Review of Velvet Assassin - Xbox 360

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I don't see why people are giving Velvet Assassin such bad reviews. Yeah, it's not an 'action' stealth game like Splinter Cell and Metal Gear Solid, but it holds it's own as being a WWII game that DOESN'T involve being in the frontlines.

I've been needing a stealth game for my 360 and Velvet Assassin fits the case perfectly. It's a surprisingly simple stealth game-for some this is good and others this is bad. If you're looking for a stealth game where you get to use gadgets and gizmos as well as climb up walls, use grappling guns ect...turn away now, for Velvet Assassin has none of this. Nope. In this game all you have are your wits to get you through.

You start out discovering that Violet is in a coma in a hospital. Where she is exactly, you don't know-but it's explained as you play along. You then enter memories of the first mission-which is basiclly a tutorial level.

Stealth is extremely simple. Stay in the shadows(and silent), and you're safe. Sneak behind an enemy and pull off as many silent kills as you can. Not only do these look sweet, but you can keep a low profile while doing so.

Firearms are based off real WWII weapons, and ammo for each one is EXTREMLEY limited, so you don't want to waste any shots unless you have to. I've read some reviews from people saying that they don't use the weapons...I seriously have NO clue how that's possible-I find myself needing to use them time and time again for silent headshot kills as well for blasting my way through enemies when the time is right.

You upgrade Violet by finding collectables in each mission. In some missions there are hidden objectives and precious collectables that will chalk you up with a TON of experiance points, so it's good to explore as much of the area as you can. Yes, gameplay is extremely linar-but that didn't bother me at all. I actually liked it due to the fact that whenever I play Splinter Cell I ALWAYS get lost and frustrated. Velvet Assassin dims down the 'frustrating lost' vibe by being linar.

Graphics are-I'll admit-not the greatest out there, but I'm not really one who nickpicks that sort of thing. I play on a standard 24 inch 480pi TV-and the game looks fine to me. Someone commented on the frame rate being bad, but I didn't notice anything. I guess if you're really picky about those sorts of things then you'd notice them.

The Morphine Mode in Velvet Assassin is pretty cool. Violet has the ability to use Morphine to stop time in all missions (except for missions 11 and 12) thus enabling her to pull off kills from the front or get the heck out of there. The screen glows white and Violet is in her nightgown (I'm not sure why...fits the mood, maybe?) with red blood cells floating everywhere. Weird...but cool at the same time.

The enviorments in Velvet Assassin are a mixture between boring and downright scary. The first mission is pretty boring. Once you hit the 'Third Man' mission things get sorta creepy. His mission 10 and you'll find yourself in a creepy little town where Nazis have killed and strung about innocent people. Mission 12 hands down has the scariest envoirment in the entire game.

This really isn't a problem as it is a surprise. I was rather shocked to see that Velvet Assassin actually has dead children in gameplay. It's nothing gory or anything by all means-but this is the first game I've played that actually has children in a village...ya know, where children should be? Every other game that I've played that takes place in a location that SHOULD have children-doesn't. This really did come as a surprise to me though. It's not bad, it's just unsual.

Personally I found Velvet Assassin to be quite fun. I was always eager to see where Violet would go next-and if she would ever wake up. (Oh, and her voice actor is really good) I enjoy the simple stealth system and found it fun to whistle-get someone's attention, and then stealth kill him for his stupidity. But I'm just the kind of person who has a knack for patience-and I don't need a flashy storyline to entertain me. Like I said, if you're looking for an 'action-packed' stealth game then I suggest you stay clear of Velvet Assassin, cuz this isn't the game for you.

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Velvet Assassin takes place in WWII and you will play as a Violet a Female assassin working for the British. You will perform several stealth missions and most are fun and rewarding. You're given multiple ways to get through an area. You'll kill most enemies silently with your knife. The Game does provide several areas where other more entertaining options are available to dispose of your foes. A fine example is pulling the pins on an unsuspecting soldier's grenade. You can also use morphine as a super instant kill in certain areas. It gives the player a way out of sticky areas. The game plays well and most of the checkpoints won't have you going to far if you mess things up. The AI isn't very bright in this game. When considering the small confines most of the missions are played in it serves its purpose. The game provides a nice history and story of WWII and if you listen to the text German conversations you get a small glimpse of how terrible the war was.

Now for the bad part, the gunplay is just plain terrible and severely hampers a few areas. Particularly the last levels in the game where they decided to remove most of the darkness and the morphine power. The game also has a glitch in which cut scenes won't play and you'll be unable to proceed without a complete reload. I did find that if you go into your dashboard and select the option to load the game to your hard drive and select the play from the hard drive will remedy this problem.

Velvet Assassin is a good stealth game with a nice historical perspective. If you enjoy stealth games like Splinter Cell or the Hit man series you'll find this an enjoyable title.

Good

Fun stealth action

Nice historical story setting

Bad

Terrible gunplay ruins some sections and hampers the games final levels

Some spots require many tries to master.

Glitches with cut scenes not playing

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In the spirit of spinter cell.

Overall, Velvet Assassain is a great old school stealth game.

Great, vivid, eerie environments combined with a constant sense of hostility makes a beautiful gaming experience fit for only those with long attention spans.

If you enjoyed the original Splinter Cell or any of the Hitman games, this one will not dissapoint.

Just have an open mind.

Honest reviews on Velvet Assassin - Xbox 360

Velvet Assassin has fun stealth sequences, detailed environments, fresh stealth ideas. It does contain flaws, as many games do, all of which are minor, the controls are good, contrary to what I have seen other reviewers say, I rented it first because I was unsure sbout it, from what I have seen of it review wise, I was expecting, crap. But it is nothing of the sort. It is an interesting, fun stealth game.

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First of all, I purchased this item from Amazon brand new. I read all the reviews and I was liking the idea of a simple yet fun game that is not to long as I only get to play games maybe an hour or two a week.

The game play was enjoyable but I have never played a game that was so full of bugs and glitches. Before I get into the glitches, let me tell you that I tried downloading the game to the hard drive to see if that would help but it actually made things worse. I tried playing this game on two different Xbox 360. I have an older model and the new Xbox 360 S. I had the same glitches on both.

The glitches. Enemies would freeze in place often after they were alerted to my presence. Often with their guns pointed up in the air. I could just walk up and slay them. Cut scenes wouldn't play when they were supposed to. I figured this out when I went online to figure out why I was stuck. I would finish a level but the game wouldn't move on and I would be stuck reverting back to a checkpoint or starting the level over. The final straw was the last level. I would defeat the last group of enemies but the final cut scene wouldn't play but I could hear the final speech by my character. I can't even get credit for finishing the game because it won't recognize that I beat the last level. Again, I saw a video of someone completing the game on YouTube so I made sure I was doing everything correctly.

Here are some examples of cut scenes not loading or levels not ending.

One level you have to take out a target in a cathedral. Once I climbed to the top and defeated him, the level would not end. I tried 3 times before it finally loaded the cut scene and ended the level.

One level you have to locate a hotel, climb a tower and sniper an explosive barrel to kill another target. Once you kill the target, you have to escape and cross the lake again. After I shot the barrel, the cut scene wouldn't load and it wouldn't let me cross the lake. I re-played that level about 5 times before it finally showed the cut scene that allowed me to finish the level.

The level where you first come across a sniper, a cut scene is suppose to play but wouldn't load. The last level when you are walking up the hill to the church, another cut scene is suppose to play but wouldn't load. I already mentioned the final cut scene in the game when your character is scratching at the church door wouldn't load. The character would say the last lines while still in game play mode but the level wouldn't end when she was done.

I really tried everything I could but I finally had to give up. No matter how many times I tried or on what system, I couldn't get the last cut scene to play. Very disappointing game in that aspect. The game play was fun and enjoyable but to have to sit and replay areas until the game was working right, took away a lot of enjoyment.

I understand this game is not meant for the hardcore fans but for people that enjoy the 2nd rate games or don't have a lot of time to play like myself, this game should be good but I can't give a good review on game that is full of glitches. Where were the software testers? Did they honestly think it's ok to put out a game with all these glitches? Big thumbs down.

I would not recommend this game. I know I read some other people ran into glitches in other reviews, but I never thought a game would be this bad with glitches.