Velvet Assassin

"Unambitious, but what it does attempt is well executed"

As a lover of stealth games, I was really looking forward to this one. Alas, it doesn't quite live up to expectations. The graphics, atmosphere, acting and music are all great, but the actual gameplay is a little on the simple side. Violet is either in shadow and thus invisible, or the enemies find her no matter where she is. It reminds me of the all-or-nothing stealth system in Manhunt, which I couldn't stand. It's somewhat better executed here, but I still prefer Splinter Cell and Hitman's "Suspicio-meter."

It's a very basic sneaker, which is a rarity these days. If you think sneaking around is boring, for the love of all that is stealthy, do not buy this game. Violet has a realistic amount of health in a direct firefight, which is to say, pretty much none. If the game hands you a shotgun and an armored vest in rapid succession, you'd best prepare for some gunplay. Otherwise you will be sticking to the shadows, dispatching enemies from behind with your knife, or utilizing various environmental hazards to your advantage. The gameplay is nowhere near as deep or varied as Hitman, Splinter Cell or Assassin's Creed, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The bad thing, in my book, is the wasted potential of the female main character. Having played so many stealth games with male leads, I was looking forward to ways in which I imagined a female lead would be different, especially in a historical setting. If you were the director of MI6, and you had 100 male agents and 1 female, you would not send the girl to blow up fuel depots or steal submarine documents. You'd send her on missions were her gender would play a factor. You'd send her to infiltrate a military hospital as a nurse. You'd send her after a female SS officer by infiltrating her female staff. You'd send her to a Nazi party fancy dress ball to lead a corrupt official away to a side room and then strangle him with her stockings. I'm not even talking about stuff that's exploitative, just stuff I haven't already done in other games. I've dressed as a soldier and had to keep my distance from fellow soldiers. I wanted something different here, and I didn't get it. While the game seems to pride itself on having a female lead, and being based on a real woman, they don't do much with the concept.

The long story short is that the game has some very well done, moody stealth gameplay, but it's somewhat disappointing it didn't try to be a bit deeper or more unique.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 05/05/09

Game Release: Velvet Assassin (US, 04/30/09)