Common Sense Media Review
By Paul Semel
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violent, tough, sneaky shooter challenges mature gamers.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
Sniper Ghost Warrior 3
What's It About?
In SNIPER GHOST WARRIOR 3, you play as a modern-day soldier sent to the Russian/Ukrainian border to infiltrate a facility and destroy a stockpile of Cold War-era biological weapons. But when your mission goes awry and your brother gets kidnapped, you're dispatched to the country of Georgia to undermine local separatists and take down their leader while looking for your brother. This is why you spend much of your time in this first-person shooter sneaking around, looking for just the right vantage point, and shooting your targets from a distance. Just be careful, because even with body armor, you're rather injury-prone, while your enemies are smart and deadly.
Is It Any Good?
By taking a more sneaky, serious approach to the modern military shooter, this game distinguishes itself, but it's difficulty isn't for everyone. In Sniper Ghost Warrior 3, you play as a modern-day sniper trying to avert a war. Running around large hilly areas, you engage in a series of covert missions that include assassinations and sabotage. Most of these are best done from afar, since your enemies are smart and you're prone to injury. This is why it's good that you're not only skilled with a sniper rifle but also know a lot of the same tricks as the heroes of other stealth games, like how to hide in dumpsters or use rocks to distract your enemies.
The thing is, not everyone will appreciate this game's unforgiving nature, especially since it extends to how your equipment wears out over time; you have to manually reload weapons; and you even have to hit a button when you get to the bottom of a ladder and want to dismount. It also doesn't help that the game is plagued with long load times, not enough checkpoints, some irritating bugs, and menus that are difficult to read if you sit at a reasonable distance from your television. But for those who appreciate a challenge, Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 actually ends up being a sneaky good shooter.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in video games. Does it make you feel differently that the violence in this game is against other people, as opposed to aliens or monsters?
Talk about patience. Part of this game involves taking your time and thinking before you act, so how could you use this skill in real life?
Discuss loyalty. Given how your character is trying to save his brother and sometimes puts himself in harm's way to do so, what can we learn from this game about being loyal and how it can sometimes blind us to the truth?
Game Details
- Platforms : Xbox One , PlayStation 4 , Windows
- Pricing structure : Paid
- Available online? : Available online
- Publisher : CI Games
- Release date : April 25, 2017
- Genre : First-Person Shooter
- Topics : Adventures
- ESRB rating :
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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