STACK #148 Feb 2017

GAMES FEATURE

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first time. Behind the scenes, Jones gives us a little insight into the lengths that the studio goes

to bring authenticity to the title; this even involves putting team members through ‘live’ shooting exercises. “We were given training in how to handle and fire genuine World War Two rifles, though we were shooting at much shorter range than you get to in the game though,” he says. “Some of our staff have even served in the Armed Forces. It also helps that Jason is Trustee of Her Majesty’s Royal Armouries. They have an extraordinary collection of guns from every era.” Although some weapon sounds were recorded on the shooting range visits, the final audio was augmented in order to achieve the requisite quality. “Using various microphones at various distances is still never enough to bring a weapon sound up to the standard expected in video games and movies,” explains Jones. “Certain additional content has to be layered into them to really plump them up, be it kick-drums or thundercracks for more 'thud' and 'boom', or various latches and locks and other unrelated metallic objects to emphasise the mechanisms and inner-workings of a gun.” Finally, has the team at Rebellion ever sought feedback or asked advice from any practicing snipers? “Yes, we have consulted with snipers who have been on active duty in modern conflicts and they were genuinely impressed, particularly when it comes to having to pay attention to your own heart rate, breathing, and the way bullets drop because of the curvature of the earth. “We’re not a full blown simulation of course," adds Jones. "We take the core principles of real-world sniping and make them into something engaging to play with a gamepad, or mouse and keyboard!”

When is the only time you wink at a Nazi?When you’re aiming through the telescopic sight of your Springfield M1903 rifle in Sniper Elite 4 . Words Paul Jones S hunning trends in the shooter market, UK- based Rebellion Games has always kept the Sniper Elite franchise firmly ensconced in World War Two. While the big triple-A studios View To A Kill

Did You Know? The second Baron Brooke, Robert Greville is the first documented victim of ‘sniping’. He was shot and killed by a concealed riflemen besieging Lichfield Cathedral during the English Civil War. The term sniper is derived from the ‘verb’ snipe, coined by British soldiers based in India in the 1770s for locals who had the requisite skill to shoot a broad species of bird in flight, known as a snipe. Before the word sniper entered the vernacular, soldiers trained in the art of using ‘rifled’ muskets for greater accuracy were called sharpshooters. During the American War of Independence, the unruly frontier soldiers brought their long rifled weapons to the battlefield and it was said that no British soldier within 400 yards was safe. Billy Sing, a member of the Australian Imperial Force, who fought as a sniper at Gallipoli in 1915, clocked up over 150 confirmed kills.

last year and played through a level that required the destruction of a heavily defended viaduct. One of the features that appealed to us at the time was the versatility that the level offered. Jones is quick to point out that we can expect to see this level of freedom of choice, and differing options to approach objectives, throughout the game. “Viaduct is a perfect example

are now seemingly circling back for a place in history, Rebellion are set to write the next chapter of theirs in a series that is now some 12 years old.

“Rebellion is full of history nuts but our owners, Chris and Jason Kingsley, have always been passionate about their World War Two history, and believe firmly there are many great stories left to tell from that conflict. Italy in 1943 is a particularly interesting part of the war that’s rarely explored,”

...we have tons of intriguing side missions full of subplots to explore...

of what Sniper Elite 4 brings to the table. The new traversal options

such as climbing, shimmying and jumping

says head of creative at Rebellion, Tim Jones, when we ask him why the studio remains fixated on the 20th century conflict. We had limited exposure with the title at E3

open up the maps on a vertical level. And we have tons of intriguing side missions full of

subplots to explore as you’re making your way across these huge environments.” Sniper Elite 4 will ship with a host of new features including a revamped kill cam (a personal series’ favourite) that will now highlight melee and shrapnel

• Sniper Elite 4 is out Feb 14

slow-mo kills too, and dedicated four-player co-op missions for the

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FEBRUARY 2017

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