It does still look a little angular, with the kind of edges that you simply can't hide if you're porting a game of a certain age, but it's also clear that a ton of work has gone into improving the textures and adding in detail, and that only serves to make the experience more immersive.
We've seen evidence of that work in the PC build that we tested, which looks like a marked improvement over the initial iteration of the game. Taking advantage of improved hardware, Rebellion is set to deliver 4K and HDR on supporting platforms, as well as a number of other improvements.
Since the original V2, we've seen plenty of improvements and revisions to the formula appear in subsequent adventures in North Africa and Italy.
Given how Sony and Microsoft are both targetting backwards compatibility, that should also mean future generations will be able to access this series one way or another. Because V2 was a reboot of sorts, that means that Sniper Elite V2 Remastered represents an opportunity to bring the revised opener and indeed the whole main trilogy (if you will) to the current console generation. So, with all that in the pipeline, why remaster this particular game? Well, V2 was an enhancement of the very first game in the series, so there's no need to go back and rework the original. Throw in a VR-specific game as well as the next main entry in the series, and you've got lots of sniping to look forward to. This is one of them, and there's also Sniper Elite 3 Ultimate Edition, which is heading to Nintendo Switch. Rebellion is actually beavering away at four different Sniper Elite products right now.
The blend of action, sneaking, sniping, and hammy storytelling has carved itself a place in our cold heart, which may be why we were so keen to revisit the game despite the close proximity of its impending re-launch. Despite the grizzly Xray kill-cam that seems to revel in death and destruction with a touch too much glee, we have to admit that we're quite fond of the studio's third-person stealth-shooter series. Our first encounter with Rebellion's sniper series was actually the first iteration of V2. Having gazed down the scope at Sniper Elite V2 Remastered not once but twice, we have to say that we're looking forward to sitting down and playing through the rest of the campaign when it comes time to review the thing on May 14.
While we wait for that, we played a section of the game at Rezzed last month in London, and then this week we were sent access to the PC version and we were able to take a longer look from the comfort of our office.
We'll keep this relatively brief because there's not a huge amount you can say about a remaster of a seven-year-old game that hasn't already been said before, at least not without casting some sort of judgement, which we'll do properly next month when Rebellion's remastered WW2 shooter hits PC (where you'll be able to upgrade your original copy for $9.99/£6.99/€9,99), PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.