Death to Spies

Gameplay

Death to Spies takes place from a third-person perspective. The player controls Semion Strogov, a captain in a Soviet counterintelligence agency named SMERSH. Strogov is able to run, jump, crouch, crawl and climb over obstacles, and he is also able to drive vehicles. Taking place in World War II, the player is required to complete various tasks in enemy territory, such as killing targets and stealing documents. Emphasis is placed on stealth, as the player is greatly outnumbered by enemy personnel, and some missions will be failed if the alarm is raised.

The game's missions are connected by cutscenes, taking place in 1951. After the arrest of the head of SMERSH Viktor Abakumov, Semion Strogov is questioned about his involvement in a number of special operations between 1943 through 1946, as his interrogators search for any connections between him and Abakumov.

The Heads-up display shows the level of awareness and suspicion of enemies, both of which are represented with a single bar at the top of the screen and are represented separately as different icons. A vector map can be displayed on the screen, showing characters' locations and their fields of vision, in which the player will be detected either instantly or gradually, depending on the distance. The vector map also shows the radius of noises made by the player; if someone is within the radius of the noise, they may investigate the noise or become alerted, depending on the noise.

Disguises can be used to avoid alerting enemies when seen. When a character is knocked unconscious or killed without damaging the uniform, Strogov can change into their clothes. Some enemies are able to see through disguises and can be alerted if the player enters their vision, and all enemies can be alerted to suspicious behaviour which includes picking the lock of a door or looking through a door's keyhole, being in certain stances or having certain weapons visible.

Before starting a mission, the player is usually able to select equipment to bring to the mission. Strogov has a carrying capacity limited to one handgun, one long gun and 18 slots for small items such as ammunition and knives; one knife can also be stored in a dedicated slot. A backpack has space for larger items such as pliers and dynamite, and space for small items, but Strogov also has a weight limit to his inventory, and small items stored in a backpack must be moved to the 18 slots before it can be used. A variety of firearms (along with ammunition) and explosives are available to choose from, with the choices available depending on the mission. Other weapons include chloroform, knives, a garrote and poison. German equipment can also be chosen to avoid suspicion from enemy personnel when in disguise and/or to make use of ammunition taken from enemies' bodies.

Several missions take place in allied areas. The player is forced to begin these missions lightly armed and they cannot select their equipment. However, weapons and ammunition can be found in the level.

Reception

Death to Spies mostly received above average reviews. The game has an average score of 70% on GameRankings and 69% on Metacritic. GameSpot gave it a 7.0, praising its detailed level design variation and challenging missions, but at the same time noting that the game can be overly difficult at times. IGN gave it an 8.0, saying it was "horrifically difficult at times and not without its peculiarities; Death to Spies is nevertheless always interesting and wholly addictive."

Sequels

On March 23, 2009, 1C Company announced a sequel, Death to Spies: Moment of Truth. It was released on August 10, 2009. A third installment was announced in 2010 under the title Death to Spies 3: Ghost of Moscow. After years of development issues and various crowdfunding campaigns, the game later resurfaced as Alekhine's Gun and was launched on March 1, 2016 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows.