Death to spies is a game i came across a while back exploring some of the 1cc titles. It's a bit like hitman I had read, but regardless of whether or not the hitman factor is interesting, it's a RUSSIAN game about SPIES, how often do you see that? Later learned there is a bit more freedom to eliminate guards at your own pace (it is still discouraged to some extent) Little did I know just how much like hitman it is. The game almost feels like a mod of hitman bloodmoney hitman contracts in the sense the weapon interface menus are similar (that little minimal drop down text you flip through) and the blood red line loading screens, and detection notifactions. Sadly, the game has some serious difficulties from it's own sense of quirkiness not present in hitman which makes the game seem cruel in how hard it is to play. there are field of vision/hearing cones all over on a minimap, and the guards can turn around quickly and see you. Worse, tehre are several factors that will increase this cone of detection (such as stance) and if you have weapons or objects out. So its possible to be noticed in the outer reaches of the cone, and how fast it can result in detection is not something the player can easily surmise.

i mentioned there is more combat and shooting. That is true, it does make for an interesting blend of agent 47 and rambo... however the game engine or control scheme is very poor. It's extremely difficult to place shots, and ammo for the silenced weapons is very limited. since enemy soldiers have a readiful supply of grenades, and very fast relfexes, and even good 'flush tactics' you are at a huge disadvantage. you can only dress up as enemies who have been punched out or choked, not short (blood stain clothing) or stabbed. Oh it's extremely hard to land a melee attack of any sort (including with the piano wire) since you have to press the use key, and it it is a menu command. Same menu command will also make you stop what you are doing to pick up a body, a weapon or open a door. it's a terrible interface for combat and you will guarateedly be picking up bodies and dropped weapons in frustration.

the missions themselves are one sided and not very open. There are not that many (maybe 8) but they take considerable time to get through, and they actually have a lot of variety to them, much more than i would have expected. Some of the maps are big (several, such as the first reminds me of operation flashpoint at times) but quite linear, but really well conceived and beleivable setttings like villages, and historical little places (like castles turned into military centers, etc) the indoor urban maps are the most difficult, and least fun (unlike hitman) the weapon selection is not very interesting, or even 'good'

I had been given warnings against this game and i probably should have heeded them. While I don't fear a game that is simply hard (i can cheat a bit if necessary, or a lot even) this just is a nasty combo of a hard game, a bit boring, and not well made.

The game does however have an interesting story, and really interesting setups for missions. great cutscene videos between your missions as you are being interrogated by the NKVD and slowly reveal your 'career' the protagonist was active in many intelligence operations throughout the war against germany usa, UK, and seems like missions take place everywhere in the world. as much as i could get into this story, it's not a saving grace by any means (it is however enough to make me look at the later installments which are supposedly said to be better. its a short story but had fantastic ending.)

some good
Great story and ending.
Really good map variety (I loved the castle type map) and concepts for something like this.
first map is great fun to screw with guards, but not too many options for how you can interact with the world
overall good communication to the player of detection mechanics, good communication of objectives and the map feature. (crucial for this game)
decent enough graphics, a few of the combat music at times reminiscent of hitman/jesper kyd, mostly it's just ambiance (i like)

some bad
awful control system, a feeling of being powerless over the world and your character.
very tediuos AI detection mechanics and due to controls hard to respond to situations as they happen.
limited resources, tactical options, faux loadout premise (since you have to drop most your gear once you get disguise)
very confusing and non straightforward on how to proceed in a mission.rather than being open to many solutions, its a game of steady elimination or finding the puzzle piece. You can only sneak past so many enemies and you don't know if you are in a place you should or should not be, what disguise you ought to have when you have made it thus far, etc. This adds to an anxiety and fear of 'getting' stuck in some place you should not be if you did not proceed properly, (hence the title "death to spies!". as you get caught)

While can't reccomend a game this rough I'm sure it has fans, and it's probably a promising series (the newest game is Alekhine's Gun). If you love the mid generation hitman games (i do) and love world war 2 type movies and settings you'll probably enjoy this in some way or another, Probably a classic case of a prototype further developed into something better later down the road in the series. It's a rather hardcore stealth game that is just a bit too hard for me, and cheating really ruins the experience, but it's hard to imagine anyone completing this without cheating. You could practice until you get it, but the trouble with DWS is that the control system is too shoddy for something that requires a deft sense of timing and skill to weave through doors and move in and out of rooms properly (how pros play this game on youtube) while at the same time making it hard for the player in other ways, such as ammo, or alarms that can be tripped or other events that can instantly resultig in 'mission failure' ('gotchas')