Hitman: Absolution Review

 

Platforms: PS3|Xbox 360|PC

Developers: IO Interactive/Nixxes Software (PC)

Publishers: Square Enix

Agent 47 is back, and taking on his most personal contract to date. Sent to kill his former handler and retrieve an Agency "asset", things take an unexpected turn when 47 goes on the run with said "asset".

We all know that it's been a fair few years since the release of Hitman: Blood Money (6, to be precise) so expectations regarding Absolution were pretty high. And I will tell you now, IO did not disappoint. With a gripping single-player campiagn and "Contracts" mode (more on that later) as well, there's plenty of fun (and frustration) to be had.

As fans of the Hitman series know, these games are all about looking for the perfect way to take out your target, be it a bullet in the brain, poison or any of the other ways you could think to kill someone with the tools at your disposal. Absolution is no different, though it does require you to look around for various weapons and methods of death-dealing. You'll also need patience. A lot of patience. Of course, as Hitman fans will also know, you are given the freedom to go about killing your targets any way you wish. But by the far the most satisfying, and rewarding, is to minimize casualties, remain undetected and take out your target silently. That being said, remaining undetected doesn't mean "don't let anybody see you". Because you will be seen, but as in previous games, when you kill or incapacitate somebody you can wear their outfit as a disguise. 

"Don't mind me boys; I'm just doing my job..."

However, wearing a disguise doesn't always ensure you will stay unnoticed; get too close to somebody who works as whatever you're disguised as, and they won't recognise you and they'll become suspicious. This is something that IO should have tweaked a bit though. Because while it's understandable that a small team of gardeners might not recognise you as one of them, every single police officer in the city seems to know you aren't one of them if you get too close.You can work around this though, by using one of the game's new features, Instinct. With the push of a button, 47 will lower his head and obscure his face, meaning you can pass guards without arousing suspicion. 

There's no need for any of this though, as you can just pull out your guns and start shooting the place up. Be aware though, you'll be heavily outnumbered, S.W.A.T teams might show up, and it's nowhere near as rewarding as if you go through stealthily. #

You no longer get to choose which weapons you take with you before your mission though, which might be an annoyance to some people. I like it though, as it means you often have to improvise and use whatever you can find. Look around though, and you might find a pretty good weapon. This isn't essential though, because as I said, there are plenty of ways to take out your target. I did a mission where I laced my target's cocaine with poison, then hid in a closet while waiting for him to show up. I'm not sure if I encountered a glitch or something, because I waited for 15 minutes and he didn't show up. So I just ended up sniping him from a window, disguising myself as a cop and walking out of there. In certain situations, you can even make other people take out your targets for you.

               

                          

As for the game world itself, it's alive. From people gathering in huge crowds, dancing to music or just interacting with other npcs, it's just great. One of the good blending tricks is quite literally, getting lost in the crowd. Walk into a crowd and just stand still and cops won't be able to see you.

The Instinct technique which I mentioned earlier, is a great new addition to the series. Using it allows you to see useful objects, or hiding places. It also shows locations of guards through walls, and if the guard is moving, it shows you the path he's going to take. Using it to avoid suspicion expends the bar, but it can be regenerated by doing certain actions or distracting guards. Using it while you're not being watching doesn't expend it. You can also use instinct in the new "point shooting" mechanic. It stops time and allows you to mark targets which will then be killed, at the cost of rapidly expending instinct however. 

Absolution also introduces a points system for each level. This lets you see the points average of the level in your country, worldwide, and the score of the person with the highest points worldwide. You lose points  for being spotted, killing civilians or non-target enemies. But hiding bodies and completing objectives add to your score. The highest score is achieved by completing the mission using stealth, which I why I said it was most rewarding. 

The big new addition, without doubt, is Contracts mode. In this mode, you get to choose a target, disguise and weapons, then go through the level and try to kill them, getting the highest score possible. You can compete against friends, to see if they can complete your created contract with a higher score than you.

The game looks fantastic too, the visuals are very impressive. Perhaps the flare on lighting is a little harsh sometimes, but for the fantastic job IO have done, this can be forgiven. 

For me, Hitman: Absolution is a huge success, it will be for a lot of Hitman fans too. The controls are simple enough, the stealth is well-worked and very satisfying. With a great story so far too. I'm just a huge fan of the number of ways to kill your targets; it's not all about the gunplay. 5 missions (plus the prologue) in, and I've fired 1 shot (not counting the four you have to fire in the prologue). I will give this game a well-deserved...

9/10