Sniper: Art of Victory is a first-person shooter set in World War II. Notice I don't say "just another" shooter set in World War II. Yes, the shelves are full of them, but Sniper: Art of Victory has breathed some new life into an old genre. This game isn't focused on large battles or even squad-level tactics. You play a lone sniper moving through enemy territory using your tools and skills, including patience, timing and stealth, to dominate the area and complete your mission. An advanced physics model is used for sniping that takes into account trajectory, wind and breath. When you make a clean headshot, you are rewarded with a brief cutscene that shows the flight of your bullet to the enemy's head. Constant shortages of ammunition make rapid firing suicidal, not to mention that it tends to attract enemy soldiers. Finally, plenty of hide sites are available that are great for staying concealed while engaging targets at a distance, with the best of them marked on the minimap.
Although the levels are well-balanced and include some variety (like blowing up anti-aircraft guns and ambushing convoys), the repetitive nature of sniping can get tedious. To me, that is refreshingly realistic. Lying in the brush on the crest of a hill in the pouring rain watching a lone sentry through binoculars for five minutes while waiting for him to stop long enough for me to make my shot reminded me of plenty of missions I participated in during my own military service. The enemy artificial intelligence also was set up in such a way as to encourage sniping; at long ranges, the enemy crouches and looks around after your first shot (if you miss!), then begins shooting back once you've been spotted. At shorter ranges, the enemy spots you quickly and shoots more accurately, all the while using cover and moving closer, making sniping a healthier proposition than trying to sneak up and use pistol or knife. It is sometimes hard to spot an enemy soldier through the brush and trees, even one that is firing at you, but binoculars and a little shifting around often help spot muzzle flash or other movement that you can use to gauge the soldier's location and make the kill.
Sniper: Art of Victory uses the Chrome engine from Techland. This engine is showing its age, as evidenced by the fact that it runs on a 1.6 GHz CPU with an nVidia GeForce 3 or ATI Radeon 8500 video card. Although this results in graphics that do not compare well to next-gen games, it does mean that this game will run on millions of older machines. Standard, simple FPS controls are used, including binoculars and leaning. Saves are allowed anywhere, a blessing for those of us who may be interrupted at any moment by small children or pets (or who just seem to stick their heads out right when the sentry is looking our way!). Audio is adequate, with the exception of the inability to turn off the music or even control the volume from within the game menus. Video customization is equally sparse, and I had some trouble running it on my system (3.0 GHz, 1 GB RAM, GeForce 5950FX 512MB) as I suffered frequent crashes.
The saying goes that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but if that's true, then why do publishers put so much effort into creating pleasing and informative covers? I am asking rhetorically of course; we all judge books by their covers, as we also judge games by their covers. I bring this up because the cover of Sniper: Art of Victory shows an American sniper, while in the game you play a Soviet sniper. There are other issues that could have easily been fixed through editing, such as poor grammar and clumsy English. The box proudly proclaims, "Become the eyewitness of the fall of the third reich!" How about "an" eyewitness? Capitalizing "Third Reich"? How about this one — "take part in the turning points of the WW II." It's not "the" WWII, it's just WWII, or "the" Second World War. Other typos and misspellings abound as well. It's just as bad in the game itself, where a somewhat effeminate voice actor reads the poorly written lines with little emotion or excitement. The fact that the developer/publisher is located in Poland is no excuse; localization should be reviewed by an editor who is a native speaker of the language, preferably one who also is knowledgeable about the subject at hand.
Am I picky about writing and story? Sure, comes with being a writer and editor I guess, but I also am an historian of World War II and trained in modern military firearms, including sniping. Which leads me to some more technical issues that probably wouldn't detract from immersion for 99.99 percent of players, but it did for me. For example, you start the game as a Soviet sniper whose plane was shot down near Stalingrad. It seems strange to me that a Soviet sniper would start outfitted with a German sniper rifle and a German pistol (a rare Luger sporting an even more unusual suppressor). The first time I found the Russian sniper rifle (there are only two sniper rifle models in the game), it was on the body of a German sniper I had just killed! Likewise I expected to be an American or British sniper during the Italian campaign, but instead, I was still a Soviet sniper sent to help the Western Allies. Not very authentic, and particularly disappointing since I was hoping to see some new weapons. On the other hand, I do give them kudos for using the correct reticles and magnification for the telescopic sights, even though I might be the only player who would ever care about that!
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this entry from a little-known publisher into an overcrowded genre. In spite of poor writing and some ahistorical weapon loadouts, it was fun and quite a change from the crowded and fast-paced shooters that I usually play. I'd love to try this multiplayer, as the real test of sniping skill is besting another sniper. The AI sniper opponents just weren't challenging enough. The missions were brief despite the slow stalking and hiding, and the entire game wasn’t all that long. I can recommend this product with the caveat that you might experience crashes (as with any software), audiovisual effects are dated (but it runs on older machines) and gameplay is slow (as it should be for sniping). As long as you understand those expectations, and particularly if you can wait until this game drops a price level, I’d say get this game.
