Not sure that's so crappy. Obviously if it's "complete and playable", it's just needed polishing. This is what responsible devs do rather than release actual crap.
Lately I've been playing Hitman 2 and Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts, which definitely have some similarities.
Hitman 2
I've gone on record saying I don't like the new formula of giving us minimal missions, but multiple ways to play them. It's a further insult to give us the exact same training missions Hitman 1 had. That said, though there's only 5, it has some really nice missions, and the graphics are top notch. The enhanced lighting alone really stands out. I really don't like having to be online just to get a lot of the options you are denied when offline, but the performance is extremely good. I'm running max settings at 1440p and I stay well above 60 FPS. The benchmarks I've done show anywhere from at least 70 to 80 ave.
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts
City Interactive are showing slow progress at polishing their games, but there are still many little bugs here and there. The graphics are noticeably improved over last efforts in this series though. Both visual and technical polish wise, there are vast improvements. It's very well optimized too. Where it's similar to the new Hitmans is in having only a handful of missions, with the focus on replaying them. Again, there's only 5, but there are multiple objectives, challenges, and collectibles in each, and they cover pretty large areas.
A common complaint is a lack of info on how to do certain things. They don't even say in the controls menu that F is used to deploy your gadget. B is the only key listed, which is used to detonate. I've also found no way to rebind control mapping, which is just unacceptable these days. It has fairly good gameplay though, and I can see why they released videos showcasing how it can be played. You can choose to go straight for your objectives, but it will make secondary objectives and exfil much harder. The special ammo they showcase however, which is haphazardly demonstrated in the tutorial, supposedly is accessible later in the game, but after completing most missions, I've yet to see a way to unlock it.
The game has quite a new way of targeting from past titles. The new mask you wear helps you determine target distance in tactical view, then the scope itself is adjusted as close to that distance as possible. A built in arc shows how wind will affect the trajectory, and where that arc crosses the adjusted elevation line, is where the bullet should land. It's a system that felt clumsy to me at first, then once I got used to it, seemed easy. That is until you have to shoot quickly. It's not easy to clear an area without raising alarms, and once you do, many enemies move back and forth from cover to cover so quickly the slight slow mo of hold breath offers little help at farther distances, even anything over 150m.
There's also no way to disable alarms, so it's imperative to use a combination of sneak routes and killing anyone along that path. You can also pick up and hide corpses to help with that. I have to say though, I'm playing on Sniper difficulty my first play through, which is the middle of the 3, and when not alerted, enemies don't see so well if you're prone.
One of the biggest frustrations for me is it takes time to tag, determine distance, and adjust scope for that distance. This is because you have to hold the tac view exactly on the target's head. This can be anywhere from an instant if standing still, to 2 or 3 sec if walking. Then you need to look a bit above their head for the distance to even show, then switch to scope view, then calibrate elevation, then wait for the arc to appear, which goes in and out of view in intervals. Further exacerbating the time taken is the scopes will vary quite a bit in how well you can fine tune elevation. You're usually good up to 200m in 20m to 25m increments, but beyond that, increments are sparse, especially beyond 300m, where 100m increments are common. This means longer, more difficult shots are much harder to judge scope elevation with.
It's a game where you can easily get caught out retreating from mortar fire once spotted, and then only close shots can be done quickly with any amount of accuracy due to the time it takes to calculate aim. There are also no secondary 2 handed weapons that will accept a suppressor, only pistols. That said, it still offers some good rewards for players good at spotting, sneaking, and shooting from cover. There are also many routes with which you can access great vantage points, including sneaking in behind some compounds. I've had many two for one headshots. I've also had quick kills on snipers after mantling something, then going prone after seeing and hearing the detected warning start going off. The Bounty side objectives are especially fun. One involved a narrow, twisty canyon I descended into with minimal view from the high ledge I started from at one end of it. I killed the target, whom, was on a tower, and several others. I thought there were only a few left. I wanted to go in to loot the target, which adds critical items and/or intel, but got spotted and reinforcements were called. I then had to fight to survive by taking cover in a shack, belly crawling slowly to the other end of the canyon, and tagging and killing enemies as I went. Some were coming very close as I lay prone in the tall grass. The night sky darkening and the canyon and trees helped me from being visible. Despite having healed to 100% (the game has regen over time), my heart and breath were loud. I thought it might be a bug at first, but it slowly stopped after finally exiting the canyon.
So the game certainly has some flaws, but it also shows many signs of improvement in the series, and I can confidently say it's very worth playing.
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