First Impressions: Velvet Assassin (Xbox 360)

I really haven't played much of the game yet, so this will be pretty short. I believe I'm three levels in, and so far I'm very happy with it. For starters, it looks great. I can't even think of anything wrong with the graphics off the top of my head, and honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by that. In fact, I don't even remember who developed the game, and I wasn't expecting it to look or feel like a triple-A game. But so far it does, so.....more power to whoever the fuck made it.

If you didn't know, Velvet Assassin is a stealth game. And it's pretty traditional so far, but in a good way. You basically go through the different environments (which, as I said a second ago, are beautiful) and try to be as sneaky as possible. Stealth kills are super easy to execute, as they're done by simply pressing A when you get close enough to an enemy. The whole screen turns red, and once you execute the move, it's not pretty. I stabbed a man in the crotch and then immediately went for a major artery somewhere around the shoulder/neck area. I've slit a bunch of throats. I stabbed another man in the face. It's brutal stuff, and it's fucking satisfying, to say the least. You occasionally get to use firearms, but ammo is scarce and it's pretty tough to aim with any kind of precision. But that's the point of a stealth game, isn't it? If you were given the controls of, say, Call of Duty, then what would be the point of trying to be all stealthy? Exactly.

The narrative is told as a flashback as the game's protagonist, Faith, is lying in a hospital bed (I think). That's all I remember, actually. Like I said, I'm not very far in the game, and I haven't really settled in with the story or begun to feel a flow or groove yet. But I like the presentation, and there's a dark tone that hopefully will continue throughout the entire game. I need to play more, but I'm juggling three games at once right now: this one, The Longest Journey, and Armed & Dangerous. Land Shark Gun FTW. Anyways, I'll have more thoughts on Velvet Assassin when I'm done, but for now, it's off to a great start.