Well, here we are with a new mission pack being delivered for the already pretty groovy Sniper Elite 5. This is the last hurrah for Season Pass One, and Rebellion are clearly hoping to go out on a high with the Conqueror Mission, Weapon and Skin Pack.
What they have brought us here follows the usual pattern for Sniper Elite 5 DLC – a whole new mission, on a new map, with a new weapon and a lovely new weapon skin in tow. But that’s not all and as part of Rebellion’s 30th anniversary, they have also released some other things free of charge, via the Airborne Elite pack. This pack contains a new skin for Karl, that of a British Paratrooper, the Leed No.4 Rifle and a Union Jack skin for the Welrod pistol. Not bad for free, eh? Still, those things are an aside, let’s see what is what with the paid for expansion, shall we?
The story of the new mission found in the Sniper Elite 5: Conqueror Mission, Weapon and Skin Pack is pretty cool, as are all the narratives in the missions of the main game. We are tasked with infiltrating the town of Falaise, where the Nazis have decided to dig in and make a final stand as they are busy retreating. Overlooking the town is a huge castle, which was once occupied by William the Conqueror (I guess, hence providing the name for this expansion) and inside the keep of said castle, a General Konig is directing operations against the allies, making their lives tricky. How much easier advancing would be if this General was removed from the board, maybe by a lone wolf stealthy sniper trained to sneak behind enemy lines and shoot people in the face from a long way away. I wonder where we could find such an operative?
With the scene set and presentation wise this is no different to the rest of Sniper Elite 5. The map isn’t massive, to be honest, a bit smaller than the other maps in the base game, and while the layout is also pretty linear, it is an interesting layout, with lots of places to find and extra side missions to discover and carry out.
The sound fits too, with Germans shooting and falling over, tanks shooting (usually right at me through a window, as the AI does seem to be pretty psychic this time around) and all in all, this DLC feels as good as always.
While the mission is described as having heavily defended enemy lines, I must say that the mission doesn’t seem to be that congested, certainly not compared to some of the later missions in the main game. Approaching the castle, for instance, there are such a lot of places to hide and it is entirely possible to just sneak about the place, subduing the foes without any difficulty. I have been playing Ghost of Tsushima over on PlayStation in recent times, and the stealth here could certainly learn a lot from that game as there doesn’t seem to be any difficulty in dispatching enemies one at a time, even when they are pretty much treading on each other’s toes.
Still, the gunplay is the main draw, and the addition of a new weapon is always to be celebrated. This time, the gun is a bit of an odd one, being a triple barrelled shotgun called the Drilling Shotgun. It doesn’t, despite the name, make holes in which to disappear, but what it does do is pretty much sweep the area in front of you clear of enemies. The real world Drilling was a Luftwaffe survival weapon in real life, basically a double barrelled shotgun with a rifle barrel nailed on to provide an option for engaging at distance. And that is pretty much what this thing does in-game, although you can forget any pretence of stealth should you take this thing on a mission. Every shot seems to be clearly audible from Germany, never mind the next room over, and so while it will act as a Get Out of Jail Free card, you may well notice that it attracts more enemies than it kills. Still, it certainly makes for an exciting time.
The last part of the expansion is a new set of weapon skins, coming in the Oak Leaf pattern. While I can just about see the shape of an oak leaf, it does seem to be a rather vivid orange colour; a colour that has never been seen attached to any tree I’ve ever heard of. Still, it does make things look slightly different, and while it isn’t a skin that I will ever use, it is always good to have choices.
So, let’s have a conclusion shall we and in the Sniper Elite 5: Conqueror Mission, Weapon and Skin Pack the mission is the highlight here, with a good flow to the structure and numerous side missions to find. This pushes you to explore every corner of the map, and thus the value for money is pretty good. It’ll take you around two hours to wander all over the map and find everything, so this is pretty good. The new weapon is a bit loud and blatant, much too loud and obtrusive, but if you like a shotgun, it is pretty good fun.
All in all, the Conqueror Mission, Weapon and Skin Pack is a pretty good expansion, and with new achievements to obtain based on how well you action the mission, this is a good challenge to aim at.
Sniper Elite 5: Conqueror Mission, Weapon and Skin Pack is on the Xbox Store
