Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 Should End The Series

Gritty war based titles have been running rampant in the community for several years now. The juggernaut franchises of Call of Duty and Battlefield serve as the pinnacle for this particular style of gameplay. For every genre, however, there is a sub-genre. To beat the chest of ‘new’ and ‘refreshing’, the gritty war shooter soon branched off into the gritty war sniper, with such titles as Ghost Warrior and Sniper Elite leading the charge. With that in mind, Sniper Elite itself, though I’ve never played, has enjoyed good reviews and decent sales figures throughout it’s run as a series. Ghost Warrior, on the other hand, has seemed to struggle right from the first installment onward.

It’s interesting to see a series that has done so average and yet, has a level of success that keeps it afloat among other titles. Now, I understand there is the competitive aspect between two games in the same genre like I mentioned earlier. That being said, it feels as though there is no real competition here. This isn’t to say that Ghost Warrior doesn’t offer some quality experience here and there, but it just feels like something that’s been done before and done better. Frankly, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, although considered a step in the right direction, should be the end of the series as a whole.

Why? Mostly because its entire premise, in general, is just something that’s questionable. The sheer abundance of military based games out on the scene right now is staggering and the addition of a sniper, as the main focus to gameplay, doesn’t differentiate what is essentially another war game. Yes, I realize that real-time sniping can be fun. However, I feel this is only prominent when executed correctly. Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 does do things right, but it borrows so heavily from other titles that you may as well be playing Far Cry or the like. Also, despite taking steps in the right direction, it doesn’t change that, sure, you could pick up the newest installment in the franchise, or you could literally pick up any military shooter and play the sniping section in that instead.

What about the drop off feature that’s so heavily praised? Well, quite honestly, I know of at least three other titles that feature drop off sniping (ArmA II, Red Orchestra, Operation Flashpoint) as well as some other features. This may come across as too harsh, but if all Ghost Warrior can provide is drop off sniping then what is the point? The open world? As mentioned above, there are countless titles that provide that experience as well. The redeemable features presented may offer... something, but sadly, it’s a something that’ll dry out fairly quickly. Basically, although it’s expansive and technical, so are a lot of games.

The story doesn’t escape the realm of lackluster either. The main plot of the games is quite basic in structure and doesn’t really do much other than connect one plot point to the next. Which, to be fair, is all one would require for this kind of title, but considering everything else in-game is sticking to the bare essentials, that isn’t a point in its favour. Actually, this comes across as the same issue that, more or less, the Gears of War titles had in regard to multiple games with basic plots. Multiple storylines in different games that intertwined and made it difficult for players to follow what happened in the full spectrum of the series. Not that the stories are connected, however.

With the above taken into account, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 would be a nice send off to a franchise that, for lack of a better term, follows the checklist for shooters. If anything, the franchise has been successful enough to warrant a couple of sequels. Which has given it, at the very least, a chance to shine in an overstuffed genre.