Definitely a more under-the-radar title of 2017, Sniper Elite 4 won't have to fight too hard for its audience, a notorious group of dedicated Nazi-killers who have collectively purchased more than 10 million games in the series. So, when the long-awaited fourth entry in the snipe-em-up hits the shelves, it will be no surprise when they quickly leave the shelves.
That being said, the Sniper Elite 4 101 video just posted today (seen above) does reveal one struggle the game will face, and it's a familiar one – the battle between a stealth and action.
You can be forgiven for watching the trailer above and feeling as though you're on a rollercoaster ride of Thief-like lows and Call of Duty-esque highs, where you're sneaking around and using your silencer in one sequence only to be blowing up large swathes of Nazis in the next.
We've seen this similar struggle in many different games over the past few years, as game developers seem afraid of making a through-and-through stealth game, to varying results. Dishonored 2 was able to achieve a perfect balance with its freedom-of-choice model, allowing people to play in either a stealthy or overt way. This method is also being used by the upcoming Ghost Recon Wildlands.
Having not played a second of the game, I wouldn't presume to know or be able to predict how Sniper Elite 4 will attack this balance, or if it even cares about the balance. After all, the game is billed as a tactical shooter first, but tactics tend to break down when action-heavy sequences are favored, and that's just the way it is.
But it looks as though Sniper Elite 4 is better-equipped to tackle the stealth aspect than the series' past games, adding a bevy of new features and changing up the setting to allow for more vertical use of each level. This introduces tactical possibilities not available in past games. This may help to assuage the concern of stealth fans who may be turned off by the more explosive segments in the newest trailer and those of its ilk.
