elite series.

Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 Gameplay

For players less interested in complex ballistics calculations, the game offers special bullets unaffected by external factors and a helpful aiming reticle. Beyond the main missions, the open-world environment provides side activities like base assaults, hostage rescues, vehicle hijacking, and bounty hunting. A crafting system also allows players to replenish ammunition and customize equipment using scavenged resources.

Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 Open World

The Bad: A Flawed Open World and Lackluster Design

Despite the potential of its open-world design and a gameplay approach encouraging sniping, stealth (“Ghost”), and assault (“Warrior”) playstyles, Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 falls short. The level design is severely lacking, with small, confined spaces and sparsely populated enemy outposts, making missions feel trivial and repetitive. This lack of challenge renders the weapon and skill systems largely irrelevant.

Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 Enemy Base

Furthermore, to ensure players engage with the core sniping mechanics, the game forces linear, hand-holding sequences, undermining the open-world premise. The narrative and characters are underdeveloped, resulting in a forgettable story. The graphics, reminiscent of the previous console generation, are significantly dated, especially compared to modern titles. Customizing graphical settings offers little improvement, making the lowest settings the most practical choice.

Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 Graphics

The Ugly: Excruciating Load Times and Technical Issues

Perhaps the most significant drawback is the game’s agonizing load times. Regardless of hardware specifications, a high-quality SSD is practically mandatory for a tolerable experience. Traveling between areas or restarting after a death results in lengthy loading screens, disrupting gameplay flow. While CI Games claims fast travel and respawn times offset this, the argument is weak in 2017.

Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 Load Screen

Moreover, despite patches, the game suffers from technical instability, leading to frequent crashes and further exacerbating the loading time issue. The delayed multiplayer release until Q3 2017 offers little solace, as the underwhelming single-player campaign provides little incentive to return.

Conclusion: A Missed Opportunity

Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 had the potential to be a compelling open-world sniping experience. However, its flawed design, technical issues, and dated graphics ultimately hold it back. While the core sniping mechanics offer some enjoyment, the overall package is disappointing and fails to live up to its potential.