[paragraph]Sniper Ghost Warrior has been one of my personal favorite games, and this time in the series C.I. Games has launched Ghost Warrior Contracts, which takes you through 25 different contracts over a massive 5 maps puts your sniping skills through intense tests.[/paragraph]
[paragraph]The series takes a break from its regular stealth adventure style Sniping and mission-based gameplay’s we’ve seen until Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, yet the most enjoyable elements still continue to be part of Contracts. Let’s find out if the game keeps ups to its expectation in our following in-depth review.[/paragraph]
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts Review
Each of the contracts in this game has different tasks and targets to conquer, and you’re introduced with the prologue that justified the kills and intel gathering you’re supposed to complete during each contract. Despite intense gore that you experience through precise headshots with your Sniper Rifle, it may feel a bit slow at times, especially during the escape routes. It is quite common with stealth games and ‘Contracts’ is no exception. It doesn’t make the game uninteresting at any time, as you’ll get a lot of chances to face enemies at a distance and take their life one by one with your skills.
The story between the contracts is mostly not sequential and deals mostly in international politics and espionage. All the stories lead to the killing of a target for money, and you’ll find yourself stealing information by hacking enemy computers or planting bombs. Eventually, you’ll have to upload the intel at suggested extraction points you can scan through your hi-tech suite.
You’re presented with the 5 large-scaled sandbox-style maps that are used for over 25 contracts in this game. The size of the maps makes it more challenging but also provides scope to try different angles to approach the target areas if you fail to do so in the first attempt. You also get the fast-travel feature on the maps, and running through each of the target areas can exhaust you in the game. Apart from killing the enemy at a distance, you’ll also have to use the assault weapons from a nearby distance and hide bodies. As long as you keep quiet while you kill, you won’t set off the alarm that alerts all the enemy units in the area. However, I personally enjoyed eliminating multiple enemies in alerting state at a distance, as that puts you precise kills to a test.
The decisions you take on how to approach a target area can make or break your escape. If you have kept the area on high alert, you might have to face floods of enemy troops before you complete your mission. As you’re not just moving forward you’ll have to plan your escape and pretty much remember your route, to not confront with un-necessary targets.
There are some targets in the game that gives you barely one chance to kill them before they move on to high secure bunkers or location, taking your overall contract completion time even higher. For this to finish at the right time, you have to be skilled and patient at the same time.
And of course, you’re not supposed to camp all the time and burst heads and chest of all the enemies from 3-400 meters. While you’ll enjoy doing that in the first one or two contracts as you brush up your skills it can get slow and boring. The developer has offered multiple gadgets you can put to good use and advance through targets at a faster pace.
The game is great at its core mechanics of killing someone at a distance. It might need a lot of practice, which you can fo through training sessions, which in my opinion are very well designed. Marking the targets through a telescope, measuring the distance and wind speed, follow the on-screen bullet guidance to make that judgment, hold your breath and burst the head open that looks spectacular on the slow-motion ‘Kill Cam’. It’s just an amazing experience I personally love this game for. But as you become too skilled in your job, the kill cam can get annoying, so you may prefer to turn off the feature as per your liking.
Three levels of difficulties are very well designed, however, the Easy difficulty is too easy even for the beginner, as they don’t panic enough until you’re right in front. The medium is preferably where you should start from if you like to take a challenge. The highest difficulty has the really smart AI, that makes enemies see you from a distance, the same way you can spot them. That is where the game becomes extremely challenging even to go through the first few contracts.
The high tech suite you’ve equipped with increases your spotting abilities not only weak target areas or enemies but also the surrounding area you can ledge or jump off from. The money you earn after completing contracts allows you to buy or upgrade for all gadgets and especially for your suite and your gun. Remote-controlled sniper turrets, which fires at enemies on command and the drones that can mark enemies are my favorite ones to get your hands on as early as you can. The gadgets are pretty much necessary to finish certain contracts as they demand intense battle.
The game offers extensive 13-15 hours of gameplay depends on your marksmanship with Sniper Rifle. You’ll also get presented with certain side missions you can take for extra action.
Verdict
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts is one amazing Sniper simulators presented in open-ended sandbox levels that demand you to complete specific objectives. The satisfying bullet physics, rewarding bullet cam slo-mo for you skill shots and amazing gadgets make the whole experience quite enjoyable and overshadow it’s not so interesting storytelling. If you love stealth adventures and precision-based gameplays, you’ll simply love the experience that Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts has to offer.
