Soldier Elite review (PC)

Beyond the ability to walk real slow and a handful of noisemaking gadgets that you can draw enemies in with, you don't really have any stealth tactics at your disposal--no sidling up against walls to peek around corners, no sneaky surveillance devices, not even a simple crouch mechanic. Without the ability to sneak effectively, you'll find yourself in straight-up firefights that you often have little chance of winning. As bad as Soldier Elite is as a stealth game, it's almost worse as a shooter.

For all the pomp and circumstance, White Fox isn't a very tough operative, and it only takes a half-dozen hits from consistently crack-shot enemies to empty a full life bar. By contrast, the enemies are either much tougher, or at least much better shots, since it seems like you have to empty a full clip into most enemies to get them to go down, which can be especially problematic since ammo is often pretty scarce. Headshots can definitely reduce the amount of ammo enemies will soak up, though the time spent standing out in the open trying to line up your shot is often time wasted, since you seem to miss your target half the time, and while you've been standing there, most of your life bar has probably been drained away. You can hold the shift key to lean out from behind cover, theoretically reducing your exposure, though your aiming reticle moves off target just enough when you lean out that you'll have to readjust your shot anyway, sapping much of this mechanic's usefulness.

The clunky fundamentals of Soldier Elite are only exacerbated by the bland mission objectives, a pedestrian selection of weapons, a boring and overused computer-hacking mechanic, and some really half-baked vehicle sequences. The only redeeming quality in Soldier Elite is its presentation, which is technically proficient but creatively bankrupt. Character models look and move well enough, but they also repeat a lot, and their reactions to getting hit with hot lead are understated. While the game pretty much nails the whole chilly military-installment look and feel, the grey corridors simply get old quick. There really isn't anything nice to say about the game's sound design, which consists of terrible voice work, ineffectual weapon reports, and some of the most repetitive, urgent techno music we've heard in a game.

Why would you play Soldier Elite? This is a third-rate knockoff of an aging stealth action game that's already been ripped off several times over and to much better effect. While there might be some parallels between Soldier Elite and some corny action movie you catch on late-night TV, the key difference is that you have to pay money to find out just how bad Soldier Elite is.