Velvet Assassin

by Southpeak

Product Features

• The ability to briefly stop time in-game via 'Morphine Mode,' which allows for easy dispatching of enemies or escape as needed.
• A beautifully detailed and dreamily frightening vision of the the adventures of a female WWII undercover assassin based on the real-life experiences of Violette Szabo.
• The ability to adjust heroine Violette's attributes to suit player preferences: Stealth, Strength and more through awards earned in-game.
• Access to a large variety of weapons and stealth gadgets true to 1940's WWII technology.
• Gameplay that is an incredible mix of assassination moves, satisfying firefights and hold-your-breath stealth action.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001BC719O
• Item Weight: 4 ounces
• Media: DVD-ROM
• Release Date: April 28, 2009
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,660 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #33 in Video Games > PC Games > Action > Military & Espionage

Product Description

Platform: PC

Amazon.com Product Description

Developed by Replay Studios in Hamburg, Germany, Velvet Assassin is a single player gaming experience that aims to redefine the stealth action genre through incredibly stylized visuals, immersive environments and a mysteriously haunting atmosphere. Inspired by the exploits of real-life WWII heroine, Violette Szabo, Velvet Assassin reveals the revulsions of war that are never spoken aloud and through its innovative third-person gameplay is set to change the way gamers think of combat forever. Play as heroine Violette Summer. View larger. Utilize the deadly stealth of the blade. View larger. As well as explosive firepower. View larger. Use and beware of the shadows. View larger. Story Born in Devon, England, Violette Summer grew up in a happy family and had a great and active childhood. Initially, she started her working life in a beauty salon before the outbreak of war inspired her to move to London and join the weapon industry. It didn't take too long for her to be noticed by the Secret Services; she was after all beautiful, athletic and had great attention to detail. It was only a formality that she was recruited into MI6 during Britain's darkest hours. Violette had lost an aunt during one of the first Luftwaffe bombing attacks and to further compound her heartache she later lost her RAF husband in battle. However, she was strong willed and used these painful experiences to inspire her to succeed as a spy for the MI6. And successful she was, but all things come to an end; or do they. Violette carried out several missions successfully before being captured by the Germans. Now lost in a coma and dying in hospital bed, she replays key moments from her past missions as a series of flashbacks. But where does reality end and hallucination begin? Gameplay Gameplay in Velvet Assassin is made up of a series of missions behind enemy lines in Nazi occupied Europe that Violette flashes back on from her hospital bed. The twist here is that although these have already happened, their outcome is not set. Missions are a mix of assassinations, demolitions and rescue operations where the player, is entirely on their own. Because of this, and your limited ability to carry weapons and ammo, you must rely heavily on stealth and weapons that draw the least amount of attention. If detected Violette will have to fight her way out of situations where she will always be outnumbered and almost certainly outgunned, yet when discovered and the chances of survival are slim, players do have the option of activating a play feature called 'Morphine Mode.' A sort of 'bullet time' linked to the drugs that Violette receives during her physical reality in her hospital bed, Morphine Mode allows the player to briefly freeze time, providing an opportunity to dispose of enemies without taking damage or to attempt escape. The experience leaves Violette dazed for a few moments though, so regardless of what the mode is used for players should make good one their plans to avoid being taken out as their heads clear. Adjustable Skills Violette's skills as an assassin are customizable. By completing missions successfully players accumulate the ability to change Violette's attributes to suit a preferred playing style and/or as a means of preparing Violette for anticipated combat situations. These customizable combat areas include stealth, strength, weapon handling and Morphine Mode effectiveness. Realistic WWII Era Weapons Although Velvet Assassin is primarily a stealth game, and as such players can expect to become extremely proficient with dispatching enemies silently with a blade, it also features a wealth of authentic looking and functioning Allied and Nazi weapons from the WWII era. Just a few of those included are: MP40 submachine gun, grenades, Colt .45 pistol, Lugar 9mm pistol, flame-throwers, shotguns, STG-44 assault rifle and the MG-42 machine gun. 12 Authentic European Locations Go on assassination missions in hyper-realistic dreamlike settings that are modeled after actual WWII locations. While on assignment you will battle Nazi enemies from the shadows, will discover letters and treasures left behind by German soldiers, be forced to deal with the frightening nature of your own nightmares, and complete rescue missions that are anything but life saving. Key Features: Brutal assassinations - Use historically accurate World War II guns and knives to viciously execute your enemies. Dynamic lighting and shadows - Slip into the darkness of Nazi-controlled Europe and avoid the relentless searchlights of German guards that cut through your shadowy cover. Stylized environments - Explore surreal, dreamlike settings that are modeled after actual World War II locations. Adjustable skill - Adjustable skills allow you to change Violette's attributes to suit your playing style. System Requirements: Minimum Specifications: Recommended Specifications: OS: Windows XP SP2/Vista SP1 Processor: Single core 3GHz CPU Duel core 2Ghz CPU RAM: 512MB 1GB RAM Video Card: Pixel shader 3 card with 256MB VRAM (GEForce 6800 or ATI X1600) GEForce 7900GT or ATI X1900 XT Sound: Stereo sound 5.1 Dolby surround sound DVD-ROM: Quad-speed (4x) DVD-ROM drive Hard Drive: 5GB of free space or more Other: DirectX 9.0C; keyboard & mouse

Product Description

Velvet Assassin tells the tale of Violette Summer, an intelligence agent working for the British government during Worl War II and number one on the Nazi list of most-wanted. Inspired by real-life heroin Violette Szaba, Velvet Assassin takes players through Europe's darkest hours of oppression under the jackboot of the Third Reich. Players will engage in varied missions of sabotage and assassination in a heroic attempt to help the allies overcome their enemy. One Woman, alone and deep behind enemy lines; Violette Summer is the Velvet Assassin.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A decent stealth game but not worth the full price., May 8, 2009

By 

Jason W. Blanton (Columbus, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Velvet Assassin (DVD-ROM)

I picked this up from Steam after its initial release. The game seemed to be getting decent player reviews and that usually helps me decide to buy a game or not.

Velvet Assassin is a stealth game at heart. If you've played any of the Splinter Cell games you will be right at home here. However, unlike the PC version of Splinter Cell games this seems to be more geared toward the consoles or XBox 360.

You play as a British spy or secret agent (like - James Bond) which is actually a female that has been hospitalized after a unknown tragic accident. As you play through the story you will have various tasks to complete like destroying a fuel depot. Your main task is to get to your targets without being noticed by killing anyone that gets in your way. It's a simple and effective stealth concept however the way you perform these tasks is a bit arcadish compared to many other PC stealth games of the past.

The controls are geared toward a XBox control scheme. You can not navigate the main menus with the PC mouse just the keyboard. The stealth kills are animated cut-sceens which are a bit cheesy to me. Climbing latters, going through doors or crawling under objects are not shown in real time as you will appear on the other side without actually going through the motions.

What saves this game is it's errie and surreal stealth atmosphere. The story is not bad but can get confusing sometimes especially on what happened to her and why she is in the hospital. The music is well placed as you will her creepy sounds when your inside dark hallways and buildings.

The graphics are wonderful and very vibrate. I liked how the designers use color to set the mode in various levels. One level you may have bright reds and oranges and in another level you will have dark greens and blues. This is very creative to make the atmosphere look right for the story plot.

Overall, this game is not very long and you will finish it fairly quickly if you have played these types of games before. I didn't like the console feel but it seems more PC games are just becoming XBox ports where the only difference is that it will play on a PC rather than a console system. This is sad that developers are that cheap and I feel this game is way too expensive for the quality you get. The gameplay does not warrent $50 as the publishers suggest. My advise is to wait until this game comes down to $30 or below due to the length, quality and the fact that there is no multiplayer. You can replay missions in different ways which adds little replay value.

If your looking for a WWII stealth game where you can play as a female British secret agent that stabs Nazi soldiers to death in a immersive atmosphere then Velvet Assassin is a good game. Just don't pay full price for a average steatlh game that resembles a console game to the "T".

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Atmospheric stealth game with a mature storyline, May 30, 2009

By 

Goodtobetheking (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Velvet Assassin (DVD-ROM)

First the basics:

Video - 4.5; Positives include generally crisp resolution in higher settings, excellent use of light and shadow, unique coloring for mood and place. Negatives are few, but I found a couple of scenes too dark in the middle distance to see a foe, and the colors could get a little monotonous.

Sound - 5; excellent sound and musical score matched the atmosphere and locations well. Sound effectively used to generate tension when hunted, reinforce atmosphere. German voices add to atmospheric effect and are correct. Screams of people caught in a burning church were appalingly realistic and made me rush to try to save them, immersing me thoroughly (though very disturbing). Music genuinely haunting, especially end theme.

Gameplay - 3.5; Positives include stealth ability (similar to Splinter Cell and actually a little like the Theif games. Negatives are the "dream-like" morphine rush, which I never used beyond the first mission because it detrated from the realism and you do not have to to win, the inability to pick up dropped weapons (other than the morphine rush, perhaps the single most unrealistic element of the game), and the fact that generally you can avoid the enemy AI by using vertical movement (go up or down a stair and they lose you). They also seem to lose interest if you stay hidden for ahwile, which is not too realistic, either, but makes sense as a trade-off for gameplay.

Atmosphere - 5; like the old Thief games, with their dark visuals and eery music and sound themes, I found myself quite immersed and absorbed in this experience. Teh story is interesting if a bit difficult to pull together early as it's told in falshbacks of a sort. The last missions, from escaping the hospital and then heading into the village, in which Violette is running around in her undies with a Luger, knife and StG43 (one of the first assault rifles, invented by the Germans - of course :-)) stretched credulity to some extent; I mean, just where is she stashing the guns and ammo and knife anyway...? The cinematics for stealth kills are actually pretty good, though randomized (might show you using the butt of your shotgun instead of the knife in the groin). I especially liked how Violette gets much more brutal as she vents her frustration and hatred on her targets starting in the hospital escape, often killing them and then stabbing them again and again with abandon - nice way of seeing her state of mind.

Replayability - 2; Not much, unless you want to play it again at a differnt difficulty level or try some different tactics to maximize experience points, collectibles, etc...

Commentary: Overall, I found the game one of the more enjoyable and engaging PC stealth shooters I have played in some time, despite being an obvious console port (bummer, I pine for the good old days when the PC was king...sigh). Just so you know my bias, I really enjoyed the Thief and Splinter Cell games, and to some extent Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 (in stealth mode). If you like this type of game, even if a bit linear, appreciate the drama of WW2 espionage and well crafted, atmospheric envionments accented by solid visuals combined with excellent sound effects and music, you will like this game. Be warned as with Thief and Splinter Cell, you cannot 'run and gun' your way through this and live.

Recomended "extra": Use the flare gun for a treat - screaming Nazis on fire. Or hit the tank on the flamethrower troops for a similar effect - suh-weeeet. And bottom line, what can be better than killing Nazis with a knife, from behind, or roasting them alive?

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile Game to play, December 23, 2010

By 

Bob - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Velvet Assassin [Download] (Software Download)

I was curious about this game, since it's release. When I got the opportunity to pick it up...I was pretty amazed. The Physx graphics are good. Gameplay has a bit of a learning curve, but once you figure out the moves, etc...this game is a decent challenge and worth buying. the story was based on a real life WWII British assassin. For the price...the gameplay is fun!

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