Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 Beta Impressions + Weapons and their purpose

Disclaimer: This is not a review of Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3. Any subsequent review of the game may refer to content produced in this first impression but ultimately, the game will be reviewed for its own merit.

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3, is a brand new title in ongoing series. This will be the first installment to receive AAA production. The game is still being developed and published by CI Games. I had the chance to get my hands on the Beta and give it a run through. Unlike previous titles, Ghost Warrior 3 is bringing in an open world style of play. In the beta, I was going to have access to two missions along with the ability to attack a number of outposts. I was excited to get all ghillied up. Here’s what I thought.

Like previous installments, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 is a title that is very much about the sniper experience. Therefore, it caters to a certain type of player. Similar in style to Sniper Elite 4 but different in its execution. Patience, timing, planning and deadly silence are the keys to completing your mission. While you still have your secondary’s just in case you get into a sticky situation, this is not a run and gun game. With the open world style, it’s clear you’ll have a number of different ways to go about completing your missions and attacking outposts. I for one liked the ability of having a multitude of choices of how to execute my plans.

Drone from Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3

Upon first loading up, my initial feeling was that Ghost Warrior 3 had a bit of a Far Cry feel to it in terms of open world style. I was directed to a small cave which would act as my home base area. Here, I had the option to select missions, modify my weapons, sleep and create new types of ammo. A nice amount of cash and resources were available, allowing me to experiment with different types of rounds and weapon modifications. I would expect less money to be available when starting off when the full title releases.

Ghost Warrior 3 seems to have a vast amount of customization available, whether it be weapons or appearance. The ability to customize your load outs has become a staple of most modern day shooters and Ghost Warrior 3 doesn’t skimp on that ability here. While I only had access to two missions, it’s clear with this vast customization, a player will be able to approach missions in a variety of ways. In addition to cash, I noticed that resources were also needed for different bullet types upgrading from the skill tree. These resources will be acquired through missions, along with attacking enemy outposts in the open world.

During my first mission, one thing became readily apparent. Which was, use a silencer. If you don’t, entire squads of enemies will converge on your location as if you had a disco ball above your head showing exactly where you were. Even when I fired with a silencer, I felt that the enemy found my incredibly fast. After a few deaths, I finally started to find my stride. While you do have an ability to use a drone and search out an area, I found that the “Scout Mode” was essentially just as good. This mode is a type of sixth sense which will highlight enemies and vantage points.

I played the first mission two separate times, with completing it in two separate ways. The second mission was one that played out for much longer. I was tasked with changing the direction of multiple satellite dishes. A few unarmed scientists manned the control rooms of these satellites and I did like how one called out for help which brought enemies running. On the flip side, there seemingly no penalty for killing these scientists.

Taking into account distance and windage, Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 is hitting close to center mass for me so far. This is an open world sniping experience that I’m waiting to immerse myself into. With what I’ve seen so far, I don’t think I’ll be disappointed. Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 releases on April 4th on PS4, Windows, and Xbox One. Also, check out one another title we recently got some first impressions on, follow the link for Conan Exiles.

How the Game Looks and Feels

The overall gamma of the game is dark and dim, which gives the impression that the developers wanted to hide the underwhelming quality of the textures and graphics in general. It’s a little surprising, since the game is based on the famed CryEngine. For the most part it looks alright — certainly nothing to complain about — but when you compare it to other open-world games like Far Cry or Battlefield, it’s really not that impressive.

The level of difficulty is pretty balanced — it’s not too easy, but the missions aren’t impossible to accomplish either. If you’re not careful, you can die easily from just one precise shot, or lose a lot of health points from a mere fall to the ground. This mechanic forces you to be mindful of each step, which is awesome.

The design of the sniper rifles is really cool. You can see that every weapon has a history of its own, indicated by scrapes, scratches, personal markings, etc. It really gives you the sense that your character is a weathered veteran and not just some noob looking for trouble.

The gameplay consists of three parts:

Get onto the enemy’s territory in a stealth mode
Take your sniping position and eliminate the target
Leave the area or search it for resources and intel

All three types of gameplay are reflected in the skills tree that supports each of these three playstyles: Sniper, Ghost, and Warrior. You earn experience points after each accomplished mission, and then you can upgrade skills that you think fit your personal approach to the gameplay the best.

Weapons and Their Purpose

Before every mission, your character needs to equip himself with all the required weapons and gadgetry at the Safe House. That is why the Weapon Cache menu is where you will spend most of your time selecting the right type of primary and secondary weapons, sidearms, knives, and armor.

Every piece of equipment is customizable. For example, you can choose a sniper rifle that provides you with better stability, but may be less impressive in the noise reduction department. In this case, you can purchase an additional silencer, and the problem is solved.

Another important feature is the choice of bullets — there are a few types in different categories, so it may get a bit confusing at first. But in time you gain more experience using different types of ammo, and you will know exactly what types of bullets you need for each upcoming mission. You can also craft ammo at the Workbench, if needed.

Although sniper rifle is considered your primary weapon, it doesn’t mean that you’ll be using it at every possible opportunity. On the contrary, the rifles are used only when you’ve located a target and there is a clear view for elimination. Also, sniper rifles have very limited ammo load, so every shot matters.

The rest of the job can be done with your secondary weapons, such as machine-guns and pistols. If you’ve attracted attention and you have to mow down everyone on your way out of the mission zone, then weapons like the AK-47 or a shotgun will do just fine.

Did Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 get fixed?

Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC has been patched in an effort to fix all of the problems that have plagued the game since launch.

Is Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 fun?

Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 is by no means a great game, though its value is raised by short and varied missions, fun action elements, and an ability to make me feel like a legit action hero. Regardless of how much it borrows from other games, I can’t deny that I had a good time blowing through missions and enemy troops.

Is Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts worth it?

The maps are fantastic, the sniping is great, the long-shot contracts are smartly conceived and fun to tinker with. A perfectly enjoyable stealth sandbox. Blending classic stealth mechanics with puzzle-y sniping, Contracts 2 gets the job done.

How long is Sniper Ghost Warrior contracts?

How long does it take to beat Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts? The estimated time to complete all 40 Sniper: Ghost Warrior Contracts achievements is 25-30 hours.