HITMAN: Absolution (Review)
Agent 47, the original assassin, is back. We needed 6 years of patience, but it is here: Hitman: Absolution.
The rumors were that it would be easier than its predecessors, which made a lot of fans doubt if the game would still have its old charm that they were used to. The announcement that David Bateson was not going to be the voice actor for 47 raised quite a tumult with the hardcore Hitman fans, but IOI gave him a last-minute phone call and there is no reason for disappointment, together with 47, he is back!
If you played the previous Hitman-game, Hitman: Blood Money you should have known that there had to be a sequel coming, which ultimately was announced in 2007. In 2009 Hitman: Absolution was officially announced and was going to be released under Square Enix. Since that is quite some time ago, you’ll immediately notice that they did not waste any of their time. The storyline is great, everything is well explained to the smallest detail and the voice acting is brilliant. The way I see it, the game would be a great movie if you only kept the cut scenes.
The game is split in 2 parts: Absolution and Contracts. Absolution is the traditional campaign, in which you’ll really have to show your best in every level. The most interesting part of the game however is Contracts. But I’ll talk about that later.
The campaign can be played on 5 difficulties: Easy, Normal, Hard, Expert and Purist. In Easy and Normal you can use your Instinct to get hints throughout the levels and spot enemies. Professional players can choose Hard or expert which limits your Instinct, disables checkpoints and makes enemies (a lot!) smarter. Master assassins can go for the Purist difficulty which disables the UI and practically disables Instinct. The game will always be a challenge!
The intro gives you a good view on Agent 47’s past which is handy for players who are new to the franchise. The first level is a real introduction to the game: Every aspect of the interface is explained, the controls are all clearly demonstrated and every aspect of the game will be used in the level and you’ll immediately have a bond with 47 that you’ll keep throughout the entire game. The game plays very smoothly and, unlike my first thoughts (since I played every Hitman-game on PC), the console controls are fantastic. Obviously we all thank this to IO Interactive’s stunning Glacier 2 engine, combined with amazing graphics that will really make you shiver on certain moments.
Hitman: Absolution is more than just sneaking around and killing people. Eliminating our target will always take quite some preparation and the new challenge system will give you some hints on how you might perform the kill. Every target can be eliminated on countless ways, giving you loads of replay value. Every level has its own difficulties that you will encounter, and trust me, they can be very hard. When a group of guards is in your way the game will explain that it is often easier to distract them than killing them all, since exterminating groups of enemies can sometimes have a drastic ending. Killing outside the box will often result in point deduction, impacting your final rating. So we throw a wrench into a pile of iron buckets, alerting the guards who will investigate the scene, allowing you to sneak past them without causing any trouble.
When we do decide to kill an innocent person, for using his clothes as a disguise or getting his weapons, it’s best to do so with discretion. We strangle him unconscious or snap his neck while doing so, dump the body in a container and grab his disguise. Just leaving the body behind is also an option, but then we better get the hell out of there since standing next to bodies automatically makes you a suspect. Grabbing a disguise and blending into the environment is always the best option. Dressing up as a gardener is great for walking in a garden, but gardeners have nothing to look for in a guard outpost. Of course your fellow gardeners will see through your disguise if you come too close, since they know who’s on their team. However, using your Instinct you can trick them into ignoring you and slip right past them. Instinct is not only for distraction of course. You can use it to highlight useful objects, enemies and their walking routes. Combing your Instinct with guns gives you the ability to freeze time and Red Dead Redemption-style paint your shots on your enemies and pop all of them in a matter of seconds.
In the first chapter we search for our former colleague, Diana Burnwood, who fans will all know as the woman who gave your mission briefings in previous games. Diana has betrayed the International Contract Agency (or simply The Agency or ICA) and 47 has been assigned to hunt her down. The easiest way to infiltrate her high security mansion is obviously the sneaky way. However, when a guard notices us sneaking around we can simply fake surrender, let him attempt to arrest us, grab his gun and use him as human shield, allowing us to kill his colleagues one by one. Not the cleanest way to clear a level, but it can be quite effective!
Like gunfights, fistfights can be a bit noisy, but in case of emergency that will be the least of our concern. The interface will highlight the buttons needed for our punches and if we do it correctly 3 good hits will KO our opponent. The downside of shooting or knocking out someone is that they aren’t ‘clean kills’. Silent kills award Instinct, which always comes in handy. Getting caught by the police, resulting in dozens of officers shooting at you, is hard to survive unless you take cover and kill the entire corps.
Subtlety and discretion are what it’s all about. In the second chapter we have to kill a guy who calls himself the “King of Chinatown”. The game states that there are 12 ways to kill him that unlock a challenge, leaving zillions of other ways that don’t. We learn that the guy has a very fancy car parked somewhere so we go look for it. After finding the car we notice that a police officer guards the car and does not allow anyone to come close. Since cops never really stick to a job, the police officer decides to go make a phone call behind the corner, allowing us to sneak up on him and take his uniform. Guess who’s guarding the car now! We bash on the car, activating the car alarm and alerting our target. While he is taking the hike to his car, we steal a knife from a nearby food stand and wait for the poor fool to arrive. With 47’s superior skills we throw the knife in the back of the King’s head and hide the body in a dumpster next to his car. Mission complete! We take back our suit, because other officers might see through your disguise, and walk to our exit point through the mass as if nothing happened.
After every level there is a cut scene in which, regardless of what outfit you were wearing, 47 always wears his suit. This is one of the few negative aspects of the game.
Another small thing that bothered me a bit is the fact that you can holster big weapons such as a sniper rifle, resulting in the rifle’s disappearance. In the previous Hitman-games big weapons could not be hidden, so you had to carry it. This made things harder and is way more realistic. However 47 is known for having huge pockets, since in all previous games you could carry every single handgun and SMG with you if you really felt like it. I think IO put this in so you can still use stealth to get to your target and then eventually snipe him off, because there is no longer a suitcase to keep your sniper in. 47’s classic W2000 sniper rifle also had to make place for the KAZO TRG, small beauty details that some die-hard fans might weep about. (I did 😉 )
If I would really have to nag about negative points of Hitman: Absolution, they really just are for die-hard fans. There are some plot holes, but we have to take in mind that the events occur 6 years after Blood Money. I wonder how Agent Smith is doing? Would have loved seeing him again, which you sadly don’t. There’s a part of the fan base that is not so happy with the introduction of the Instinct system, but I think it’s a nice new addition and allows you to play 47 on a different, yet challenging way. Besides, a map displaying all moving enemies, targets and civilians does not really make much sense either, does it? 47 IS a superhuman killer-clone after all.
All levels have hidden items or disguises that all unlock challenges and are individual collectables to be used in Contracts. Every level has its own charm and unique location, with the dark feeling that all Hitman-games have. There will be lots of moments that will make your skin crawl and the epic music will really elevate that to a maximum level. Adding the synced vibration of your controller really makes Hitman: Absolution a unique experience. You play the game, but you’ll really feel as if you are in the game! Even watching someone else play is as enjoyable as watching a great movie, if not even better!
The new game mode, Contracts, is something Hitman-players have been dreaming of for years. Contracts allow players to take any Absolution level and make a mission of it. You can choose up to 3 targets and kill them then. To achieve the maximum score players will have to do exactly what you specify, such as not changing disguise, not getting detected or use only a knife. But, if you want your Contract to become available to other players, you must pull it off yourself. So it’s not as simple as choosing targets and tell someone to kill them in an almost impossible way. A welcome addition to the game, giving enough challenge for after the singleplayer!
So Hitman: Absolution is a fantastic game with barely anything negative to be told about it. The graphics are magnificent, the gameplay is smooth and extremely challenging and the cut scenes are extremely nice with some top-grade voice acting. It’s definitely one of the best games I have ever played, certain worth buying!
But the most important thing of all, improvise and be creative!
As told in the game itself:
“How you handle your assignment is entirely up to you!”
9/10
