I was a bit sceptical about Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 at first because I was not fond of its original predecessors, and I have not played the first Contracts. Yet, this new addition pleasantly surprised me, as it threw away the concept of a linear campaign, offering five different regions to galavant through instead. That provides enough room for exploration and experimentation, both with the weapon loadout and environment. Now, there only remains a question about whether it is actually a step in the right direction or not.

Luckily, it is.

This formula just works way better with what this series intended to do but was not able to due to the limitations. Also, it finally convinced me that perhaps I should start being interested in this franchise again, as this title is damn good as a purely single-player, first-person shooter experience.

What I adore and respect about this game is something it does not actually do. That might sound like a weird statement but let me elaborate. Several shooters try to forcefully tell their narrative as if it were something unique and enthralling, while in reality, it is just another bland, generic crap. Fortunately, this is not the case here. You only get a briefing providing the necessary background information during the loading screen. That is all. “Here is your sniper rifle, and there are your targets. Kill them and move on.“ could easily be Contracts‘ official motto. I was just happy that I did not have to sit and suffer through dozens of tiresome cutscenes. This title simply knows what it wants to deliver, and it does so without having an identity crisis, captivatingly focusing on both long-ranged and close-quarter combat.
As I already said, the main selling point of this game is its open locations. Their design allows you to take whichever approach you prefer, from precise long-distance sniping to frenetic close-quarter shootouts or even good, old-fashioned stealth with knife and silencers. Not only can you carry a sniper rifle, sidearm, and a secondary gun, such as an assault rifle or shotgun, but you can also customize them. While being able to choose from various scopes or mags is a sweet addition, the weapons' camos look just ugly. Their vivid colours do not fit the environment most of the time, so I only used two of them.
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2509354190
This sheer variety does not end here, as there are several gadgets at your disposal. For example, a drone is quite versatile, as it can scout the area, distract or even attack enemies with its poisonous darts. However, the beauty of this title is that you do not have to use it at all! For example, you can also attract foes by throwing rocks or shooting luring projectiles. What I fell in love with the most, though, was the remote sniper turret, which eliminates marked targets at your command. Not only is it pretty helpful when you need to kill two or three soldiers within a second, but it also looks extremely cool. Apart from that, you can also improve your character or gadgets, but it enhances already existing abilities, such as your stamina or drone, rather than bringing something new to the table.

To get all of that, you need money and tokens, which you obtain by completing missions and various challenges, such as killing everyone without causing an alarm or eliminating the main target in a specific way. I honestly enjoy this approach a lot, as it is motivating enough for me to want to unlock the rest of the equipment without being way too grindy, and it adds a bit of replayability to it too. Feel free to watch my short gameplay below if you wish to see how it looks in action.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n8zrbaF_10
With the loadout out of our way, we can finally venture into describing the missions. Being set in a random Middle East country, you will visit beautiful vast deserts and oasis, ancient ruins and caves, as well as dense woods and military bases. All of that sounds and looks pretty immersing, which is not surprising due to the game using CryEngine. These locations are also very well-designed for the abovementioned varied gameplay, allowing you to find several ways to deal with your enemies, whether it is by finding a climbable wall to reach a proper sniping position or using a river to get past your foes. Even though it all looks great, the movement throughout the map could use some quality of life improvements, such as ladder sliding, which should be mandatory by now. Climbing is also a bit clunky at times, especially when you go down. An option to turn off unnecessary HUD elements, such as health and ammo count, would be also appreciated.

As for those primary objectives, there are two variants. They are either incorporated into the map itself, allowing you to get there in person, or are separated and far too away, so you have to rely only on your sniping skills. While the latter one provides a competent marksman experience, I prefer the first approach, as the option to get to your target in person is much more attractive to me. Those levels also have better design and are more difficult because they have to count that player might happen to look for the different way each time.

Now, all of that sounds good, but it would not matter without a competent AI. Luckily, it provides a decent challenge on a higher difficulty, as enemies tend to force me out of my spot, call for reinforcements or use smokes to cover their position. The AI is definitely not perfect, as sometimes its poor attempts to hide from your fire are laughable rather than productive. Nevertheless, during close-quarter combat, it is pretty deadly, as it takes only a few bullets to take you out. I also appreciate that it does not blatantly ignore your drone or other tools but try to destroy them. Another sweet detail is the conversations between soldiers, revolving around their problems and desires, which you can swiftly end with one shot.
https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2509346553
Last but not least, killing your foes is very satisfying, which is mainly achieved by the added gore. You can shoot out everyone’s limbs or even make their head explode. Gruesome, for sure, but the sudden view on your fired bullet that totally destroys someone feels like a good reward for your precision. Do not worry, as you can turn these off if it displeases you.


Even though there are several rough edges and definitely room for improvement, I still enjoyed my time with Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 a lot. I feel that this series is definitely on the right path now, and it should stick to it with its next instalment. I would not even mind getting an expansion, to be honest. It took me about fifteen hours to finish it, and I still have some challenges and achievements to overcome, so you can surely get a fair amount of time out of it. Thus, if you lust for some entertaining sniping experience, then you should surely give this title a try.

PC Specs and Performance

I played it with an i5 8300H, GTX 1060 6GB, and 16GB RAM, at high setting, with framerates ranging from 50 to 60, at 1920x1080 resolution. Overall, I have not experienced any performance issues.

Acknowledgement

This game was provided for review purposes by the developers through DitD. Thank you!

Curator link

Remember that Blue Lips Never Lie! Thus, follow my curator, Blue Lips and their Quips, to find more honest yet humorous reviews!

[h1][b]One man can change a world with a bullet in the right place… or with a whole mag.[/b][/h1] I was a bit sceptical about [i]Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2[/i] at first because I was not fond of its original predecessors, and I have not played the first [i]Contracts[/i]. Yet, this new addition pleasantly surprised me, as it threw away the concept of a linear campaign, offering five different regions to galavant through instead. That provides enough room for exploration and experimentation, both with the weapon loadout and environment. Now, there only remains a question about whether it is actually a step in the right direction or not. Luckily, it is. This formula just works way better with what this series intended to do but was not able to due to the limitations. Also, it finally convinced me that perhaps I should start being interested in this franchise again, as this title is damn good as a purely single-player, first-person shooter experience. What I adore and respect about this game is something it does not actually do. That might sound like a weird statement but let me elaborate. Several shooters try to forcefully tell their narrative as if it were something unique and enthralling, while in reality, it is just another bland, generic crap. Fortunately, this is not the case here. You only get a briefing providing the necessary background information during the loading screen. That is all. [i]“Here is your sniper rifle, and there are your targets. Kill them and move on.“[/i] could easily be [i]Contracts‘[/i] official motto. I was just happy that I did not have to sit and suffer through dozens of tiresome cutscenes. This title simply knows what it wants to deliver, and it does so without having an identity crisis, captivatingly focusing on both long-ranged and close-quarter combat. [h3][b]Sniper? Ghost? Warrior? Why not all of them![/b][/h3] As I already said, the main selling point of this game is its open locations. Their design allows you to take whichever approach you prefer, from precise long-distance sniping to frenetic close-quarter shootouts or even good, old-fashioned stealth with knife and silencers. Not only can you carry a sniper rifle, sidearm, and a secondary gun, such as an assault rifle or shotgun, but you can also customize them. While being able to choose from various scopes or mags is a sweet addition, the weapons' camos look just ugly. Their vivid colours do not fit the environment most of the time, so I only used two of them. https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2509354190 This sheer variety does not end here, as there are several gadgets at your disposal. For example, a drone is quite versatile, as it can scout the area, distract or even attack enemies with its poisonous darts. However, the beauty of this title is that you do not have to use it at all! For example, you can also attract foes by throwing rocks or shooting luring projectiles. What I fell in love with the most, though, was the remote sniper turret, which eliminates marked targets at your command. Not only is it pretty helpful when you need to kill two or three soldiers within a second, but it also looks extremely cool. Apart from that, you can also improve your character or gadgets, but it enhances already existing abilities, such as your stamina or drone, rather than bringing something new to the table. To get all of that, you need money and tokens, which you obtain by completing missions and various challenges, such as killing everyone without causing an alarm or eliminating the main target in a specific way. I honestly enjoy this approach a lot, as it is motivating enough for me to want to unlock the rest of the equipment without being way too grindy, and it adds a bit of replayability to it too. Feel free to watch my short gameplay below if you wish to see how it looks in action. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0n8zrbaF_10 With the loadout out of our way, we can finally venture into describing the missions. Being set in a random Middle East country, you will visit beautiful vast deserts and oasis, ancient ruins and caves, as well as dense woods and military bases. All of that sounds and looks pretty immersing, which is not surprising due to the game using [i]CryEngine[/i]. These locations are also very well-designed for the abovementioned varied gameplay, allowing you to find several ways to deal with your enemies, whether it is by finding a climbable wall to reach a proper sniping position or using a river to get past your foes. Even though it all looks great, the movement throughout the map could use some quality of life improvements, such as ladder sliding, which should be mandatory by now. Climbing is also a bit clunky at times, especially when you go down. An option to turn off unnecessary HUD elements, such as health and ammo count, would be also appreciated. As for those primary objectives, there are two variants. They are either incorporated into the map itself, allowing you to get there in person, or are separated and far too away, so you have to rely only on your sniping skills. While the latter one provides a competent marksman experience, I prefer the first approach, as the option to get to your target in person is much more attractive to me. Those levels also have better design and are more difficult because they have to count that player might happen to look for the different way each time. Now, all of that sounds good, but it would not matter without a competent AI. Luckily, it provides a decent challenge on a higher difficulty, as enemies tend to force me out of my spot, call for reinforcements or use smokes to cover their position. The AI is definitely not perfect, as sometimes its poor attempts to hide from your fire are laughable rather than productive. Nevertheless, during close-quarter combat, it is pretty deadly, as it takes only a few bullets to take you out. I also appreciate that it does not blatantly ignore your drone or other tools but try to destroy them. Another sweet detail is the conversations between soldiers, revolving around their problems and desires, which you can swiftly end with one shot. https://steamproxy.net/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2509346553 Last but not least, killing your foes is very satisfying, which is mainly achieved by the added gore. You can shoot out everyone’s limbs or even make their head explode. Gruesome, for sure, but the sudden view on your fired bullet that totally destroys someone feels like a good reward for your precision. Do not worry, as you can turn these off if it displeases you. [h1][b]A final shot…[/b][/h1] Even though there are several rough edges and definitely room for improvement, I still enjoyed my time with [i]Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2[/i] a lot. I feel that this series is definitely on the right path now, and it should stick to it with its next instalment. I would not even mind getting an expansion, to be honest. It took me about fifteen hours to finish it, and I still have some challenges and achievements to overcome, so you can surely get a fair amount of time out of it. Thus, if you lust for some entertaining sniping experience, then you should surely give this title a try. [b]PC Specs and Performance[/b] [quote]I played it with an [b]i5 8300H[/b], [b]GTX 1060 6GB[/b], and [b]16GB RAM[/b], at high setting, with [b]framerates[/b] ranging from [b]50 to 60[/b], at [b]1920x1080[/b] resolution. Overall, I have not experienced any performance issues.[/quote] [b]Acknowledgement[/b] [quote]This game was provided for review purposes by the developers through [b]DitD[/b]. Thank you! [/quote] [b]Curator link[/b] [url=https://steamproxy.net/steamstore/curator/41545671][quote]Remember that Blue Lips Never Lie! Thus, follow my curator, [b]Blue Lips and their Quips[/b], to find more honest yet humorous reviews!