Tactical Assassin is a game where you, an undercover agent with a sniper rifle, take out certain political leaders. Sounds easy? Not really, as you are forbidden from killing civilians in most missions. Other than this one restriction, the game is quite simple. You get as much time as you want to complete most missions, allowing you enough time for careful planning.
Gameplay
The gameplay is unique. For example, there is one mission where you must destroy all the members of a clan in the Middle East. To accomplish the mission you must carefully observe which people are being watched by others. Then you fire at one guy sitting by a tree, barely visible to his companions. Unfortunately, as he gets shot, he falls over to the left side, which makes him becoming visible to his companions. The guy quickly takes out his radio, just before he gets shot. His nearby friend, who doesn't have a radio, starts running toward the last guard, trying to alert him of you. If you have good reflexes, you can immediately shoot off the runner, leaving the last guy still smoking peacefully, but not for long. Things like this make this game realistic, involving, strategic, and challenging.
Graphics and Audio
The graphics are extremely simple, but this actually adds to the unique feel of the game. The characters are stick figures. The background is 3D, but still isn't much more than a mess of thin lines. There are some ambient sounds in the background, but there isn't any music. There is a sound for each sniper shots, depending on what type you have. You first sniper has a loud, echoing sound, and your second one is a lot quieter due to its suppressor.
Special Feature
The cool part of Tactical Assassin is the strategy. In some missions, you are given a very short time to figure out “What the heck am I supposed to do?” In one mission, you must kill a political leader that just got off a boat. You have to kill him without any immediate alarm. Most gamers would just kill him while still walking on the dock, which immediately sends three guards scramming away to set off alarms. A better, more intelligent strategy is to wait until he starts going up an enclosed stairway, which has a window on one side. You shoot him while he passes that window, and no one will notice... for a while at least.
Bottom Line
Give this game a try if you are into stick figures, assassin games, or simply killing games. It has many different missions, each with a new strategy that must be carried out. Ranging from extremely simple missions to ones that will take some careful planning. Level design won't disappoint you. The game is very unique, though a tad short. It comes with a price tag that reads “$0”.
