Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army (PC) Review

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Sniping the dead.

When I reviewed the original Sniper Elite last year, I was shocked at how gruesomely fun it was. Sure, the stealth was broken, the graphics not so wonderful and plenty of other issues brought down the experience, but that x-ray kill cam and satisfying shooting mechanic drew me in. The team at Rebellion has returned with this PC-only expansion that features the most clichéd concept in gaming: zombies. They aren’t just regular, run of the mill zombies mind you. These are Nazi Zombies.

I want to tell you that this game delivers a surprisingly deep narrative and that it completely rearranges the mechanics of a zombie shooter. Sadly, I think this might be the most generic game I have played. From the menu, you pick a map and whether you’d like to tackle things alone or online with a friend. In the setup, Hitler unleashes what he calls “Plan Z,” and players are tasked with moving from map to map, mowing down waves and moving between safe houses. It’s not unlike Valve’s super popular Left 4 Dead series.

You might be wondering how I could possibly recommend the game considering how bland it sounds. Despite its lack of originality, Nazi Zombie Army is a blast to play with friends. Notice I said “with friends,” as playing this affair solo is downright nerve-wracking. As you move from safe house to safe house, zombie onslaughts are triggered at random intervals. The idea is to sit back, hunker down and take out the horde. The problem with flying solo is that the odds stack up against you, and you quickly get overrun, creating a feeling of frustration rather than tension.

Unlike its big brother, Nazi Zombie Army completely eliminates the stealth element but keeps the sniper rifle as your main firearm. I know it sounds insane, but the x-ray camera makes a return with tons more opportunity to use. The satisfaction I got from sniping a kamikaze zombie at long range, only to have his explosion take down an entire group of enemies was beyond satisfying. The various enemies also spice up the campaign. There are sniper zombies that hop from rooftop to rooftop, while the explosive undead charge carelessly to get close enough to take you down with a boom.

The shooting works great. Whether you are going for the standard keyboard/mouse combo, or the Xbox 360 controller, it just feels solid. The game also looks decent at maximum settings on a high-end machine. Once I cranked up the detail and enabled all the bells and whistles, the x-ray shots were all the more satisfying. Sure it won’t stand toe-to-toe with the best in the business, but it still looks really good, and the frame rate remained steady as long as I kept vsync turned off.

Nazi Zombie Army is probably one of the blandest ideas in recent memory. I can hear groans at the simple mention of the name, but I had a ball when I managed to get into a game with three other people. It is like a third-person Left 4 Dead, with x-ray kill cams and fantastic shooting. Everything just feels solid, and for the price tag, it is hard not to recommend it to those still hungry for co-op zombie hunting.

Review copy of game provided by publisher.

This game was reviewed on an ORIGIN PC
  • Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77I Deluxe
  • Liquid Cooling: Origin Frostbyte 120 Liquid Cooling
  • Processor: Intel i7 3770K with Professional Origin PC Overclocking
  • Memory: Corsair 8GB 1600 Mghz Vengeance
  • Graphics Card: EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670

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Written by
Ken is the Editor-in-Chief of this hole in the wall and he loves to troll for the fun of it. He also enjoys long walks through Arkham Asylum and the cool air of Shadow Moses Island. His turn-ons include Mortal Kombat, Metal Gear Solid and StarCraft.