Today, developer Rebellion Developments released the first video/trailer in a series of videos called "SOE Intel briefings," that shows why Italy in 1943 is such an interesting theatre in World War II.

According to Rebellion, the Italian campaign offers a plethora of of tales of heroism, sacrifice, subterfuge, and intrigue to tapped into, with multiple factions all duking it out in a country under Fascist rule. The new video talks about this, and provides more details on what to expect from covert agent Karl Fairburne's foray into the area.

Over on the PlayStation Blog Colin Harvey, Narrative Designer at Rebellion sets the scene for the game, and breaks down its story even further.

"It’s 1943. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill meet in Casablanca to discuss the Allies’ next step. The Americans favor pushing across the Channel, through France, to attack Germany’s industrial areas. By contrast, Churchill argues an invasion of Italy will allow the Allies to attack the Nazis’ “soft underbelly” and take the pressure off the Red Army in the East. Churchill’s view prevails.

This is where Sniper Elite 4 begins. Ahead of the planned invasion of Italy, the Allies have intelligence concerning Hitler’s latest wunderwaffe (wonder weapon) and dispatch Lieutenant Karl Fairburne to a secluded Italian island to investigate. Subsequent assignments take him from a beautiful coastal village on the Italian mainland to a vast, verdant forest region surrounding a viaduct. And of course, we’ve designed the game so you can take advantage of the spectacular scenery. Choose to climb up high for the perfect vantage point from which to snipe your adversaries, or look for a secret tunnel to enable your surprise attack, whatever it takes to complete your mission.

In Sniper Elite 4, Karl is plunged into a country that’s been under the yoke of Mussolini’s Fascism for more than two decades. Political opposition to the regime was either crushed early on or escaped abroad. Now, though, discontent is growing. The populace has grown weary of the war and numerous military defeats. Hunger is widespread, diseases like typhus are increasingly prevalent, and the Allied bombing campaign continues unabated. Strikes in the north temporarily cripple war production and civil unrest begins to stir. And amidst it all, Hitler’s Nazis remain Mussolini’s “honored guests.

Operating just ahead of the Allied advance, Karl must neutralise key targets, carrying out missions for the British Special Operations Executive (SOE), the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS), and Italian Resistance. As well as coming into contact with Allied operatives and Partisan fighters, he’ll encounter Italian troops, Fascist Black Brigade fighters, and even the Mafia — not to mention hordes of Nazi troops. The individuals in these factions have their own stories and agendas."

The blogpost also reconfirms that the game's map will be three times larger than that found in the previous game, with many of the game's enviroments drawing from actual locations and real wartime events.

It also details player choice in the game. According to Harvey, it's up to you the extent to which you delve into each of the stories found in the game. Prior to carrying out a mission, you can decide to talk to individuals from some of the factions to flush out details and story, or opt to just dive head first into the action. It's up to you. If you decide to go the stealth route, you might be able to overhear strategically useful conversations, or use your handy dandy binoculars to gather Allied Intel on individual troops.

Further, when searching bodies you may just find ammo, or you may find documents that contain tactical of information, or perhaps a piece of the story. There were also be other documents all around the environments, which you can find or not find, that may tell self-contained stories, or elaborate on narratives for main characters. All the information you can find can also simply affect what side you ultimately decide to fight on.

Sniper Elite 4 is poised to launch February 14, 2017 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Below you can check out the new trailer: