Sniper Elite 4 Review
 CHEATfactor Game Review by: Joe Sinicki
Reviewed on: PC

Welcome to our CHEATfactor Game Review of Sniper Elite 4. We review the game and then factor in how the available cheats affect the overall game experience. For better or worse, our reviews will help you decide whether or not to use cheats when playing the game.

What it is: The latest in the long running Sniper series. Not much has changed here but that’s a good thing. Sniper Elite 4 succeeds for mainly the same reasons the previous games succeeded, large open worlds, satisfying mechanics and challenging gameplay. Sniper Elite 4 is easily the best of the series we’ve seen yet, and truly takes advantage of all the successes, and even the failures of the previous editions.

...a lot smarter than you may think.
Sniper Elite 4 Review Screenshot

What Works

The level design: Each mission you go on in Sniper Elite takes you to a new location and first glance, they look pretty similar but digging in deeper, you’ll see that the game is a lot smarter than you may think. Each level introduces new mechanics that will change the way you play.  While the first level had plenty of perches for me to snipe my enemies to my heart’s content, the second changed things up with open fields, enemy snipers and even a German U-boat ready to fire heavy machine guns the second it sees me. It also works because the levels are huge and there’s plenty of places to explore and set up a plan of attack. Being successful in Sniper Elite 4 is all about having a plan and seeing it through, but it’s also about improvising on the fly and making the best out of a bad situation.

Combat is MOSTLY satisfying: At the beginning of Sniper Elite 4, you’re given an option, whether or not to turn off the feature known as the Kill Cam, and why anyone would turn it off is beyond me. The killcam is essentially a camera angle that follows your bullet as it leaves your gun, travels through the map and makes its impact with your target. You’ll see a slow-mo, X-ray shot of the damage your bullet does to your target, broken bones, damaged organs and all. Yes, it’s violent but holy damn is it incredibly satisfying. The feature doesn’t happen all the time but when it does, and you know you hit a great shot, it could be one of the best feelings in gaming.

Melee combat is also similarly satisfying. You likely shouldn’t use it as your sole means of getting rid of enemies but it works well in a pinch. Similarly violent like the Killcam, melee combat in Sniper Elite 4 lets you get your point across quickly, and so so in an effective manner.

It’s kind of a puzzle game:  Don’t get me wrong, Sniper Elite 4 tells you upfront what it’s about and you’re going to be doing an awful lot of sniping, but there are times when it feels more like a different game altogether. Each level is filled with different options for you to create and enact your violent plans to bring an end to your enemies and it’s possible to get extremely creative. One of my go-to’s was to find something that I could explode and watch as enemy soldiers went to investigate what happened, then I’d shuffle them loose from this mortal coil.  Another was later in the first level where I was tasked with taking out a certain Nazi officer. My plan was to take him out with my rifle but as I got closer I found that he was heavily guarded, so long story short I found myself held up in a room in his bunker, he would send guards after me one by one, and I’d take them out and throw them back down at him until he finally came up.

You get lots more options as you play through the game, like proximity mines and other traps you can set, and remember -- they’re all nazi’s that you’re shooting, so it’s completely ok to be as cruel as possible to them.

The AI isn’t that great...
Sniper Elite 4 Review Screenshot

What Doesn't work

It’s not the best third person action game:  You’re not going to be able to stay hidden forever, and that’s where Sniper Elite 4 starts to fall apart slightly. It’s not that it’s a bad action game necessarily, but it definitely feels less inspired than the rest of it. It combines elements of standard third person shooters and stealth games and your main goal is to escape your hide from your enemies long enough that they give up searching. The AI isn’t that great and if you find a good enough hiding spot they’ll give up before long, giving you freedom to find a new spot and snipe to your heart’s content. To be fair, you could just shoot your way out of any situation...but then why are you playing a game called Sniper Elite?

Conclusion: Sniper Elite 4 is easily the best game of the criminally underrated series yet; it’s got huge levels that are laid out with tons of options to take out your target and even more reasons to keep playing after you’ve completed the main quest. The same problems that have always haunted the series still do, but they’re small compared to the hefty dose of fun that comes with playing the game.

Overall: 8/10
Presentation:
7
Gameplay:
8
Lasting Appeal:
7
CHEATfactor:
6
CHEATfactor
The trainer for Sniper Elite 4 from Cheat Happens helps with some of the game’s tougher missions but it also helps you be as morbidly creative as possible. Features like silent heartbeat, super scope and better accuracy make you the ultimate sniper but the best cheat is easily the invisibility cheat, which makes you an unstoppable, undetectable nazi killing machine. Keep with Cheat Happens for more on Sniper Elite 4!
Joe Sinicki
Joe started off writing about video games for small fan sites when he realized he should probably do something with his communications degree and didn't want to get into the grind of daily reporting. Joining the team in late 2008, Joe is the featured game reviewer for Cheat Happens, producing up to 10 CHEATfactor Game Reviews per month.