PREVIEW – Maximum Games’ next title will send us back to the dreaded Cold War. We control a KGB agent who we first controlled in the Death to Spies game that was released in 2007. The game will also have gameplay similar to the franchise, and will be a sequel to Death to Spies: Moment of Truth’s storyline. Sounds exciting right?

Those who are surprised about the game, well, initially Alekhine’s Gun was announced in 2010 as Death to Spies 3: Ghost of Moscow. The company was cooperating with Ubisoft many times, but the license was lost as the developers took too much time to develop the game.

Later Haggard Games would start the development of the game, and they even launched an Indiegogo plus Kickstarter campaign to reach the goals, but both failed in the end. Finally, in 2014 Maximum Games announced that they will release their first game ever, which will be Death of Spies sequel.

Paranoia everywhere?

The name of the game is based on a chess move; that was used by Alexander Alekhine in 1930 against Aron Nimzowitsch during the world chess championship. The game takes place in the 1960s and gives back the era of the time perfectly, and our agent will travel the globe to such places as Germany, New York, Sweden, Switzerland, Flordia, Austra, Cuba, and Texas. Plus there will also be some Second World War flashback sections just for the sake of total immersion.

Those who ever played any of the Death to Spies games will not be unfamiliar with the gameplay. However for those who missed the games, they should forget about going to a massacre just like in those old James Bond games! As Alekhine’s Gun is a pure stealth game, where we will have to be careful as to how and when we kill the enemy.

Every decision has weight to them in the title. Most of the missions will have different outcomes, depending on how we react against the AI. There will be times when we will have to stay in the shadows against heavy gunfire, yet at times, a bullet in the head is wiser than sneaking around.

The story allows us to be part of the John F. Kennedy assassination, or the Bay of Pigs. While the events of the world influence the game’s atmosphere, we will only have one decision to make: how to kill the enemy. Will it be stealthy, or will you go full Rambo, and paint the walls red.

Ghost dog

Those who love to play stealth will be able to find an enormous arsenal in the Death to Spies sequel. The game provides us with poison, piano wire, but we can also cause accidents so that nobody would suspect foul play.

We can replay any of the missions so that we may figure out the best way to complete a stage or tactics to use. As just as in the 2009 title not always the most logical path is the greatest. It may seem logical to avoid combat, but that may „hit” back later down the line of a level.

Do we serve the war cold?

After completing the missions, the program evaluates our score. We can be either maniacal or stealthy wiseguys. It is good to try both ends just to see the result of it.

The game’s graphics look nice. Although the faces look a bit lifeless, however, they can fix this by release. It is time to mention the biggest draw of the game which is the ambiance, and it will follow us until the end of the game. It gives back the atmosphere of the era, the tragedy of the Cold War, and the battles between spies. That is heightened by the locations, and music which are insanely high, and we hope that the rest of the game is also as good.

-Kese-

Publisher: Avanquest Software, KISS Ltd.

Developer: Maximum Games

Genre: Action Stealth

Publication: Mars 1,  2016