This is because Velvet Assassin is unashamedly based on one person's true story. The game takes place within the memories of deathbed-ridden British agent Violette Summer, as she recalls her many infiltration missions of World War Two. The real-life Summer - cunningly renamed from Violette Szabo - was quite an amazing figure: competent in unarmed combat, demolitions, explosives, communications and cryptography, she was parachuted into Nazi-occupied France late in the war, and proceeded to wage a war of sabotage, leading two successful large-scale missions before her capture in mid-1944. Szabo was interrogated under torture, and finally executed in February 1945 at the age of 23. She was posthumously awarded the George Cross, and a small museum dedicated to her life now exists in the West Midlands of England. The game's developers, Replay Studios, therefore have quite a bit to handle, but the potential is rife for something great.
Velvet Assassin certainly has an interesting concept.
As befits Szabo's story, players so used to fighting the Second World War as a one-man army will no doubt be taken aback by Velvet Assassin's gameplay. It's best described as a stealth-shooter in third person, perhaps along similar lines to the ever-popular Splinter Cell series. As with other stealth-based games, players will have to be wary of light and shadow in order to elude the grasp of the Nazis, as well as hiding the corpses of foes. Additionally, the emphasis of the gameplay will be on stealth-based takedowns rather than open fighting, with more than 50 variants planned. The game will gain some depth from a pseudo-RPG ability system, with the power to upgrade Summer's strengths as the game progresses. There's five different attributes: strength, morphine, stamina, stealth and firearms.
The combat is rumoured to be quite gruesome as well, with publishers Gamecock describing the game (somewhat bizarrely) as: "the grim reality of assassination and sabotage. Missions may be unpleasant, but keep telling yourself it's for the greater good." There appears to be a heavy element of the hallucinogenic to the game as well, with players able to receive a shot of morphine back at the hospital to 'enhance' Summer's memory version. This enables a variant of the oft-used bullet time mode, with a twist - Summer's memory self will then don her hospital robes and giant blood cells will dot the screen. Gritty indeed.
Run, Violette, Run.
It might just be the overpopulation of the WWII videogame market, but there's something about Velvet Assassin. It has a unique story, with great promise if done correctly. It has a strong female hero with not-unrealistic proportions and beauty - especially given that the real Violette was regarded as a beauty as well. And yes, it's a wholly different take on the WWII genre. At present, the game is scheduled to hit shelves late this year, and we hear that there is still a way to go on the game. Nonetheless, as a concept alone, we think it's worth highlighting from the E3 pack.
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