Velvet Assassin

"Boring but atmospheric stealth game."

This is a war era stealth game. I am a stealth fan and was pretty excited about this game even though it wasn't hyped that much. The game's main protagonist is based on a real life character (Viollete Szabo) and her stealthy missions.

Graphics :-
Graphics are good for most of the part. The lightning is great and the characters and models look nice too. Violette looks much like her real life counter-part. The animations are also well executed. The ambience is rendered very nicely and looks beautiful. From the out-door gardens to dark, indoor cellars and fuel stations, everything looks just near perfect and believable. It's actually tough to find a fault here!

Sound :-
The sound is well done too. From the environmental sound to the voice acting, everything is executed just well. There is a problem here and that is, the explosions and gunfire all sound a LITTLE under-powered though not much. Nice work here from the developers.

Gameplay :-
This is a pure stealth game. You can sneak up on enemies from behind and kill them or shoot them with your silenced pistol (if you have the ammo that is). You can carry two guns at a time, one pistol and one two handed rifle/shotgun. The ammo is unbelievably rare and that kinda takes away from the experience. Violette is very delicate and dies just after taking 3 or 4 shots from a gun and this is what makes the game challenging. The AI is okay and is nothing mind-blowing. They follow the same patrol routes just to give you a chance to catch them and kill them but I must say that some of the guards were quite challenging to get past. Your main weapon isn't your gun, but your knife. You use it most of the time to slit people's throats by sneaking up on them but you can also use it while free-aim. This free-aim system with the knife is down right pathetic. I was hardly able to hit anyone with the knife in the free-aim mode, all thanks to the clumsy aiming system. You can just sneak past in the shadows if you want but if you want to move around freely, there is the disguise system! You need to find the right pair of clothes first and then you can change into it by entering into a closet or a bathroom. You can walk freely afterwards but get too close to a guard and you are caught. Viollete can climb ladders, jump onto crates to reach high places and do all sorts of manuevers. Another new thing is the Morphine. You can carry a single syringe of Morphine at a time and when you use it, time freezes and you can go upto someone and just kill them. The freeze time is limited but is just enough. This system is kind of stupid actually. The game is atmospheric but is boring. Overall, it's average in the gameplay department.

Story :-
As said before, it follows the path of a real life character called Viollete Szabo (in game, Viollete Summer). In the beginning, she is lying in a bed. The game is mostly about the story of how she ended up in that hospital bed and it's okay. Nothing ground shaking.

Overall :-
An average game. You'll like it if you are a stealth fan but in my opinion, it's not worth the time or the money because it looks good but it does not play that good.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 05/22/09

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