What is that, velvet?

Renting games from work sometimes isn't as easy as it sounds. There are games I want to play, but we need to wait until we get a used copy before we're allowed to actually try it. And then, when we get a high-demand title, we have to wait for a second copy, and then if I'm really into a game, say, UFC 2009: Undisputed, then it's hard to motivate myself to try something new. But when I get so fed up with the same ground-and-pound/submission filled minutes, I need something new, even if I fear it will suck.

Velvet Assassin (2009) is developed by SouthPeak, who in recent memory have developed some of the worst games around. Two Worlds, X-Blades, and Legendary--the only game with an original story being the last listed, as the first two were complete and horribly done rip-offs of Oblivion and God of War respectively. I figured Velvet Assassin was a preemptive rip-off of the upcoming Saboteur, which is an artsy World War II stealth action game, just as Velvet Assassin is. Upon playing it, however, it is actually closer to a rip off of Hitman: Blood Money.

Now let me say, the Hitman series is one of my favorites, as you can do whatever you want in regards to stealth or going in guns a-blazing. Velvet Assassin does not let you do this, which is fine for me, because since playing Metal Gear Solid 4 so many times, I've gotten accustomed to restarting the checkpoint every time I'm spotted, but I can imagine this is not what some people want. But what everyone wants doesn't concern me.

The story is as follows: you play British assassin Violette Summer in a hospital as you have memories of some of your best throat-slitting moments, a la Agent 47 being all deadified and coming back in wakeful gun-fire at the end. Where Hitman lets you do pretty much what you want, you MUST be stealthy in Velvet Assassin, which makes the mandatory shotgun segments not make much sense. You can take very little damage, so a straight up gun fight usually leads to reloading. A lot of the gameplay is artificially lengthened making you go all the way back to the beginning just to get a combination for a safe.

All in all, the game was a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be. The stealth was done pretty well, if a bit trial-and-error at times. The graphics are cool, as is the "oh crap" morphine button, that lets you fix whenever you get spotted by one--and only one--Nazi. What I found odd is that the Nazi's didn't seem to care for their fallen comrades until near the end, when they all of a sudden figured out they weren't just sleeping. But the game was fun, and I would consider playing more of it if I had it for longer.

-Evan "Dez" O'Connor