PC Zone - Issue 197 - Velvet Assassin Preview
Transcript of PC Zone - Issue 197 - Velvet Assassin Preview
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8/14/2019 PC Zone - Issue 197 - Velvet Assassin Preview
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A HISTORY OF VIOLETTES
A morphine-riddledEd Zitron beckons Nazis into darkalleyways wearing only his pyjamas
VELVETASSASSINCell, with an indicator showing you how
well-concealed you are depending on the
light and sound youre making. You can
either go for the classic secretive slit-of-
the-throat, or, as your arsenal improves,
a more direct, bullet-ridden approach,
with the caveat being that youll soon
garner the attention of Hitlers finest.
Stealth-wise, developers Replay
Studios have created an intricate system:
your shadow casting itself across a
soldiers view, or the crackle of glass
underfoot might cause a nearby enemy
to investigate. This, if youre canny, might
lure him into a dark alleyway and into the
loving embrace of your knife.
You can also expect a dash of action
though. Another section sees Violet
playing cat-and-mouse with a sniper in
the Warsaw Ghetto, dodging bullets and
trying to find enough cover to fight back
as shots ricochet off parked cars and
street furniture. This may be a dream,
but its still life or death.
Youre not up against a faceless
menace either, the boys at Replay
are dead set on fleshing out the
lives of the individual soldiers
that Violet eventually kills. Thief:
Deadly Shadows touched on
this mechanic, allowing you to
listen in on one poor souls
rash that got worse as the
game went on. In Violet
Assassin this attempt to
add depth to your
opponents is born
from the belief
that WWII
Violette Szabo joined the womens branch of the
British Army, the Auxiliary Territorial Service, in1941. In 1942, shortly after she gave birth to her
daughter, Szabos husband was killed at the Battle
of El Alamein. Afterwards Szabo offered herservices to Churchills spies and saboteurs: the
Special Operations Executive.The SOE sent Szabo into France to organise
French resistance cells. On her second missiona German army unit tried to capture her cell.
Szabo single-handedly kept the Nazi unit at bayusing a Sten gun, allowing the leader of her cell
to escape. After her capture she was interrogated,raped, tortured, imprisoned in concentration
camps, and finally executed in 1945. She was 23 years old.
In 1947 Szabo was posthumously awarded a George Cross the highest award forbravery a civilian can be given.
Replay Studios have used Szabo and her life as a template to make Violet Summera deeper, more engaging character.
History LessonsA little bit about Velvet Assassins inspiration...
IF THERES ONE thing thats
definitely missing from shadowy
stealth games, its the ability to
inject yourself with morphine, slow
down time and cavort in a sexy
nightdress. Fret no further though
because Velvet Assassin lets you
do just that, as well as stab, shoot
and garrotte your way through the
40s in the most bizarre period piece
since Allo Allo.
You see, injured secret agent Violet
Summer has been left comatose in a
hospital after a mission gone awry, and is
reliving her past adventures in a series of
dreams. With me so far? These dream
missions based on the life of Violette
Szabo (see History Lessons) span Violets
career as a secret agent, from assassinating
Nazi commanders to helping other
agents escape the Third Reichs
clutches. Grimmer still, at one
point she even has to deliver a
cyanide capsule to an agent to
save British secrets.
The stealth action itself
is very much Metal Gear
Solidmeets Splinter
DEVELOPERReplay StudiosPUBLISHERGamecock MediaWEBSITEreplaystudios.de
ETA
AUTUMN2008
THE LOWDOWN
Interesting premise
Brings character tofaceless Nazis
Stealth systemlooks effective
Could get repetitive
Still needs a lot of polish
Real source material!
Nazis, like T-Rexes, cantsee anything standing still.
My old nemesis a box.
www.pczone.co.uk
FIRSTLOOK
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8/14/2019 PC Zone - Issue 197 - Velvet Assassin Preview
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ITS A MIRAGE...Replay announce aWWII PC stealthgame, Sabotage.
2005
IM TELLIN YA ITS...and is renamedVelvet Assassin whenGamecock take over.
2008
THE STORY SO FAR
VELVETASSASSIN
1942
VIOLETTE NOTIONSViolette Szabojoins the SpecialOperations Executive.
2002
RE-WINDReplay is set up byMarc Moehring andSascha Jungnickel.
games are usually based on the activities
of larger-scale armies, rather than
soldiers day-to-day work. This is shown
through a series of letters that you can
pick up, based on real-life missives home
from soldiers; intended to give shape to
those who are usually just moving
targets with a penchant for
machine-gun emplacements.
MORPHINE FUN
As mentioned, you have the
ability to shoot up with
morphine. Essentially, as
Violet lies on her hospital
bed, doctors watch her for
signs of distress and pump
her full of the opiate when she
needs it.
At these points Violet can
pick up syringes of morphine that
can then be used to activate bullet-
time a bullet-time that turns
Violets tight catsuit into a skimpy
nightdress. I was shown this minutes
after being assured Violet wasnt
going to be objectified. The noise I
made was a puzzled hmmm.
While I can see how Max
Paynes slow-mo mechanics
make sense in an action
game, whenever Violet
slows things down she has to run over
and stab someone in the same way shes
already done five times before only
a bit slower. And although Replay say
morphine will be rare, theres a concern
that this negligee-time could prove a
detraction from some otherwise very
serious subject matter.
Theres another concern that the
stealth element could become rather
repetitive. Then again, some of the ideas
going into the game show a degree of
cleverness that may well spread into the
rest of the game. You can pull the pin
from a soldiers grenade without him
realising, for example, turning him into
a walking time bomb.
Also having you take the role of a
female secret agent makes for one of
the most original premises in WWII
games yet. The world needs another
Cate Archer, and up till now there hasnt
been much hope for one.
While your Calls of Dutyand Medals
of Honorhave played WWII out as a
homogenous mush of rushing soldiers
and constant gunfire, Velvet Assassin
takes it on a much more personal and
individual scale. The potential to create a
really interesting war yarn is here, even
if this probably isnt a genre-defying
masterpiece in the making. pcz
A female secret agent makesfor one of the most original
premises in WWII games yet
Easy on the eye shadow love.
Release ze bloom!
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