On the hardest difficulty, without any aim support, when player has to count for bullet drop and correct for bullet travel time and lateral speed of target... perfect. That's how sniper similator game should look like. The game is very unforgiving if player tries to assault without brain - one hit, one dead, like should be. Of course, there could be improvements to other stuff. For example it is quite unrealistic stealth system, but I can live with that. A bit strange though is that weapon accessories are at the price of weapons themselves, but I guess it is for playability balance.
I'll keep it simple: If you liked the first Contracts, you'll probably like this. The main news are the long-shot contracts, where you have to dispose of your targets from a kilometre or more away. Three maps are like that, two others (plus the included DLC) are classic contracts lending themselves to stealth and infiltration. After playing through the campaign once, you'll really get to know the maps and gear through the challenges, which are more numerous this time and again range from "don't kill anyone" to "explode all targets"- it's not Hitman, but some afford a nice sense of accomplishment.
You wouldn't think it possible, but this game has even less of a story than the first Contracts. Some evil widow runs some Middle Eastern country (a fictional one this time, thank God); you pick off her underlings and lay waste to her infrastructure, then go after her. You free some journalist and kill him three missions later. Even the story-based collectibles (others are based on real-world Arabic folklore) don't even try to add any depth to it. Also, while you're now called Raven instead of Seeker and have some banter with your handler, you're even less of a person than before. I don't mind it; there's plenty of story-based games out there.
Checkpoint saves are nicer than ever before, as the game now keeps several saves for your current contract. Upgrading your mask (augmented reality view similar to Scout Sense in the earlier SGWs), weapons and other gear is the same mixed bag as ever, ranging from essential tools to stuff you just buy for one challenge. I feel the drone has become a little more useful again thanks to anti-drone towers being nerfed, but it's still far from the fun go-to gadget it was in SGW3.
5 stars not because it's so unique and innovative, but because it's exactly what I wanted: more of a good thing. Mellow, focused. Took me 40 hours with most of the challenges, but I'm a slow player. Virtually no bugs. Runs fine under Linux using Wine/Lutris.
And yes I know they've changed the name to CI Games, but as a long time player of their games, I'll always have a soft spot for the City Interactive name. I just think it's a better name, dammit.
I've actually enjoyed every sniper game that City Interactive has put out going back many years now. And while the Sniper Elite games by Rebellion are arguably better games overall, I've never really enjoyed playing games like this in third person, and so the Ghost Warrior games just appeal to me more on that level, and that is a big plus in my book. Others will not agree, and that's okay.
I enjoyed the first Ghost Warrior game from 2010, even though they were still finding their footing there. It had some problems, but they were small problems, and I had enough fun that I finished it twice.
And every sniper game they've released since then has only gotten better, bit by bit. They've learned from their mistakes and keep refining the formula, and Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 is in my opinion the best one yet. The new aiming system took a bit of getting used to for me, but once I had it figured out, I actually like it the best. Controls are smooth, as is the gameplay. I've never had a crash yet. I'd actually give this game 4.5 stars, but this system won't allow that, so 4 stars it is. It's a good, solid sniper game, and I hope the series continues.
The hardest difficulty should be the normal difficulty. Everything lower should be grades of easy over normal.
Wind never changes. Wish it did. Wish I had more control over wind, but it is simply shown as a white line on your scope. I would rather get a wind speed and adjust my scope manually. Instead it is automatic. This should probably be an additional difficulty level added.
I guess I am looking for and expecting more realism. Minus half star for that as it turns it into an arcade game and reminding you that it is. The minus second half star is it should have been longer. Too short.
But with that said, it felt great. Nailing a long range shot with a subpar scope and rifle is all you need to know. Just feels like you did something hard to do. I saved the journalist on the hardest level with the base scope... That was a hard thing to do. Learned to get a better scope after that mission.
I've been binge playing all the SGW's lately because they've been practically free on GOG.
I must say that this is my today's favorite sniper game to casually play on my free time.
It's a nice break from all the blurry and barely running games on unreal engine. This game has beautiful visuals, a cool enough campaign to have some fun, and nice sniping techniques. What else do you need ?
I wonder what's cooking for the next SGW :)
【Complete Edition套装内容】
