Velvet Assassin

World War II has been fully explored by the games industry, with the historical period depicted in the     likes of first-person shooters and real-time strategy games. Yet despite the plethora of titles available, developers and publishers continue to innovate and find new ways to present the conflict in new ways.

South Peak’s Velvet Assassin offers a new approach to the war. Rather than following the generic trend of trigger-happy FPS titles, it challenges players with more cautious gameplay. Shying away from all-out action, the game focuses on stealth as gamers try to sabotage the Nazi war effort.

“Velvet Assassin is a WWII game with a different take on the period, so instead of being a first-person shooter, the game plays out more like a stealth-‘em-up,” says South Peak’s product marketing manager Ed Blincoe.

“It’s pretty brutal so will appeal to those gamers who like a bit of blood and gore to help them along their journey through World War II. We fully expect players to find this a fresh and alternative take on a period of history that has become fairly stagnated in gaming.”

Players take on the role of British secret agent Violette Summer, inspired by the real-life war heroine Violette Szabo. Summer feels compelled to help the war effort in London in any way she can. Starting as a worker in the weapons industry, she is soon noticed by the Secret Services for her beauty, athleticism and attention to detail.

Missions generally involve sneaking behind enemy lines and carrying out various forms of sabotage. Players will find their objectives ranging from gathering intelligence and reconnaissance to assassinating key Nazi figures and even slipping cyanide to captured British operatives to prevent them from talking.

TO DIE FOR
Adding to the unique nature of the gameplay, Velvet Assassin even offers a more creative method of storytelling. The game’s narrative is presented in the form of flashbacks, as Violette lies in hospital suffering from a coma. As she relives the missions she went on in her lifetime, players must complete them in order to progress.

As a result, the visuals take on a more dreamlike style than traditional WWII titles. Each of the real-life locations visited during the game are modelled realistically but with an eerie lighting to represent Violette’s struggling mind.

However, the key point about the gameplay is the combat. Swift execution is favoured over drawn out confrontation, as players are encouraged to kill their enemies without being detected. A range of stealth kills are at their disposal, from a simple stab in the back to luring a soldier into deadly traps.

“Violette is a bit of a ninja when it comes to silently killing people – the game features fifty of the finest ways to take down a Nazi soldier,” says Blincoe. “My personal favourite is stabbing them in the balls then delivering a quick knife to the brain.”

There are even some very cool ways to use various environmental objects against them as well, such as igniting a pool of gasoline and watching those evil Nazis burn.

“We’ve put a movie reel together of all the different ways to kill people in the game and it’s pretty shocking viewing. Everyone we’ve shown it too has had at least one nightmare and some have had weeks of restless nights,” says Blincoe.

MISSION PROFILE
South Peak is targeting male gamers aged 15 to 24 with an interest in World War II games or the stealth action genre. The company will be using a mixture of print, online and TV marketing to communicate with     this audience.

“Interest in the game should come from two different audiences – those who like stealth-‘em-up action games such as Splinter Cell, Metal Gear Solid, Assassins Creed, etc, and those who play a lot of WWII games,” Blincoe adds.

“The reach of that audience will be a lot broader than usual as well, with the presence of the BBFC 15 certificate.”

The broad consumer print and online campaign will feature print ads in men’s lifestyle publications, including FHM, Empire, Zoo and Nuts. There will also be high-performing video MPUs, site takeovers and overlays on FHM Online and the Stuff, Nuts and Zoo websites.

TV sponsorship bumpers have also been arranged, which will appear for three weeks around the game’s release on satellite channels such as Bravo and FX. The ads will run after 9pm and are designed to show off the game’s more impressive stealth kills.