11. Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army 2

After the Nazi Zombies wreaked havoc in the first standalone expansion to Sniper Elite V2, who could guess they’d return for another around? Nazi Zombie Army 2 offers a new campaign with fresh locations and enemy types, and you’ll once again slay undead by the droves solo or with up to three other players. Don’t fix what isn’t broken, but when it feels more repetitive than its predecessor, you have to wonder if it’s really worth it. Nevertheless, it’s more maps for slaying zombies, which counts most for some.

10. Sniper Elite VR: Winter Warrior

Another follow-up that noticeably falls short of the original, Winter Warrior is developed by Just Add Water of Oddworld fame. Given how well the first title fared, you would expect the momentum to continue. A forgettable narrative and iffy controls later, and you realize that’s not the case. The sequel doesn’t even do enough to switch up the formula or spruce up the visuals. The gunplay is still on point, but there isn’t enough content to justify jumping in. A mixed bag overall.

9. Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army

The original and Rebellion’s first attempt at a Left 4 Dead-style undead spinoff starring Karl Fairburne but set in an alternate universe World War 2. The shift from careful and methodical sniping and stealth to gunning down zombie hordes en masse is still a huge shift for the series. Nazi Zombie Army handles it well enough, combining the realistic gunplay and X-Ray Kill Cam with new kinds of threats and co-op. Though it won’t be competing with the best co-op zombie shooters in the genre, it’s a fun ol’ time, if nothing else.

8. Sniper Elite V2

The first sequel in the series, Sniper Elite V2 focuses on Fairburne attempting to stop the V-2 rocket program in Berlin (which explains why it didn’t get a simple “2” in its title). While it received some praise for the realistic ballistics, the AI was a mixed bag, alternating between competent and imbecilic. Respawning enemies and stealth were also points of contention, with sniping being the only aspect that resonated. That’s because Sniper Elite V2 introduced what would become a staple of the series for over a decade – the X-Ray Kill Cam, rewarding kills with a bloody showcase.

7. Zombie Army Trilogy

It’s a close tie between Sniper Elite V2 and Zombie Army Trilogy in quality. However, the latter wins out by not only remastering the first Nazi Zombie Army expansions but including a third campaign. You can play through them with up to four players, choosing from eight different characters (with Left 4 Dead 1 and 2’s cast joining later for an additional eight), and even adjusting the difficulty. The famed ballistics and X-Ray Kill Cam are also present alongside dismemberment, which adds a bit more strategy. It’s still pretty repetitive and lacks much of the series’ nuance, but it’s still good for mindless fun with friends.

6. Sniper Elite VR

The first Sniper Elite VR title and one that boasts a poor narrative with some strange gates stopping you from completing the last few missions. No autosaves, bugs, underwhelming melee combat – it’s almost hard to get on board. Where it excels is in the fine mix of arcade shooting and realistic ballistics. It’s also responsive enough to make racking up points with the most creative kills enjoyable. Still far from the best in the series, but a solid option for those who want a fun sniping title in VR.

6. Sniper Elite 3

After Sniper Elite V2 underwhelmed, Sniper Elite 3 came along and…marginally improved things (while flailing even more in other departments). Technically a prequel, it saw Fairburne venture to North Africa, with new desert locations to deal with. Unfortunately, the story wasn’t much to write home about, and the AI still had its failings. Where Sniper Elite 3 succeeded is in presenting larger more open levels for players to plan out a myriad of approaches.

Sabotaging generators to mask your shots with the sound, leveraging the revamped stealth to tactically take out threats, scrounging for weapon parts, setting up traps – it all felt so liberating (and, of course, the sniping was still on point). Add on improvements to the X-Ray Kill Cam to factor in organs and bone shattering, and on several gameplay levels, Sniper Elite 3 could be a fun time.

4. Sniper Elite 1

It’s somewhat ironic that one of the better games in the franchise is the one that started it all. Sniper Elite launched in 2005, and as far as sniping-focused titles were concerned, it was unlike anything else in the WW2 shooter space. The realistic depiction of ballistics, where factoring in things like the wind, felt fresh and challenging. Sure, you didn’t get the explosive viscera of the X-Ray Kill Cam, but it was still satisfying for a bullet to dramatically reach your target in slow motion. With all the other relatively new tactics, like using louder sounds to mask your shots, it’s no wonder it received attention despite some shortcomings.

3. Zombie Army 4: Dead War

Considering its predecessors, there may not have been many expectations from Zombie Army 4. Yet somehow, everything fell in place, from the campy campaign with its zombie sharks and zoo to the X-Ray Kill-Cam triggering off explosions and well-placed shots alike. Each character has extensive progression and some fun talents; the weaponry went above and beyond, straight-up embracing the elemental and bizarre new enemies debuted, including a zombie tank. Yes, it has overpriced DLC, and yes, the gameplay can still get repetitive, but it’s the series’ – and one of Sniper Elite’s – best offerings yet.

2. Sniper Elite 5

Sniper Elite 5 is not where the series’ truly started to take a turn and really come into its own with the sandbox-style levels and freedom of playstyles. It still excels in those regards, refining the realistic sniping we know and love while presenting some of the best levels in the series. There’s also Axis Invasion, a new mode where an enemy sniper can invade your game, leading to even more tense encounters. The key shortcomings of the series remained, but it felt like Sniper Elite finally carved its winning formula.

1. Sniper Elite 4

And it all truly began with Sniper Elite 4, which took the sandbox-like maps of Sniper Elite 3 and went even bigger. Fairburne was more agile than before, capable of clambering up structures to set up his shots. Night missions introduced new twists to the stealth formula and players were freer than ever to strategically take down enemies, go guns-blazing or take a completely silent approach. While it couldn’t overcome the series’ curse of middling story-telling and AI, Sniper Elite 4 achieved a new level, elevating it into something incredibly fun.

Zombie Army Trilogy takes place during World War II and sees Hitler raising the dead in a last ditch attempt to conquer the Allied forces. Germany is thus a teeming nation of the undead and you – along with seven other players – will need to band together and wipe them out. Pretty straightforward and dull but then again, zombie horde shooters have never been known for their deep plot. There are eight different characters to choose from here with four new females being added to the cast. Differences are sparse between each character, functioning as little more than a unique skin for your custom load-out.

"Unfortunately, the overall twitch nature of Zombie Army Trilogy doesn't afford much opportunity to measure your shots. You'll be swarmed most times and just try to hit as many headshots as possible before the zombies get close."

With regards to weapon variety, you won’t find much to feed your Call of Duty-esque craving for bloodshed. Machines like the MP40 are relatively inaccurate and offer low damage output even when aiming for the head, causing you to rely more on handguns and rifles to down the dead. Weapons like the Preacher, the good ol’ double barreled shotgun, and the Panzerfaust let you explore a little outside of those confines though. There are also explosives like trip mine grenades, dynamite and landmines that can aid you but for the most part, the sniper rifles which will lead you to victory.

Gameplay in Zombie Army Trilogy is very simple like Left4Dead. You’ll progress from one checkpoint to the next and often times have to hold down a particular point while slaughtering waves of the undead. There will be safe-rooms to reload your ammo and change weapons. One advantage over the Left4Dead franchise is that you can properly customize your load-out before the game begins, opting for whichever rifle, handgun, machine gun and shotgun you choose.  I found the M1 Garand to be exceptional in mid-range battles while the Springfield disappointed with its low ammo capacity. Only hardcore Sniper Elite players will find any real differences between the various rifles in terms of wind velocity and gravity. The rest will just see one rifle as holding more bullets or being less stable than the other.

Unfortunately, the overall twitch nature of Zombie Army Trilogy doesn’t afford much opportunity to measure your shots. You’ll be outnumbered most times and just try to hit as many headshots as possible before the zombies get too close. While this could have been a somewhat harrowing experience, it’s mitigated by the fact that character movement feels awkward and you can employ a simple kick to knock zombies down. This kind of kills the gimmick of handguns and machine guns – why line up headshots in close range when you can just knock the zombie down and bash its head? On a side note, slow motion sniper shots piercing through multiple zombie craniums is fairly entertaining.

"Rebellion did up-res all the games into 1080p though the frame rate sees some drops every now and then. The screen-tearing on the Xbox One version can also be irritating and though it doesn't pop up all the time, it's still plenty noticeable when it does."

There will be times later in the campaign where zombie snipers and heavy machine-gunners come into play. The former is especially annoying since the zombie will leap from one building to the next after taking potshots. It doesn’t really imbue the games with any sense of the franchise’s strengths. After gunning down hordes of the undead, these snipers will be little more than a nuisance and an excuse to stop, drop and snipe them into oblivion. Heavy enemies are also borderline rage-inducing since they shrug off multiple explosions, rockets and grenades.

Zombie Army Trilogy does have a few new additions. As mentioned above, eight player co-op is now possible and you can also play the third, unreleased iteration of Nazi Zombie Army. There’s no doubt that the game would be much more fun with eight players all running and screaming and having a good time. One only managed a single-player romp however and can confirm that things are very dull without a few friends. Other new content includes the spiffy Horde mode in case you want to skip the boring story and get straight to killing zombies.

Rebellion did up-res all the games into 1080p though the frame rate sees some drops every now and then. The screen-tearing on the Xbox One version can also be irritating and though it doesn’t pop up all the time, it’s still plenty noticeable when it does. Though there are undoubtedly marked improvements over the PS3 and Xbox 360, Zombie Army Trilogy doesn’t really show off what the current generation hardware is capable of. Art direction is fairly typical for a game like this with smoggy towns, dank torn-down churches and hellfire-infested landscapes. Nothing memorable but it serves its purpose.

Zombie Army Trilogy is tough to recommend without friends and even then, it won’t take long for you and your buddies to tire of the typical zombie slaying. With various multiplayer titles featuring more interesting twists – like Evolve and Battlefield: Hardline – one has to wonder how much appeal this port compilation will have for the average fan. Regardless, even if you’re in the mood for some zombie-cide, you’re better off replaying Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s Exo Zombies mode, Left4Dead or even Black Ops 2 Zombies than investing in Zombie Army Trilogy.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox One.

Earlier today, developer Rebellion Games announced that the sequel to the much-loved Sniper Elite DLC, Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army, Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army 2 will release on PC  on October 31st. In addition to the game’s release, Rebellion has also announced that pre-orders for the game are now available on Steam, and will net gamers a 20% discount on the title.

Jason Kingsley had this to say about the upcoming launch of Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army 2 regarding staying true to the strengths of the original game:

“We wanted to twist the occult horror from Nazi Zombie Army into something more nightmarish, more insane. There’s been a huge focus on making the levels more intimidating and the enemies even more grotesque and challenging.”

“The first game really tested players’ abilities to work as a team in co-op, but also allowed solo gamers to hone their skills by multiplying the number of zombies in the campaign. Make no mistake, if you’re looking for shooter that puts your back to the wall, Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army 2 has got you covered.”

Are you planning to buy this game? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Rebellion are working on a sequel to their successful Steam expansion/standalone shooter, Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army. Sniper Elite: Nazi Zombie Army originated as sort of a DLC for Sniper Elite V2, and has since evolved into it’s own Sniper Elite sub-series.

The game will act as a direct sequel to its predecessor, following Karl Fairburn and his three friends in their fight to defeat the source of the zombie uprising deep in the heart of Berlin. Rebellion’s head of creative had this to say about the new campaign:

“We really wanted to heighten the demonic, nightmarish tones of the first game. The environments, the levels, the soundtrack all give a strong feeling of descent – each encounter, each level becoming progressively more hellish. Most importantly though, we’ve expanded the legions of Nazi undead with some really intimidating new enemies which we’ll reveal soon.”

Rebellion founder and CEO, Jason Kingsley spoke to the hugely positive reaction to Nazi Zombie Army from fans:

“It was amazing. At that point we hadn’t announced Sniper Elite 3. A lot of Sniper Elite V2 fans had been asking for 4-player co-op content, and we thought it would be a good test of our gameplay mechanics. So we thought ‘Why not?” and self-published it. What we got though was a breakout hit.

The co-op and the price put the game on the map, and suddenly we were at the top of the Steam charts. We had hundreds and hundreds of requests from YouTube channels wanting to do “Let’s Plays” and reviews, and the game just took off. When we had a second to breathe, we looked at the player data and it turns out most of them had never actually played another Sniper Elite game. We never knew it would tap into such a broad audience.”

He went on to comment on the possibility of a release across other gaming platforms:

“We have to admit, we underestimated the demand for the original game. All of sudden we had console gamers desperate for us to port the game to 360 and PS3, but without a publisher this just wasn’t feasible. We left a lot of Sniper Elite fans disappointed. They didn’t want to hear excuses from us, they just wanted to play it. As an independent, we’re obviously really excited about what we’re hearing from Sony and Microsoft when it comes to self publishing on PS4 and Xbox One. We think the series could be a great fit for them.”