Square Enix knock it out of the park again

The Square Enix Development Company are a little like Will Smith in movies. They make a few stinkers, and then unexpectedly make something that is a world-beater, and Hitman Sniper is one of them. Square are the developers of the Final Fantasy games and the Hitman games, and this mobile game is a smash hit. 

It beats its competition out of sight

It has a Hitman game feel about it, but it is a sniper game. But, it is a sniper game with a difference. It is not just a shooting game; it requires planning, skill, luck, focus and perception.

There are literally hundreds of sniper games that you can play on your phone, and yet despite the fact that the game’s screenshots make the game look like a clone of all the others, it is actually something very different. With Hitman Sniper, you sit in a single location and wait. You allow the scene to unfold below you and you pick your shots, your targets and your timing. After you have passed the easy first levels, you will find it impossible to shoot your way out of trouble. If you pick the wrong shot, if you miss, if you do not time your shot, you will lose and your target will escape. The game takes a lot of patience, which is very unusual for a mobile game because usually they are all about quick action and burning through levels. It is a clever game, and it is a fun game.  

There is something for action junkies

If you are itching to put a few bullets between your enemies’ eyes, then the Zombie update is just for you. If you are tired of having to “think,” you can play the zombie missions and blast some undead brains across the sidewalk. You may also compete against your friends if you wish to pit your intellectual killing skills against your friends. The game is not perfect, since few games are, with the biggest flaw being the loading times. Even with powerful mobile devices, you are going to have to wait around two minutes between each level, and the menu takes a while to get through, but the wait is worth your while. Another flaw is that it only gives bonuses to people that are on Facebook; it completely neglects the millions upon millions of people that prefer Google+. Hopefully, they will change this fact because Google+ has a higher number of intelligent people signed up to it, and the game itself is aimed at intelligent people. Let us hope that they add in Google+ bonuses at some point. The graphics are crisp, the sound effects are tasty and dynamic, and there are 17 weapons with unique abilities to play with. This is not a cheap Freemium game, this is a console game that has been chipped away so that it fits and works on mobile devices.  

Conclusion

You will need a powerful mobile device, and you will need patience to both win the game, and to get through the loading screens. Other than those minor flaws, this is a fantastic game and well worth the tiny amount that Square Enix is charging for it. This is not a Freemium game full of adverts and mandatory in-game purchases, this is a mobile sniper game that has a big dose of the Hitman game mechanics, and that is just perfect for anybody wanting more than a mindless shooter. Hitman Sniper only has 17 targets, but you will have a great time taking them out.