At least this one works. And it can be pretty fun at times!
A few of the things I enjoyed most was sneaking though the jungle grass to silently eliminating the opposition while their patrolling comrades would scream "Where is he!?! Stick together!". It really kinda gave me the impression that I was waging some physiological warfare on these AI enemies silently taking them out one by one with my knife and sneaking back into the jungle. Another high point was when you fight your way through an enemy occupied city ala Black Hawk Down complete with civilians running around and tire fires blackening the sky. Also fun was at the beginning of one of the later missions where black hawks unload some of your Marine allies and you can fight a pitched battle against the rebels over a jungle village. I only wish that they included such elements in the game more often, as it would have added some more ambience and break up the monotony of the sniping missions.
Speaking of the sniping missions there was one thing I took issue with. Ambushes. Now I like a good ambush but they get frustrating and take away the realism when you are forced to dispatch entire platoons of rebels and mercenaries armed with AK47s and RPGs at close range with nothing more than a sniper rifle, a pistol and a knife. Now that wouldn't be so bad if your spotter was armed to deal with the threat with perhaps an M4 or an M16 but no, he is carrying a sniper rifle as well…which is odd because in the manual as in the first game states he carries an assault rifle.
Additionally hit detection can be a little wonky at times, but not so much a major factor. The animation are decent enough, as well so when you do get a hit, it is satisfying especially if your target is running because he will often drop like a sake of bricks and skid into the ground realistically. I did notice that some of the east European mercenaries tended to be able to withstand direct hits to the head from time to time though.
I was also impressed by the cut scenes, which were well done for a budget title and explained the story well enough. The ending though was slightly anti climatic and if you're looking for a happy ending to this mission, you're not gonna get it….as far as I know. I have heard rumors of multiple endings but I am not sure if this is true. All I know is I ended up leaving this African country in the same mess it was in when I got there on my first mission. Not a happy ending but perhaps a realistic one.
All in all if you want to talk a break from Call of Duty Modern Warfare, chill out and take up a few sniper missions in Africa give it a try. If you expecting some big budget blockbuster with tons of innovation though steer clear….this one isn't for you.