Such a strange thing it is when you go back and pick up the first title in a great series only to see how it all started. The first one that preceded episode 2 by 7 years. Where you fight Soviets instead of Germans. But the setting is still Germany just like it was in the sequel. And Karl has been the protagonist since day 1 just not voiced by Tom Clarke-Hill, yet.

The camera is positioned slightly above us in good-old TPS fashion and the so-called "Kill-Cam" does follow the bullet but completely omits the gore aided by the X-ray vision. I found it difficult to learn the controls as this one had different key bindings and running seems like "sliding" as stopping takes a couple of microsecs when you release the button. The game looks outdated and quite ugly but cutscenes are regular and there are many missions (or perhaps it would be best to say missions are divided up into more parts).

The emphasis is still on the stealth and beside our sniper rifles the same secondary weapon and pistol categories are available. And, of course, we have grenades and mines as traps. There are a lot of things you can find familiar if you return to see where it all began. You can't help but notice that v2 did everything much, much better later and that is the reason why the series was eventually propelled into fame.

Do I recommend this title? Yes and no. Only diehard fans of the series should pick it up and play it on the hardest difficulty setting if "authentic" has always been your bread and butter in later instalments. If you are looking for a great sniping game taking place in WW II then odds are you are better off by picking any of the sequels (including the zombie titles) and leaving this be.

Such a strange thing it is when you go back and pick up the first title in a great series only to see how it all started. The first one that preceded episode 2 by 7 years. Where you fight Soviets instead of Germans. But the setting is still Germany just like it was in the sequel. And Karl has been the protagonist since day 1 just not voiced by Tom Clarke-Hill, yet. The camera is positioned slightly above us in good-old TPS fashion and the so-called "Kill-Cam" does follow the bullet but completely omits the gore aided by the X-ray vision. I found it difficult to learn the controls as this one had different key bindings and running seems like "sliding" as stopping takes a couple of microsecs when you release the button. The game looks outdated and quite ugly but cutscenes are regular and there are many missions (or perhaps it would be best to say missions are divided up into more parts). The emphasis is still on the stealth and beside our sniper rifles the same secondary weapon and pistol categories are available. And, of course, we have grenades and mines as traps. There are a lot of things you can find familiar if you return to see where it all began. You can't help but notice that v2 did everything much, much better later and that is the reason why the series was eventually propelled into fame. Do I recommend this title? Yes and no. Only diehard fans of the series should pick it up and play it on the hardest difficulty setting if "authentic" has always been your bread and butter in later instalments. If you are looking for a great sniping game taking place in WW II then odds are you are better off by picking any of the sequels (including the zombie titles) and leaving this be.