Looking down the scope and holding your breath to line up that perfect shot in Sniper Elite 4 is exhilarating, as are the subsequent Kill Cams. It's just a shame that the poorly delivered story and wooden characters get in the way.

Kill Cam is as satisfying as ever; Tactical approach is terrific

Forgettable characters and story that gets in the way

Finding a spot with a great view of the battlefield, staring down the scope of your rifle, and taking out your enemies before they even know what hit them is a thrilling moment in any shooter.

Sniper Elite 4 may be more of the same, but it improves on the theme enough to be a worthwhile sequel. The new stages are large and diverse, the story is more engaging, there's more variety to the kill cam and the game looks better than ever.

A lot of games tout the ability to "play how you want to play," but Sniper Elite 4's missions and mechanics actually are robust enough to back up that claim. Picking apart the Nazi war machine piece by piece, using whatever plan comes to mind, is a blast.

Nutshot.

X-Ray kills never get old; Each map provides a staggering amount of freedom; Lots of customisable difficult options

Story tails off; Not a great deal of variety in missions; The AI is really dumb

The Sniper Elite series, coincidentally, is a franchise that I've never really dabbled too much into. I've reviewed the lamentable Sniper Elite V2 in the past (the ill-fated Wii U port to be exact) and while I saw potential in the franchise and the ideas it brought to the table there was something...

You can kill however you like.

A near-perfect run in most stealth games involves the player moving with confident purpose, weaving through scenery at speed, dodging NPC patrols, stealing silent through the shadows.

Sniper Elite 4. Of all the implications that can be drawn from the title, I can't stop focusing on the number 4. As an entertainment writer, I've never been able to look to the fourth installment in any series, be it video games, movies or television seasons and say "the fourth one is the best.

Vertical; in depth maps; Visceral slow-mo sequences; Numberous side missions

A.I; flaws, Morally ambiguous

Huge levels and an incredible array of new ways to take down your targets make Sniper Elite 4 a killer addition to the stealthy series

The choice on offer is brilliant; Beautiful huge environments; Kill cams are wonderfully satisfying

The story isn't particularly inspiring; Collectors are going to go insane