Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2

City Interactive released the first Sniper: Ghost Warrior in June of 2010. The game was somewhat problematic, but gamers seemed happy to overlook its AI issues and other bugs, as the title went on to sell nearly 2.5 million copies worldwide. City Interactive is back for a sequel that’s bigger and better in so many ways that it hopefully won’t need forgiving.

The game starts with a flashback, as ex-Delta Force Sniper Captain Cole Anderson recalls his time in the service during the Bosnian War of 1993. Anderson was sent into Sarajevo to gather evidence about the mass murders happening in the country at that time. During this covert op, Anderson’s co-operative Maddox decides to try and assassinate the general responsible for the killings and the duo is quickly captured. Now both men have to make a daring escape from torture cells and reconnect with their superiors. 

Not only does the game look a lot better thanks to CryEngine 3, but City Interactive has implemented the use of night vision goggles and thermal goggles, vehicle sequences, and designed the game around three different environments: urban areas, jungles, and mountains. 

The game still plays as a mix of stealth-based sneakery and long distance sniping. While games like Call of Duty and Battlefield explore the close-quarters elements of warfare, City Interactive is happy to focus in on a sniper’s duties. “If enemies are alerted, reinforcement will come in, so it’s to your advantage to remain unseen and use sniper tactics,” explains producer Michael Sroczynski. “The enemies are quite accurate with machine guns, and if they are able to approach too close you’ll be in a lot of trouble.” If you want to survive this war, you’d better pick off your enemies from a distant shadow. 

City Interactive has continued to fine-tune its ballistics systems for Ghost Warrior 2, so the targeting system is more realistic. Players will have to take into account wind speed and direction, character breathing rate, and the target’s distance if they want to survive Sniper 2’s deadly long-range battles. 

“The bullet cam was a very popular mechanic from the first game, so that will be returning,” says Sroczynski. “There are a couple of different camera angles, and it’s a reward for a good long shot or a moving target shot or a double kill or even a through the wall kill. You won’t see it every time, but it’s meant to be a reward for a really good shot.”

The first Sniper got criticized for its lo-fi graphics, questionable AI, and buggy gameplay. Sniper 2 already looks more graphically impressive, and the AI seems much improved, but we have to wait until later this summer to see how polished the final product is. Check out a tech demo of the game in action below.