Audio
Some of the game's sound design is very odd. You can hear enemies across huge distances, for some reason, and at times it's really disconcerting as they chatter away constantly. Music is fine but forgettable, but the zippy bullet sounds are satisfying.
Visuals
Slicker and smoother than its 2012 counterpart – much as you'd hope – V2 Remastered also benefits from a 60fps performance mode for Xbox One X and PS4 Pro. A good, robust remaster job with lovely lighting and revamped textures that breathes new life into an old(ish) game.
Playability
Great fun when you're hidden away picking off enemies from a perch, far less fun when you're stuck on the ground in a cover-based firefight. V2 excels as a sniping game, but splutters when you're tasked with dispatching enemies using pistols and machine guns.
Delivery
A decent-sized campaign (including DLC), generous multiplayer and some added bonuses especially for this release make Sniper Elite V2 Remastered great value for money. But there are some minor technical issues from the original version that still rear their head, and spoil the party a bit.
Achievements
Collectibles are a pain, but everything else here is perfectly fine, rewarding progression and general sniping excellence. If you're handy enough with a scope, you'll clean up.
May 13, 2019
It should go without saying that World War II was bloody awful. But as source material for films and video games, the six-year conflict has proved to be an eternal spring to which creators flock time and time again. The Sniper Elite series alone has been back to drink from the WWII well no less than four times, and once more on top of that, if you count Sniper Elite V2 Remastered.
A technical kick up the backside for the 2012 snipe 'em up in which you play as gravel-voiced man who's really good at shooting things, Karl Fairburne, V2 Remastered gives the old game a new lease of life, but arguably doesn't change quite enough. The very same problems that plagued the game upon its original release persist, which is to be expected in fairness, given that this is a remaster and not a complete from-the-ground-up remake.
While the enhanced textures, smoothed-off rough edges, boost in resolution, and all the other visual improvements are present and correct – and very nice they are too – the graphical overhaul unfortunately can't mask the shoddy enemy AI, the slightly iffy hit detection, and questionable character movement controls. Sometimes Karl will run in a strange arc, usually when emerging from cover, and I don't know why. Gameplay itself feels somewhat dated too, the cover system in particular not the most sophisticated example to be found in the genre. Predictably, Sniper Elite V2 Remastered excels when it's doing what it does best: making you feel like an elite sniper.
Subsequent Sniper Elite games since V2 have seen the series evolve over the years, reaching a zenith with Sniper Elite 4. By comparison, Sniper Elite V2 is showing its age, the spiffy remastered paint job doing nothing to disguise the bits where it's Karl against the Nazis in a head-to-head gunfight. When you're not staring down a scope and picking off targets, the game suffers, failing to deliver as a robust third-person shooter. Consequently, the game feels sludgy when you're presented with a sequence in which you're forced to tackle enemies head-on; it's clearly not Karl's forte, and certainly not the game's strong suit either.
Fundamentally, this is not what Sniper Elite V2 is supposed to be – it's meant to be you nestled in a church's bell tower, slowly exhaling as you line up a perfect headshot, then pulling the trigger to watch the ensuing carnage unfold. It's this that remains Sniper Elite's main draw; the cinematic satisfaction that comes from watching as your bullet leaves the barrel, zips through the air, and penetrates an enemy's soft fleshy body, splintering bones and puncturing organs in sickeningly gratuitous (but oddly enjoyable) fashion. On the ground, toe-to-toe against the Axis, you're a soft target struggling with a rubbish, ineffective weapon. Not the glorious sniper ace you should be.
Exploding giblets only go so far, though, so it's fortunate that Rebellion has added a bunch of bonus extras to V2 Remastered in a bid to sweeten the deal. Among the new stuff to coax you in is the addition of seven new playable characters, so if you're sick of Fairburne's rugged face, then you can play as Dr. Efram Schwaiger, Hanna Schulz or Boris Medvedev from the Zombie Army Trilogy instead (among several others). Then there's the expanded competitive multiplayer mode, which now allows for 16 players, the inclusion of the 'Assassinate the Führer' DLC, extra missions and more, as well as the return of co-op as a standalone mode.
Co-op – beyond the campaign itself - is another compelling reason to get into Sniper Elite V2, with a variety of different modes to delve into, including the Horde-like Kill Tally that pits you and a friend against waves of increasingly tricky enemies. Bombing Run, meanwhile, presents a series of missions in which you have to repair a truck and escape before bombs drop and obliterate the map, whereas Overwatch has two players assuming the role of sniper and operative, the latter tagging enemies with binoculars, while the sniper picks off marked foes to clear a path for the operative. Each of these modes has its own unique appeal, and when played with a friend, they're great fun.
V2 Remastered is every bit the complete package that the original game was then, with a few added extras thrown in for good measure. And what's on offer here is good, solid fun that's especially enjoyable if you can overlook the flaws and frustrating niggles. Sniper Elite V2 Remastered might be a better-looking version of a slightly ropey game, but this is something worth considering if you crave more Nazi brain shooting and have yet to partake. And really, who in their right mind doesn't?