Alekhine's Gun

This is the third entry in the Death to Spies series of games. During development the game went through many changes, first was going to be called Ghost of Moscow, then Death to Spies 3 and in the end it ended with this name, Alekhine's Gun. It´s a clear downgrade from the Death to Spies games, being Death to Spies 1 the best, Moment of Truth a expansion, this is still not bad. There are not big areas like in Death to Spies 1, where Strogov is young and is literally a field scout, a captain of the SMERSH doing for real intelligence stuff. However, somehow the game keeps that feeling of mundane espionage, pure intelligence stuff of spies, i would not say like a 007 but pretty much like it. Semyon Strogov, given the surname Alekhine when HQ involves you in the plot of the game is just a man. No agent47, no Ethan Hunt, no James Bond, just a man, and that´s it. You can choke, stab, and knock down by punches, carry up the bodies and change clothes (in hard mode only by choke or stun with fists or chloroform). Can´t change clothes on Saboteur, pretty much like in the Death to Spies games. The shooting is more action driven, Semyon is easier to control than in previous games when things heat up. The graphics are cool enough, the maps are detailed and look good and well enough, but they lose the feeling of freedom you have in the open areas of Death To Spies. In the end, i liked it a lot, is a pretty decent espionage game, don´t expect anything 007'ish or Ethan Huntish because it won't happen. It is a game of intelligence stuff, spies, worldly, that sort of thing. It´s in fact one of the few games that captures that feeling of being for real a spy, always in the razor edge, getting the feeling that if the enemy discovers you, they will end you right there.

Another stealthy killer game. I had the feeling that I was playing a very budget version of Hitman. Still worth the money (But bought on a great promotion.). On the plus side: Very nice graphics, varied missions. Good physics, nice execution scenes. Instinct mode. Funny to play. On the minus: Few ways to achieve the goal, very few items to use. Most missions can be solved by force, turning the game into an FPP shooter. Opponents dumber than bus stop posts. I'm looking forward to the second part because I see a huge potential here, which unfortunately was not realized.

The game looks nice and I have no issue with dumb AI. It just requires restraint from you so you don't play it like a shooter but it has so many other problems. What really bothers me is the lack of options. There is usually only one specific way how to eliminate your target. It needs more ideas. Another thing is a lack of interactivity. NPCs behave more like lifeless robots than humans and therefore the maps feel dead even though there are plenty of NPCs everywhere but they don't talk and they just repeat the same tasks. Well, some of them talk only to give you a hint how to finish the mission or tell you where not to go. That is all. You get this empty feeling like if you were testing an unfinished game. It really looks like a game that was released in its development.

From the initial boot onward Alekhine's Gun has not had much going on for it. The experience felt very cheaply put together, a sort of Hitman Blood Money in a different timeline without any of the polish, the screenshots looked super promising and really raised my expectations that were sadly quickly shattered. There is however still fun to be had it is just that during all of my in game time I kept wishing that I would be spending my session in any other stealth focused video game. Still, I was determined to at least check a few more levels out after spending a pair of hours exploring and eventually completing the first one. I truly wanted to give the game a bit more of a chance seeing how positively it seems to live on in the hearts of fans. However my session was cut short as a bug made it impossible for me to select continue after the level completion, it is imperative to be clicked on this button as the keyboard won't react in this specific case. My mouse cursor has been invisible ever since even following multiple repairs and reinstalls. It seems like after my expectations were broken the game decided it shall break itself once and for all, a terrible fate I wish for no game and I do wholeheartedly hope good health to any copy of Alekhine's Gun out there and to their respective owners.