Review: Velvet Assassin - Beautiful and Deadly

If you've played games like Hitman: Blood Money, Splinter Cell, or even Assassins Creed, you won't be having any problem with Velvet Assassin. The basic goal is the

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Also common to stealth gamers is that dead bodies should be hidden, either in the dark corners or by switching the whole light system off. A smart move is to sneak past a group of guards and pull the pin from the grenade on someone's belt without him noticing. A few seconds later he will eleminate several opponents, along with a reason for this to have happened that doesn't make your presence obvious.

As Velvet Assassin is a stealth game it's build around these sneaky mechanics, but if you like to rush in and shoot on sight – you won't be disappointed either. As a well trained agent you can use any weapons such as different handguns, shotguns and rifles. The environments have some interactive features and from time to time you will have the option to get rid of your enemies by using things you find in the level. Setting explosives on fire or opening deadly gas barrels offer some ways to turn the environment to your advantage. You'll need a mask to pull off the the gas trick, or you will join your enemy in their fate.

There is also skill system. Your character has three major attributes that affect the length of morphine mode, your agility and the total damage you can take.

At some points in the game you will have trouble performing your tasks with the above means. This is why, in some impossible situations, our character pulls out another deadly tool – morphine mode or in other words – the well known bullet time.

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With franchises like Metal Gear Solid, Splinter Cell, and Theif to contend with, Violette has her work cut out for her. Many have criticized the game, and my disappointment stems largely from the trial and error nature of some levels. You will forget to pull some trigger or some enemy will patrol in from out of nowhere and your mission is ruined. Also, our character is very fragile: often one bullet is enough to put an end of your espionage career.

Despite the criticism about less sophisticated level design than Hitman, MGS, et al., it's an easy game to like. With its history based plot and female lead, Velvet Assassin is a solid contribution to the stealth genre. Your missions will take place in different locations such as Paris, Hamburg, and Warsaw. The graphics, audio effects, and unostentatious music do justice to the locations and contribute to the whole feeling of this game. The dark and tense atmosphere works well with the solid stealth play for a very stylish title

I recommend the game to any gamer looking for somthing a little different in their stealth gameplay.

Minimum System Requirements:

• Processor: Single Core CPU 3.0Ghz
• Video: NVIDIA GeForce 6800 256MB - ATI Radeon X1600 256MB
• Memory: 512MB
• Free Disk Space: 5GB