
On the other hand, go in blazing with a loud machine gun and the reward will be spec'd for the Warrior tree. So, use stealth and long-range weapons to tackle a task and points will be unlocked for the Sniper tree. One of the very cool mechanics in the game is that players earn skill points for each tree based on how they complete a mission. Players level up after successfully completing objectives or killing bad guys and they'll have the opportunity to spec into three different trees (hint: all three are a part of the games title). Using Scout Mode, which will be very familiar to Assassin's Creed or Batman: Arkham players, will help players track down mission goals and other objectives. The game's open map provides all the usual quest tropes for players to explore in the first-person shooter, including taking out enemy leaders, sabotaging enemy supply chains and vehicles, and saving innocent bystanders. This is a first for the franchise, which is more known for its story-driven, linear narratives.

Once the adventure is underway, players are set free in an open-world setting. Don't worry though, the gameplay and level design are much more rewarding than the narrative. Aside from the North brothers, Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 has plenty of stock characters players would expect to find in any military shooter. The game attempts to make players care about this relationship during the opening scenes, but the story doesn't really succeed in pulling at players' heartstrings very much. The American Marine becomes separated from his brother in the game's opening sequences and North's adventure quickly turns into a rescue mission through Civil War torn Georgia (the country, not the state) to track down and save his kidnapped sibling. Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 puts gamers in control of master marksman and fairly generic protagonist Jon North.

Although the new installment in the franchise manages to take some big steps forward, it still doesn't quite have what it takes to stand up next to some of the big guns of the genre.

This time around CI Games is attempting to step up the quality and scope with Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 and use an open-world and an increased budget to help the single-player game stand up against the Ghost Recon's and Call of Duty's of the world. In the world of AAA gaming, developers have to do something really unique to make a military shooter stand out in the overcrowded genre.
