(this is a copy paste of my review of this game on Steam that I wrote a few years ago.)
This game was actually my first introduction into the Sniper Elite games, which lead me to getting into V2 and loving the series over all. I have the Trilogy game as well, but as of the time of writing this I haven't completed that game and need to.
This is a very very fun game, though a bit short. Best to play it and the sequel together or get the Trilogy game. Set in WWII, this is an alternate timeline where Hitler and his cult opened up the gates to hell and caused demons to possess the Nazi armies turning them into zombies. It is up to Karl Fairburn and 3 unlikely allies to band together and fight against these armies of the undead, destroy the cult leaders, and finally taking down Zombie Hitler (though that's in the 3rd game). This first game is the first 5 missions, and are more straight forward than the chaos that starts to happen in the second game. But this is a great launching point as you blast though walls of nazi zombies with your sniper rifles, machine guns, pistols and even some powerful shotguns you get.
there are your regular typical zombies in this game, however there are also other types of zombies that are more dangerous. Like the Elites, which are tall tanky zombies that hold large 50 caliber machine guns, constantly firing in your direction. They have helmets that block headshots and are very tough. There are kamakazi zombies that run at you with grenades and scream, or just pop out of the ground like Bouncing Betty mines. Though you wouldn't have much of a sniper game without having to deal with enemy snipers... and that goes for a zombie game to. Yes there are sniper zombies. They jump around from roof top to roof top, making themselves hard to hit. Taking aim at you and firing before leaping to another building. The later games add even more enemies, but that's mostly it here except the cult Generals that are bosses in the game. Oh and there are skeletons. They are annoying to deal with but their weakness is their chest where the lungs and heart is.
This is an awesome game and was the first game I bought trading cards for to get the badges and foil badge. Even if you have the Trilogy version, I'd still recommend getting this original one, as it is a different experience with how things work to an extent. A must play!
Revealing mistake: If you get a slow motion bullet cam shot on a zombie wearing a helmet or hat, and it's a head shot, you can see the hat fly off when the bullet hits, but often you will see the layers of the hat pass through the zombie's head with no collision.
Trivia: 'City of Ashes': in the hospital scene, there is a board on the wall with the names Dr J. Mengele, Dr W. Heisenberg and Dr G. Rasputin listed, referring to the infamous Nazi-German doctor/anthropologist, Joseph Mengele, German nuclear scientist, Werner Heisenberg, and Russian monk/witchdoctor, Grigorij Rasputin.
