Sniper Elite III is set around three years prior to the events of V2, following the exploits of OSS officer Karl Fairburne as he participates in the North African conflict during World War II, and works to stop the development of a deadly new weapon and eliminate the renegade Nazi commander responsible for it.
Players go through large sandbox-style battlefield maps based on locations from the North African theater of World War II.
Players are also forced to relocate periodically to prevent detection with a white ghost image to mark their last known position if spotted; enemy soldiers will search the surrounding area either individually or in groups.
As in the previous game, loud sounds may be used to mask sniper shots, however, the player now has the option to sabotage generators as a means of creating noise.
Players can go around the map to collect special reward items such as collectors' cards and unlock "sniper nests" built into the environment.
[1] In June 1942, during the Battle of Gazala, American sniper Karl Fairburne (Tom Clarke-Hill) takes part in an effort by British troops to stop Erwin Rommel and the Afrika Korps from seizing the vital port city of Tobruk.
Nevertheless, his performance in the battle brings him to the attention of British Naval Intelligence, who recruit him to hunt down General Franz Vahlen, a favorite of Hitler's who is rumored to be working on a top-secret weapon.
Fairburne heads to the Gaberoun oasis in Libya, assassinating several German and Italian officers at a supply and logistics outpost while searching for intel on Vahlen.
Fairburne and Brauer locate Vahlen's secret field HQ near the Kasserine Pass and open the general's personal safe, which contains a film reel that reveals "Project Seuche" is a supertank codenamed Ratte.
As the Africa Korps begin to lose ground to the Allies, Fairburne joins the LRDG in assaulting the German-controlled Pont du Fahs Airfield, cutting off Vahlen's last supply line and finding a map leading to the Ratte production facility, which is nestled inside the Midès canyon.
Fairburne enters the factory, sabotages its electrical supply and plants explosive charges to destroy the Ratte prototype, before detonating a massive pile of ammunition to level the complex.
Vahlen is trapped by debris while fleeing the crumbling factory; Fairburne takes his Luger, loads it with Brauer's bullet, and shoots him in the head before escaping.
Fairburne must eliminate any and all threats to Churchill including mortars, mines, rocket launchers, tanks, elite German soldiers and a mysterious masked marksman known only as Raubvogel.
[8][9][10] Hardcore Gamer's Matt Whittaker gave the game a 3/5, writing: "Though its stealth-based sniping gameplay can provide some exciting moments, Sniper Elite III is a decidedly mixed bag.
[23] Mikel Reparaz of IGN scored the game an 8.2/10 and wrote: "More than just a showcase for slow-motion gore, Sniper Elite III shines for its open-ended approach to stealth."
Reparaz disliked the story, which, according to him, is "awash in clichés and occasionally laughable dialogue", as well as "shaky" artificial intelligence, but spoke positively of the interesting setting, large levels, "immensely satisfying" gore, and multiplayer modes.
He writes about kill-cam: "The level of variety and detail verges on psychopathic", but "If you get a thrill out of wreaking that sort of anatomical havoc, then Sniper Elite III will offer plenty of excitement".
"Sniper Elite 3 certainly has its share of thrilling moments," Roberts said, "whether you’re hunting blissfully unaware soldiers or being tracked by countersnipers in ghillie suits, but there are too many technical and narrative issues to simply ignore.
Renaudin called the slow-motion kill-camera "devilishly satisfying", and praised the colourful environments for being an improvement over the previous games' instalments.
Lastly, even though Renaudin thought the story was "uninspired" and disliked online matchmaking for being "broken", he too praised the level design for encouraging creativity.