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Sniping in war and videogames: Why it's hated, why it's loved, and why we do it

Sergio Leone, Steven Spielberg, the USSR, and our love of ballistic accuracy

Words: on October 7, 2010
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88 comments

  • Valntyne - October 8, 2010 8:33 p.m.

    Awesome article, really dig the real world facts mixed with the video game knowledge.

  • mattol58 - October 8, 2010 6:14 p.m.

    Best article by Tyler Wilde that I've ever read. Good job and Keep sniping!!!!!! No scoping and COD MOD 2 sniping is pretty bad though.

  • KippDynamite - October 8, 2010 5:45 p.m.

    Hayha = The End

  • Cleanser247 - October 8, 2010 5:33 p.m.

    Nice feature Mr. Wilde! Brings back memories of my sniping experiences : D

  • Jbo87 - October 8, 2010 5:02 p.m.

    Sniping in BF:BC2 is definitely the most satisfying in any FPS involving just enough skill to make it easy enough but not over easy. Also the way you have to stop aiming to reload the bolt action is badass. Feels like the scene from Saving Private Ryan when he's in the church tower. Awesome I tells ya.

  • Hexateuch - October 8, 2010 4:26 p.m.

    I hate to burst your bubble, Tyler, but MoH has retardedly small maps.

  • shaneobi - October 8, 2010 3:55 p.m.

    Ahhh nothing like a bit of sniping in bad company 2, only problem is most people don't seem to be able to snipe back. Always fun to face 3 or 4 enemy snipers at once though :P

  • philipshaw - October 8, 2010 3:19 p.m.

    I'm not that big a fan of sniping but that is because I'm not great at in multiplayer. Fine with it in single-player because the AI is more predictable than human players

  • SenatorPepper - October 8, 2010 3:01 p.m.

    I love a labor-of-love article. And I love history. And I love sniping. And I love you, Tyler.

  • Hydrohs - October 8, 2010 2:45 p.m.

    My friend actually did a presentation on how to be hard as fuck and used Simo Hayha as an example. Excellent article, Tyler. Both informative and humorous.

  • jackburnt - October 8, 2010 1:44 p.m.

    Delta Force was a great game for snipping. We used to play that all the time after school when I was in high school.

  • Not Snake - October 8, 2010 1:12 p.m.

    It's not the sniping that gets me. It's the fact that nobody aims. It's all twitch shooting. I never learned to twitch right. So I run around AR in hand, dropping ever dozen feet or so.

  • centrip - October 8, 2010 1:06 p.m.

    Agree! I want ballistic physics involved, maybe a bit of travel time as well. (So long as the lag isn't to bad!)

  • chrishoughton - October 8, 2010 10:27 a.m.

    snipers get on my nerves in mw2. they think they have "skills" by quick scoping and camping. sniping is all about waiting for that perfect shot not by quick/no-scoping. fair enough the kill cams on search and destroy are good. but imagine doing that irl. try doing a 360 spin in mid-air and quick scoping the enemy. with out going splat on a sidewalk.

  • Clovin64 - October 8, 2010 10:21 a.m.

    I never usually bother with Sniper rifles in FPS games (unless I REALLY need it). I prefer just sticking to standard rifle thats good for almost all situations. A good all-rounder gun. Also, shotguns suck.

  • Groteth - October 8, 2010 10:10 a.m.

    im finn, i love my sniper rifle, im bound to pwn u if u ever cross against me :P hehehe sniping is fun

  • Aeleys - October 8, 2010 8:16 a.m.

    the problem with snipers in games, is that the DEV's have no idea what there doing. ESPECIALLY COD why does my scope act as if im mixing a cake? seriously if a trained sniper had that much scope movment he would be dead before he left bootcamp

  • CitizenWolfie - October 8, 2010 8:09 a.m.

    I occasionally like to be a sniper on MW2 for the reasons above. It's hugely satisfying to get a kill from miles away. I can see why people hate it though - and if everyone played the same then it would get boring pretty quickly - but hearing someone lose their shit after nailing them with a headshot is just too funny. I did a comic strip about campers if anyone is interested: http://citizenwolfie.deviantart.com/gallery/#/d2qq5g8

  • Curst - October 8, 2010 5:35 a.m.

    All you sniper-fans should really take a look at "Sniper Elite" for PS2/Xbox/PC, a wonderful snipersimulator where gravity and wind has to be adjusted for.

  • NanoElite666 - October 8, 2010 5:32 a.m.

    Most excellent article. Simo Häyhä is such a bad-ass. Makes me proud to be part Finnish.

Showing 21-40 of 88 comments

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