Sniper: Ghost Warrior Hands-on
Stealth is your new best friend.
The sniper class is always one of the most popular
classes in first-person shooters (FPSs), so it makes sense that
there would be entire games based around that experience. The folks
at
City Interactive are trying
to develop that classic sniper goodness into its own game with
Sniper: Ghost Warrior. In
Ghost Warrior, players will control two different soldiers sent
into a fictional South American country by the world's governments
in order to stop the oppressive reign of a dictator. I recently had
the opportunity to sit down with an early build of Sniper and try a
stealthy mission for myself. Unfortunately, I wasn't as skilled as
the game's producer who demoed the level previously. So instead of
quelling the dictatorial regime I managed to send an entire village
into an uproar.
Not everyone is cut out to be a Ghost Warrior, it seems.
Sniper is actually a deceptive title, as only one of the two
playable characters is actually a sniper. The other missions will
be played from the perspective of a more traditional soldier that
enjoys his loud, automatic weapons just as much as the next guy. By
alternating between these two perspectives, Sniper looks to cover
all the FPS bases.
Lurking in
muddy waters for hours on end in 100-degree weather. What could be
better?
I was actually a little surprised that the developers decided to
include standard shooting mechanics in with the stealth portions,
but if it works, it works. I only watched on during a soldier
mission which took place on a massive oilrig, and it featured all
the usual running and gunning that you'd expect from an FPS, though
there was definitely a need to stop behind cover when things
started heating up.
The real fun will likely come from the sniper sections of Ghost
Warrior. The level I played was set at night and in a jungle
landscape, with my main objective being to sneak from point to
point and take out armed guards along the way. The first set of
interesting mechanics comes from the main HUD, which displays a few
pieces of useful information. On the bottom of the screen is a
visibility meter, which slowly builds if you're in an enemy's line
of sight. When the gauge is full, expect alarms to go off and
enemies to actually open fire on you.
City Interactive also decided against the standard regenerative
health mechanic that's saturated the FPS genre recently.
Traditional med kits will be used instead, because the developers
want players to have to make a tactical decision about going after
health.
Once a player brings up his or her sniper scope, a number of new
diagrams appear on screen. A heartbeat monitor is displayed on the
upper right, which will actually change depending on how much
you've been running. In other words, don't expect to get a steady
shot if you just sprinted across the entire jungle. This realism is
reflected in the movement of the scope and the steady sounds of
breathing. The crosshairs of the scope are extremely advanced and
can be used to measure distance, bullet trajectory and more. For
gamers nervous about this much micro-management, a beginner's mode
will be available which shows the exact point a bullet will hit on
the screen.
This is a
playground for any sniper worth his camo.
Like other games that incorporate sniper rifles, Ghost Warrior
features a focus mode that can be activated to slow down time and
highlight potential targets. This is extremely handy in a pinch,
especially when the target is far off and your character's
breathing is influencing the shot. If a shot is lined up perfectly,
the camera will switch to "bullet time" and will follow the bullet
all the way to its unsuspecting mark. This is always hugely
satisfying, especially for gamers that enjoy sniping in
first-person shooters.
Most of the level I played was all about finding the perfect time
to take a shot, especially when multiple guards were involved. If
one guard notices another is killed, panic will obviously follow.
This dilemma creates miniature puzzles where the player must figure
out the best time in which to take out enemies, and in what
particular order. There were only a few simple examples of this
during the demo, like firing on a sentry as he turned away from his
conversation with a fellow guard, but hopefully there will be more
elaborate setups to enjoy.
So far, Sniper: Ghost Warrior is a promising entry in the FPS
genre, especially considering its low price (40 dollars for the 360
version). With 16 missions spanning eight to ten hours of gameplay,
there should be plenty of sneaking around to do when Ghost Warrior
launches later this year.
http://uk.xbox360.ign.com/articles/107/1078914p1.html
Grüße
Alibaba