Some New Velvet Assassin Shots and Info

By Joe Haygood | October 24, 2008

One of the games that I have kept an eye on since I first got a chance to look at it was Velvet Assassin, featuring the exploits of Violette Summer in World War II.  Replay Studios has taken a lot of time with this game to focus on capturing the essence of what could be considered one of the uglier wars of our time. 

For those that may not know about Velvet Assassin, you play a female assassin that works for the OSS, a precursor to the CIA.  Violette has decided to help the OSS, because her husband was killed while fighting for the German army.  The basis for the story in Velvet Assassin is grounded in reality by basing the story on the real life exploits of Violet Szabo, a female assassin for the OSS that was executed by the German government when she was caught spying for the Americans.

Replay Studios also sent over some level descriptions that you can find after the jump along with a couple of more screenshots.  Look for Velvet Assassin on PC and 360 in early 2009.

The Lost begins at sunrise in deepest Nazi controlled France on an autumnal day, bringing with it long shadows offering the element of surprise. With plenty of potential coverings scattered around, along with autumnal trees and bushes providing further excellent cover from detection, players will have to take care not to make too much noise crossing the dried leaves and twigs that layer the floor. If successful in avoiding capture by the SS guards, players will then have to secretly enter the grim and poorly lit Maginot Line bunker system set deep in the hills and mountains of the French border. Once inside the bunker, lighting is controlled by intense lamps and dodgy electric ceiling lights in certain rooms. This is where sneaking becomes extremely important as players will have nowhere to run if the alarm goes off. Working through the bunker system the claustrophobic and dirty conditions that soldiers lived through on a daily basis can become all too real.

The Third Man brings with it three separate sections involving three distinct environments. During one mission Violette works her way through a sewers system and reappears in daylight in the middle of the Warsaw Ghetto. At this point the historical accuracy that Replay Studios invested so much time in becomes very apparent, from abandoned belongings in the street and executions of families in broad daylight, to gun flashes in the windows of homes as soldiers search for people hiding in the walls, the brutality of what happened soon hits home. With this mission players lose the cover of darkness and have to be especially careful when sneaking around, remaining observant at all times for any potential cover. As Violette progresses the brutality and the nature of what happened here really is unique to Velvet Assassin.