Sniper Elite 4's February 14 release date can't come soon enough based on our time exploring the stunning San Cellini single-player map.

Dropped into a beautiful Mediterreanian island with a sniper rifle, pistol and a few other stealthy supplies, players begin the game by learning the basics of stealth and sniping along a worryingly linear path.

But fear not, because it doesn't take long for the island to open itself up and show you the delights contained within.

Whether it's taking out Nazi officers or destroying enemy propaganda, Sniper Elite 4's huge maps are brimming with objectives, and it's up to you how you complete them - or whether you bother at all.

You can make a beeline for your target along the most direct route, or you can fully explore the map and weaken the enemy defences by taking out high-ranking officers.

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Sniper Elite 4 screenshot gallery PS4, Xbox One

Of course, you can almost guarantee something will go wrong along the way, and the much improved enemy intelligence makes for a more unpredictable experience.

Instead of just picking off whoever's in front of you, players have got to think four or five steps ahead. With such a large map, and enemies to be seen in almost every direction, bad planning can result in players becoming surrounded and overwhelmed.

You can lead enemies into traps and away from your path, or you can make them disperse with just one shot by taking out their leader.

The most enjoyable way is to snipe everything that moves, especially if you get a kick out of those cartoonishly gruesome X-Ray kills.

With co-op play, fast and frantic multiplayer modes (that work surprisingly well given it's a stealth game) and a wave-based surival mode, there's lots to do outside of a single-player campaign with bags of replayability.

The worry here is that Rebellion has spread itself too thin and Sniper Elite 4 doesn't quite live up to the hype.

Question marks remain over the narrative, and fingers crossed that a game as ambitious and open-ended as Sniper Elite 4 won't be riddled with bugs and game-breaking glitches.

But with prettier graphics, larger maps and improved AI, it really does feel like Rebellion has taken the Sniper Elite series to the next level, and we can't wait to play more.

Sniper Elite is in development for PS4, Xbox One and PC, and has a February 14 release date.
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