Velvet Assassin
Publisher- SouthPeak Interactive
Developer- Replay Studios
Multiplayer- None
Website- www.velvetassassin.com

Ever since the first Metal Gear there has been a cult following of the stealth franchise by a fairly massive amount of gamers. What a concept, having to avoid the enemies instead of attacking them, right? Well, I have been a big stealth fan ever since I started gaming, having played such greats as the Metal Gear Solid franchise and the Splinter Cell series. Sure I have played some of the other stealth titles as well such as Thief and Tenchu, but I always seemed to mostly enjoy the Splinter Cell franchise. I never thought I would play another game that would bring back memories of some of the earlier Splinter Cell titles, until now. “Where am I going with this?” you ask?, well a new title has just released on the Xbox 360 entitled Velvet Assassin. In Velvet Assassin you play as an attractive “she-spy” named Violet Summer. As Violet, you plunge deep behind the enemy lines during WW2 for the british government working through different black-ops missions. Since this title takes place during the WW2 era, you don’t have the high tech help that Sam Fisher would be used to, and this makes for a more challenging experience, read on!

We told you! This title is dark!

Since the game does not have any multiplayer modes included, I get to talk exclusively about the single player content in this review. As I said before, you’re playing through the game as british spy Violet Summer. What I didn’t mention is that you are playing through events that already have happened and Violet is remembering these from what seems to be a hospital. So as you are playing through each level, you sometimes get to hear Violet talk about what she had to do next, etc, which is basically the game’s way to help you out through the different missions and keep you on the right track. Right from the start of the game you will no doubt notice the game’s visual style being very similar to Splinter Cell. In Velvet Assassin, staying in the darkness and staying out of light is the name of the game. Most of the environments will seem very dark except for the flickering lights from spotlights, or lanterns. However you are not forced to play through the night exclusively, some levels do happen to put you out there in the daylight, but luckily there are plenty of objects to use as cover laying around to help you get past the guards but in the end this does add to the overall tense feeling you may experience while playing through this title.

The on screen HUD in Velvet Assassin is very clean with hardly anything being displayed on screen at one time. In the bottom left corner, you will see a small silhouette of Violet. This silhouette acts as your health meter and it also lets you know if you are detectable by enemies. Once you get into the darkness, your silhouette will be surrounded by a blue light letting you know that you are in “stealth mode”. Also noted on screen is what weapon you have equipped and you’ll also see icons on screen if you are carrying anything special like keys (shiny and rusty), etc.

This would be a good time to make your kill

Now you have to remember, this game takes place in the WW2 era, so you don’t have the high tech gadgetry that you may be used to from Splinter Cell, all you will have at your disposal is your weapon, your pocket flashlight and your keen sense to get you through the game undetected. Violet is not a genetically enhanced soldier or some specially trained agent, so if you get discovered by the guards most likely it will be game over for you. Velvet Assassin seems to be a rather hardcore and an almost unforgiving stealth title that demands patience and skill to be beaten. To balance the gameplay a little, you can find vials of morphine lying around in the game that you can take. Basically what morphine does is stop time temporarily which will enable you to perform an all out frontal assault on a helpless guard. Luckily the amount of morphine you can find is limited so this doesn’t end up cheapening the gameplay.

The control scheme in Velvet Assassin is not entirely like Splinter Cell or any other stealth title for that matter. Yes you can choose to either stand or crouch, and of course crouching would be the quieter option. Not all can be just like the Tom Clancy title here though, in Velvet Assassin you can not jump, or do any kind of climbing at all unless prompted. You can’t shoot out the lights either, which was one of the first things I tried to do. Luckily you can shoot poison gas filled or explosive barrels which can be a good way to take out multiple guards in the vicinity. You also can pick up bodies and hide them in a dark location to cover your tracks. Another cool touch is that if any guards are standing in fuel puddles, you can shoot the puddle and light them on fire, very nifty! There is a decent selection of weapons in the game such as lugers, and colt pistols, shotguns and one of my favorites, the flare gun. There is nothing like shooting a guard with the flair gun and watching him burst into flames, quality fun indeed! Don’t expect to be given a ton of ammo though, you’ll have to use it sparingly so make sure you make your shots and be efficient.

You're one woman on a mission, now get to work!

Velvet Assassin does feature a long single player campaign and better yet, the developers added an upgrade system to the game. As you play through VA, you can find collectibles hidden throughout the levels, find enough of these collectibles and you will be given an upgrade star. You can use upgrade stars to upgrade certain abilities like stealth, morphine mode, strength, etc. Also, Velvet Assassin will give you the opportunity to do a bit of “undercover work”, in which you’ll have to dress as the enemy to blend in, but don’t get too close or act suspiciously or your cover will be blown. In addition, the game has quite a few levels that have to be played in a certain way, such as making your way through a gas filled room requiring you to wear a gas mask which makes firing weapons very dangerous.

I guess there were only a couple of elements that bugged me while playing Velvet Assassin. First of all, you don’t really have a useful melee attack at all. Sure you have the knife but it’s control just feels awkward and it doesn’t seem to work that well anyways. Also, you can’t choose how you would like to kill each guard you encounter, you just hit A at the right time and the game will execute a random move. For example, at one point you get to pull the pin out of the guard’s grenade while he is still carrying it, wouldn’t it be great if we could choose to do that anytime in the game? Overall, Velvet Assassin is a solid stealth title that may seem too difficult for some. The game should definitely appeal to fans of other stealth titles, namely Splinter Cell. Sure there are some interesting touches to this game, such as Violet appearing half naked when you use the morphine, but at it’s core the game seems like a hardcore stealth title with only a few flaws.

THE GOOD- Overall great visuals. Should appeal to fans of Splinter Cell as it shares the same core gameplay element. Eerie music. Upgrade system is nice.  I wouldn’t mind seeing this game made into a franchise. Violet Summer makes a great and interesting main character.

THE BAD- Violet’s melee attack seems almost useless. You can’t jump or climb objects unless prompted. It would be nice to select what type of kills that you can execute. Might seem too difficult for some.

OVERALL- 4 out of 5 stars

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