Sniper Elite 4 – Gameplay 101: What you need to know

With Sniper Elite 4 now just a few weeks away, the guys over at Rebellion have been kind enough to provide their fellow soldiers with an in-depth guide to the most important things to know when out in the field of duty. So, tie up your boots, grab your old kit bag, and pay attention as we bring to you the mission briefing from the top brass over at Rebellion… as well as the fantastic new features that turn the trip to Nazi infested Italy into one of 2017’s most anticipated shooters. ATTENTION!

Kicking off the core features for Sniper Elite 4 is an expansive campaign. This contains the largest and most diverse environments ever seen in a World War 2 game, and the full experience can be played in either solo or two-player co-op. From the quaint fishing villages to huge valleys and ancient forests, along with many more gigantic environments that are still untouched by the savage and bloody conflict that has ravaged much of Europe.

Maps within Sniper Elite 4 will be much larger than anything ever seen in previous entries in the series, offering players hours of pure tactical combat, epic freedom and, most importantly, satisfying long distance shots. Large open areas give players many opportunities to find the perfect sniper nest or hunt down your enemies if you prefer to look you enemy in the eyes. Exploration of each area provides the chance to seek out extra challenges, hidden collectibles and optional side quests that can be completed in any order.

After deploying deep behind enemy lines, you must learn the ways of your enemy and adapt to their behaviours as you become in sync with the flow of battle. Using a combination of your trusty binoculars and intel from Italian resistance, you will be able to identify high priority targets amongst the battlefield, as well as prepare and perfect your plans by tracking enemy movement and identifying weak points in enemy defences in which to make the best use of some creative opportunities for enemy elimination. Using the athletic prowess of the highly trained and returning sniper Karl Fairburne, climbing vertical terrain will be of ease, ensuring you have every opportunity to get the drop on unsuspecting enemies for that deathly and silent takedown from any position.

The deep and rewarding sniping simulation offered will allow players to carry out pinpoint assassinations from unthinkable distances, whilst adapting to wind, gravity and distance with scope zeroing for longshots that span hundreds of metres.

Should you find yourself waking the hornet’s nest, then prepare tactical explosions to ensure the enemy falls into a trap of unexpected evisceration, after all, keeping your enemy guessing is the key to victory. Using silenced weapons and common tools for distraction, players can lure enemies into traps as well as isolate individuals for a more personal attack.

New for Sniper Elite 4 is the ability to load your rifles with silent subsonic ammo to ensure the delivery of a much quieter shot to help keep stealth at the forefront of the operation. Soldiers finding themselves short of silenced ammunition need not fear, as even without silenced weapons, players can use the occurring noises from each location as a mask to bullet fire, drowning out the noise of each fateful, life ending shot, and ensuring mission progression.

Make no mistake soldier, stealth is a vital pillar of success in Sniper Elite 4, meaning keeping the odds in your favour should be in your best interests, with each level containing hundreds of fascist troops, armoured vehicles and tanks in any one environment. Special care should be taken when dealing with the specialist elite enemies in each area, such as the heavily armed Jager troops and Radio Operators who can call in endless waves of aggressive enemy reinforcements to bear down on the players position and turn the tide of the battle.

Enemy strengths don’t have to have a negative impact though, as soldiers with the right know how can use enemy advantages for their own personal advantage. For example, take down an enemy officer, and you could find yourself with a new found knowledge of every troop available to him, and the location of every one of them. Or if guns explosions are enough to bring out the hoo-rah in you, then taking down an enemy Spotter will not only enable you access to the same flare gun used to mark your location for artillery fire, but can be used to rain down enemy fire on the enemy with their own artillery strikes, potentially taking out heavily fortified enemy positions as well as opening a new path for potential endeavours later in your mission.

Throughout your time in Italy, you will often find yourself outnumbered, but never will you be outgunned, with a large variation of weapons and items to choose from, such as iconic world war two rifles, submachine guns, shotguns and explosives as well as heavy weaponry perfect for larger vehicular destruction. Weapon loadouts can be adapted for each and every mission, but for those who find themselves favouring a particular loadout, making use of the weapon upgrades available to you may mean the difference between success or failure as you prepare to take on the hundreds of ruthless enemies standing for the Nazi empire. Upgrading the core attributes of your weapons, such as scope magnification, muzzle velocity, stability and the many other options available will drastically make important differences when facing the overwhelming odds as you enter each battle with stronger and more powerful supplies than before, turning you into a one/two-man army capable of Nazi suppression.

Finally, after finalising your mission objectives, use your expansive arsenal of weaponry, and unquestionable knowledge of enemy tactics to master the world of online play with the wealth of cooperative and multiplayer modes available – set across six beautiful and gargantuan custom designed maps, with more set to arrive as the war progresses in the coming months. Cooperative play will put your team play skills as a sniper and spotter to the test, as you work together in a number of modes for up to four players, or go online in the ultimate battle of survival with PvP modes suited to those ready to prove themselves against other competitive sharpshooters with seven adversarial modes bringing Sniper Elites trademark mechanics to the fore.

So, there we have it, the 101 guide for what you need to know about Sniper Elite 4. Those looking for a refresher before they head to the battlefield should head on over to our YouTube channel to check out the video briefing from the top brass themselves. Remember soldier, this is the ultimate battle of timing, skill and precision for every elite marksman… now soldier, FALL OUT!