Sniper Elite 2 dev explains why 3rd-person is superior to 1st-person

Our hands-on impressions of Sniper Elite V2 – the sniper sequel in which you can kill Hitler and blast someone’s balls from their crotch – are coming later this week, but in the meantime we thought we’d share some perspectives on stealth-based design from the game’s developer, Rebellion.
In particular, what’s offered by third and first-person perspectives.
While shooting your weapon is done by looking done the sights in first-person, the rest of the game plays out in third-person. Asked by IncGamers why Sniper Elite V2 (like the original Sniper Elite) opts for a third-person viewpoint over a first-person approach, Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley explained that it’s the best way to emphasis a “thinking approach”.
“One of the things [about third-person] is that you’re able to see yourself taking cover,” said Kingsley, “which allows you as the player to be slightly abstracted and see your objectives around you without having your view obscured as it would be in first-person.
“It kind of promotes a thinking approach to the gameplay, rather than making you want to just run out and shoot everything you see.”
Sniper Elite V2 producer Steve Hart agreed, and added it gives you a greater ability to make decisions:
“The fact that you can see yourself within the camera’s view allows you to make all the decisions you need to make,” said Hart. “There’s that element of ‘cheating’ that you don’t get in first-person games where you can bend the camera around corners, but that really enforces the stealth-based gameplay that we’re going for. Third-person is perfect for that.” 
See our full preview of Sniper Elite V2.
[video2=2808]