Sniper: Ghost Warrior Impressions

Sniper: Ghost Warrior came out earlier this year with less-than-stellar reviews on the Xbox 360 and PC. Poor AI and the harsh difficulty made it tough to enjoy what Ghost Warrior had to offer. Developer City Interactive came to visit with the upcoming PlayStation 3 version and told us that this is the version they had initially wanted to release. Ghost Warrior on the PS3 will be packed with all the DLC that was available in the Xbox 360 version, along with several new additions. The developer has incorporated feedback from the community by tweaking AI, taking out some assault missions, and adding bolt-action rifles to let you seek out the perfect headshot.

For those who aren't familiar with Sniper: Ghost Warrior, it's a military shooter that takes place in the fictional South American nation of Isla Trueno, which is currently under a dictatorship rule. You're part of the United States military force that has been sent to help the undermanned rebels overthrow the government. In the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game, you played as a sniper as well as a more traditional soldier as you went through the campaign. Realizing that players who will likely pick this up are generally sniper fans, City Interactive has removed the assault missions so that you can continue to play as a sniper. These missions are still there to continue the story but are now played from a different perspective. Instead of being the soldier who runs off into the jungle firing wildly, you'll be the camouflaged guardian angel, protecting your fellow soldiers from a safer distance.

Other new additions include three new missions to the campaign, new maps, and a hardcore challenge mode, and Capture the Flag has been added to the multiplayer mode. All the other standard multiplayer modes have remained untouched. Bolt-action rifles such as the L96 and the CheyTac M200 Intervention have been added for the enthusiasts, as well as hardcore challenge missions that take away all the helpful UI, so all you're left with are your wits and a crosshair. When playing on easy mode, you have the benefit of a red dot to let you know where your bullet will land, so you don't really need to think too hard about all the other factors that go along with sniping, such as heart rate, wind speed/direction, and so on.

Our demo took us through an Incan temple, nestled in the lush jungle of Isla Trueno, and our job was to take out the guards and eventually make our way to the local general's son. Enemies are outlined in red on easy mode to make them easier to spot. If you feel that's too easy, then there are four difficulty modes to choose from, but spying an enemy from hundreds of yards away can be tough. Another tweak that has been made is that farther targets have been added so that you cover a lot more distance and are forced to take longer shots, like what a sniper should do. Your movements and the order of your shots are important to not set off the alarm and ruin the entire operation.

We didn't get to do any side-by-side comparisons, but we were told that the graphics have also been enhanced specifically for the PS3 version. You'll once again get to see your perfect headshots in slo-mo as the bullet travels to its designated target. It looks like this game is geared toward those who like to use a sniper in any first-person shooter game and camp patiently in a corner. The game will be $39.99 with all of the content that was available as DLC on the Xbox 360. Sniper: Ghost Warrior is set to be released in the first quarter of 2011.