DLC Review: Sniper Elite V2: Assassinate the Fuhrer
During the course of your Sniper Elite play-through you’ll unlock multiple challenges which can be accessed via the main menu. These aren’t part of the story but they give you something else to do and extend the life of the game once you’ve finished the campaign. These challenges, which can be attempted on all difficulty levels, alone or in co-op, like to throw the full force of the Nazis at you in one go. It’s a lot of fun and a great test of your skill.
The most interesting of all challenges is the bonus DLC “Assassinate the Fuhrer” which, if it wasn’t obvious enough, gives you a shot at rewriting history by doing what so many other assassins failed to do, kill Adolf Hitler. That idea alone is enough to make plenty of patrons part with their cash, but for those of us who didn’t pre-order, is this DLC actually worth tracking down a code?
The answer is both yes and no. What you get is a brand new, diverse and substantial map to explore, patrolled by more enemies than your likely to encounter in any of the single player missions. The map is also littered with opportunities to blow things up, set traps and, if you are so inclined, utilize stealth to break some Nazi necks.
The missions starts with our hero disregarding all other priorities after receiving fresh intel that Hitler himself is on his way back from a decimated Berlin so he can catch a ride aboard his heavily guarded personal train. Unfortunately for him there’s going to be a slight delay. You begin the mission after infiltrating the train station, taking a few guards out quietly using the noise of the train’s whistle to mask your gunfire or alternatively use a silenced pistol. Once they’re out of the way, you’ll meander through a platforms until reaching your vantage point atop rocky hill. From here it’s simply a case of eliminating a few guards and a rival sniper or two while you wait until Hitler rears his head and attempts to board his Nazi hell-train.
Getting Hitler in your sights is not as easy as you might imagine
Unfortunately the main event is a bit of a let down, if you were expecting to take him down during a prolific speech or at some other political event of his in front of thousands, you’ll be disappointed. Instead, upon his arrival, Hitler has to be flushed out of his transport by blowing up a nearby truck. With his life in danger, Hitler then has all manner of minions baring down upon you with the rage of a thousands suns. Hitler is a slippy little bastard, so don’t be surprised if you fail a few times, but when you finally do manage to end World War Two, it’s disappointingly unsatisfying. It’s certainly fun though, don’t get me wrong, but there’s no real sense of victory after you assassinate one of history’s most evil men.
The DLC rolls all the best bits of the game into one thoroughly enjoyable mission, showcasing all the best the game has to offer, and playing it through multiple times is a must. It’s just a shame it wasn’t a little more “epic” or even lasted a bit longer, only managing to entertain you for about 30 minutes. Having said that, considering the fact that privileged pre-orderers get the DLC for exactly zero pence, you can’t really complain. Although at time of writing there has been no official confirmation that this mission will be made available to all via the Xbox Live Marketplace and the Playstation Store, considering how high profile this DLC has been I would expect to see it turn up sooner or later.
Review Round-Up
Graphics: 4/5 - The new map the DLC brings to the table is excellent, it’s a shame you can’t play it in other game modes.
Sound: 5/5 - Top quality sound design with plenty of authenticity and atmosphere, makes x-ray kill cams even truly special.
Gamplay: 3/5 - The DLC is a great way to experience all this game has to offer in less than 30 minutes with nary a dull moment.
Longevity: 1/5 - While fun to play, you wont get much life out of this short piece of DLC. You may be able to wring out a few extra replays by attempting it on higher difficulties, but once it is done there’s little incentive to return to it.
Overall: 3 out of 5
A decent piece of DLC that just about manages to live up to expectations, giving us an idea of what we can expect from future DLC.
- Adam Radcliffe
