REVIEW – This game is not what it looks to be from multiple points of views. First off, you could say that Alekhine’s Gun is no more than a cheap ripoff of early Hitman games… and it is, though. Also, this title was originally planned to be Death to Spies 3, but the original developers (Haggard Games) got replaced by Maximum Games, who also took up the publisher role. Is this game terrible? Maybe.

Semyon Strogov returns: Agent Alekhine is still a KGB-agent working for the CIA. He needs to survive and complete tasks throughout eleven missions in creative ways. The story is based on real events, going from the second World War to the Cold War era. Levels are similar to Hitman games’ regarding size in areas providing some freedom. (Norway, Cuba, Texas, Switzerland, etc.)

First to fail

Let’s say you’re new to this genre. Would you expect a tutorial mission? Yes, but instead, you have to learn the basics during the first level. Alright, I guess. So I saw a guard looking through a gate facing away from me. Getting that garrote out. Oh, you can take the Nazi guard’s clothes (of course – 1943, this is a flashback mission). Let’s hide the body. Go to this guardhouse. I go in; I put it down… and half the body is clipping through the wall. I walked over to the other side of it, and I made the body disappear.

This was my first ever impression with the game. You can guess where this story goes. For example, I could say that the guard’s „suspicion circle” started to grow despite not seeing me, ending up shooting at me. Mind you; he did not see me after two seconds, not enough to trigger him.

Warming up

Let’s get into the pre-mission preparations. You can choose what you take with yourself: from the Tokarev TT pistol through the Walter P38 to the MP40, you can pick other guns, garrote, chloroform, knife, and so on. Most weapons can be upgraded, but you have to buy the bigger guns that require at least a three-digit RP amount. Getting to the stage, you can always check out your tasks, and you also get a large map as well – the map needs to be analyzed to get around efficiently.

Then I started to realize that the framerate was a problem. Sometimes it just dropped under 30FPS on PS4. This isn’t the only issue with the game, though. The maps and the enemy positions didn’t feel like they were well thought out. There’s also a lack of interactivity. There’s a gramophone on the table. Why can’t I play that and not just use my own whistling to catch that guard’s attention?

Bug

I still haven’t mentioned all mistakes! The Instinct mode (You’re not Agent 47…) shows what NPCs suspect of you: white is OK, yellow is a little suspicious and red is very cautious of you. One time I made a red alerted. Guess how I solved the problem? I closed a door in front of him. Yes. I closed a door in front of him. Speaking of doors, there’s a door opening minigame, and I managed to get shot and die while trying to get that locked door open. I was sneaking (not running!) up to an enemy, which did a sudden 180 and killed me. I got stuck in bookshelves, and I also managed to fall out of the level, followed by a crash.

This is where I would usually talk about audiovisuals. OK! While the story is alright (we must stop the events that would cause a third World War, this is a positive point for the game), the cutscenes’ style is okay, but the quality looks weak. The graphics look like a PS3 game. I already talked about the framerate and the voice acting is also sub-par. In-game character animations are harder than a five-day loaf of bread, and we can also mention the stupid AI, too! Everything is given to succeed, right?

Shitman

This game is weak, and I’m kind on Alekhine’s Gun. It should have been released later, as the game fails on almost ALL important segments. Alekhine’s Gun is easily the worst game of 2016 so far. Sure, it’s not as huge of a flop as THPS5 was, but I don’t think we saw a worse title than this in 2016 so far. Only sick masochistic people play this on their own, and I am one of them. I can’t even recommend you to play the game.

Go play with literally any other Hitman game, yes that includes Absolution, too. Hell, play with the other Death to Spies games. I’d only spend like five bucks max on Alekhine’s Gun.

-V-

Publisher: Avanquest Software, KISS Ltd.

Developer: Maximum Games

Genre: Action Stealth

Publication: Mars 1,  2016 (PS4, X1) Mars 11 (PC)