SNIPER: GHOST WARRIOR 2
18 cert, Namco Bandai, Xbox 360 (also PS3, PC)
This
promises “the most realistic sniper videogame experience” and in fairness, it probably is. It also involves lots of waiting, hiding and more waiting. Your mission is to help prevent the launch of a weapon that “makes the Black Plague look like a head cold”. Crawl through hostile environments, pick off enemies, help friendly platoons and even fire at nearby objects to distract opponents. There are some fine set pieces scattered throughout the campaign, but other times it’s maddeningly difficult and unfair (even on the easiest setting). Leaves and wooden fences are often impregnable, reloading takes an age, and enemies can see better than you do – even in the pitch dark and when you’re wearing night vision goggles! Fans of first-person shooters (including this writer) tend to love sniping, which probably explains why these titles are popular despite not being very good.