***WARNING: Slight spoilers ahead for the main storyline. Read at your own caution!***
After re-reading my review for the original game, I was definitely sure that I had to check out the
What originally brought me into the game back in 2011 was the thought of a game entirely of sniping due to a close personal friend of mine being in the military at the time with the exact same job, I wished to see what it was like though his eyes and while the original delivered, if only slightly, GW2 definitely delivers more...yet leaving an unsatisfying taste in your mouth afterwards.
Gameplay was definitely improved this time around, from weapon use to stealth, the game has furthered their usefulness in a pinch. AIs are as idiotic as ever but with the add of a constantly changing patrol and a better stealth system, the game definitely does seem to lead you by the nose in the fog this time around while helpfully pointing out the enemies around you. While gameplay (of course) favours stealth over the now stereotypical "Run And Gun" gameplay of most shooters, AIs still give you a small chance of hiding from the storm or fighting directly - however I wouldn't advice that - but with the realism of the game, two or three shots and it's game over. A warning; if you choose offense against keeping a distance, death scenes or being stuck in one area may cause some rage quitting due to the lacking checkpoint system. Once more the checkpoints are quite limited during missions and a death can set you back 15 minutes of gameplay or even more and with the bare essential lead on of storyline from the original, you won't be glued to your seat for more; the game does attempt to drag you into a teacher-student-breaking-bonds moment about halfway through the game, it seems forced and dry. While I will admit that the ending boss battle is challenging, it ends abruptly - killing one man stops the entire onslaught of henchmen around you, including those taking off in a plane with a bomb inside, they all suddenly disappear and kindly leave you said bomb and even disarm it for you? Really!?
The 1980's called, they want their storyline back.
Voice acting was definitely improved but still lacked...vigour. While I still have yet to find the voice actors for the game, I'm more than certain the voice of Captain Cole Anderson is none other than Troy Baker, well known for his work in Bioshock Infinite, the Naruto Shippuden series and many more games/anime. Since the voice cast is yet to be announced (or even appear in the credits) the only thing I can say is that even here, Baker seems to be lacking much "oomph" that he usually portrays and the other characters, dare I say, drag the performance rate down, tying much of their speech and chatter to gender stereotypes.
Graphics are very much improved this time around and the sound effects and musical score truly tie it in together, they can tend to glitch out terribly. Voice won't synch up with mouth movements, music will replay like a needle skipping on a record and even using slow motion while trying to kill an enemy had me fall through the world not once or twice in the exact same spot, but at least once in nearly every mission. Lastly, Multiplayer is a decent addition but playing with people barely out of the state can see a game drop or freeze completely.
Truly I did enjoy the odd moments here and there during the game, even some of the witty banter but there wasn't enough to keep me going. The storyline was okay, but flawed. The gameplay was great, but flawed, the multiplayer was adequate but flawed. While the game was delayed twice during development, it seems still that City Interactive has released a half-baked game, to which fans may have forced their hand. This game was released on my 21st birthday and to me, this wasn't much of a present.
Out of 10, I give Ghost Warrior 2 a 3.5/10
+ Upgraded gameplay
+ AIs are slightly smarter
+ Musical score and sound effects add much needed atmosphere
- Cut scene/gameplay glitches...often
- Unattractive storyline
- Multiplayer is generic and buggy
- Voice actors are dull and boring
- Very few checkpoints/ammo/health pack
- Delayed twice for horrible result
Sniper Ghost Warrior 2 is out now for the standard price of $80
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