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- Developer: IO Interactive
- Publisher: Square Enix
- Genre: Stealth action adventure shooter
- Release Date: 11/03/2016
- Platforms: Playstation 4, Xbox One & Windows
- Game Supplied by: Xbox
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UPDATE:
After a couple of missions now being released its clear that Hitman offers much more than first thought.
Initially I was quite frustrated at the ease of the game and how easy it was once you figured out a couple of basic routes, and whilst there was plenty of different ways to complete your mission, I still found it a little too frustrating. Well now episode 3 is out and after many attempts, scouting, attempting and ultimately failing Agent 47 has won back my love. Some might wonder why having failed to complete the missions (in the ways I want to that is) why I’m enjoying the game more. Well it has come down to the sheer depth on offer and the amount of information you can and need to take in to succeed at these missions.
Read about each mission towards the end of the review.
Original Review:
Agent 47 is back and his powers of deception, cunning skill and accuracy are all at your fingertips, pop a cap in his head, or cut his throat with your classic fibre wire you decide.
Let’s start with all there is to do, as some may not be familiar with all the varied challenges and options you have in Hitman.
Firstly there is no set difficulty, you tailor the game to your skill set or in my case frustration levels. For example you can turn on Instinct, this makes characters, targets, items and traversal options highlighted with the holding down on the RB button. Attention alert, this shows the attention level and direction through an indicator on-screen.
These two settings alone will make your game easier but turn off even more and you’re practically on your own meaning you will have to do your research before you head into your mission. This is achievable by checking out your briefing screen, reading about your target is knowing your target, what do they like, do and other details will aid your search and inevitable assassination attempt.
So that’s easy enough right? Wrong, even if you can pull off a nice kill (which for the newcomers to hitman might seem difficult at first) you should head into the challenges, not to task yourself too soon but in fact to help understand what options you might have. The first missions offer poison, fibre wire, using certain distractions, drowning him, using explosives or my favourite, assassinate the target in a life raft accident (no i didn’t manage to do this one) who’s to say which one will have you die repeatedly and which one is like putting it in super mega easy mode.
Then there is the leaderboards, use more skill and stealth, complete it faster with no alerts and you will score more, or will completing 3 challenges and taking another 5 minutes grab you the high score? Compete with friends and others online for the best scores and win those bragging rights.
So far this all follows the story mode, exploring and learning about exotic locations and high value targets, Hitman has you in awe of its visual worlds created by 17 year veterans in designing this series and it shows in the details. Tiny things like writing on timber in building sites, scratches in old pieces, dirt and grime in the relevant areas, spit and polish on those expensive items. That all being said I really didn’t like the graphics, sure details were there in small forms like the above mentioned, however nothing looked ultra realistic. Everything had that distinct graphically made look about it, depth was added with colour and shading not actual depth in the object and aside from our beloved Agent 47 none of the story mode characters really had the cutting edge graphics we are seeing in games now. And then you take into account the number of people on-screen at any one time all interacting, you are able to hear all the conversations, move onto the next one and in many cases discover hints about the path you might choose.
Story mode is very expansive, get through it as quick as you can or learn and discover the mentioned challenges. Patience is the key in this game and if you can wait for that guard to move (assuming he will) or you can wait and see the rooms patterns then you might just complete the contract but Hitman takes no prisoners, when you’ve made a mistake you will be punished. Whilst the variety of backdrops and nicely invented maps offer a wonderful variety and certain level of intelligence to the game for me it’s not here the game excels.
Contracts, you know, like in the Direct line ads, “Contract Phillip, Contracts” Well Agent 47 has loads of Contracts.
Create unique challenging Contracts for others to play or take on those challenging contracts others have cunningly created. Other games with this user based content proves to be very successful,however for some reason they don’t seem to get enough recognition. Screamride, The Golf Club, FarCry and Halo to name but a few where you could play for months just based on others content. I didn’t spend much time on Contracts but from my previous experience it can be where the most fun is in the game and certainly adds its longevity.
Hitman Info:
[su_accordion] [su_spoiler title=”GAME INFO”]
Agent 47 returns in 2015 to invite players to a LIVE world of assassination.
HITMAN™ will see players perform contract hits on powerful, high-profile targets in exotic locations around the world, from the highly fashionable Paris and sunny coast of Italy to the dust and hustle of the markets in Marrakesh in this creative stealth action game.
“This is a true HITMAN fantasy, a highly challenging, thinking person’s game where creativity is rewarded,” said Christian Elverdam, Creative Director, Io-Interactive. “You have the power and intelligence of Agent 47™ at your fingertips and it is your choice whether to use brute force or orchestrate a genuine masterpiece of assassination.”
Gameplay focuses on taking out targets in huge and intricate sandbox levels with complete freedom of approach. Where to go, when to strike and who to kill – it is all up to you. And for the first time HITMAN will lead with a digital release inviting players into a world of assassination.
“This is new ground for HITMAN, coming out digital first enables us to do something new, bold and exciting,” said Hannes Seifert, Studio Head at Io-Interactive. “We are building a live, expanding and evolving world of assassination where we continuously develop the game, listening closely to the players as we release new locations, missions and hits as soon as they are ready – where $60 and not a dollar more gets you full access to the experience.”
HITMAN will begin on December 8th, evolving and deepening over time, with this initial storyline concluding in 2016.
“This game marks a new direction for the studio,” continued Seifert. “With HITMAN, we are not only embracing our core fans in a new way by bringing them closer to the development than ever before but we are also laying the foundation for a very exciting future by embracing what a live environment can offer a title like this. It is only the beginning for us and for HITMAN.”
HITMAN is the sixth game in the blockbuster series and is the culmination of a journey started by Io-Interactive more than 17 years ago. It builds on the critically acclaimed and commercially successful foundation of games like Silent Assassin, Blood Money and the recent Hitman: Absolution. [/su_spoiler] [/su_accordion]
Episode 2 Details:
[su_accordion] [su_spoiler title=”Sapienza”]
New Destination: Sapienza
The beautiful, sun-drenched coastal town of Sapienza, Italy is the closest we’ve come to releasing a whole town in a Hitman game. The level is huge and there is so much to do and explore. We can’t wait to see players exploring the mansion, church, beach, tunnels, bio-lab and everything else to be discovered in Sapienza.
- New Story mission: World of Tomorrow
- 10 new Opportunities for ‘World of Tomorrow’
- 20 levels of Sapienza Mastery, with the following unlocks:
8 new Sapienza starting locations
(+1 starting location unlocked via a challenge)
8 new Sapienza Agency Pickup locations
6 new weapon/gear unlocks - New suit for Sapienza: Italian Suit
- 75+ Sapienza-specific challenges
- 7 new trophies/achievements
- New ‘The Sarajevo Six’ Contract. Target 2: The Enforcer. (PS4 Exclusive)
Live Content for Sapienza will include: New Escalation Contracts, Elusive Targets & New Featured Contracts (Contracts Mode)
Native Ambient Audio
Added an audio layer for Sapienza that will play native ambient dialogue in crowded areas.
‘Hide in Plain Sight’ Options
The Sapienza location includes more options for Agent 47 to ‘blend in’ whilst wearing his suit.
Opportunities System Improvements
– Persistent reveals: When a player has ‘revealed’ an Opportunity once using the pop-up tracker, they are not required to do so when they encounter the opportunity on future playthroughs.
– Fail Categories: Added categories to explain why an opportunity was failed.
Note: The above Opportunity improvements are only implemented in Sapienza.
Opportunities in the ICA Facility and Paris destinations are not affected.
What to expect from the ‘pre-release’ update before ‘Sapienza’ launches on April 26
Reconnect Option
If a player is playing in online mode and gets disconnected during gameplay, they will have the option to immediately reconnect and resume play without losing any progress, instead of returning to the main menu.
[Available now on PC. Available in a future update for PS4 & Xbox One.]
Immediate Challenge Awards
Challenges are now awarded and saved immediately upon completion, rather than when completing a mission.
[Available now on PC. Available in a future update for PS4 & Xbox One.]
Loading Times
Significant improvements to load and restart times across all locations.
(Reduced by approximately 50% on PS4 and Xbox One)
Challenge Verbosity Settings
Players can now choose between three options for how challenge descriptions are displayed in the game menu.
Full: All Challenge information is shown.
Minimal: Only the image and name of the Challenge are shown
Off: Only the image of the Challenge is shown.
Weapon HUD Settings
Added three options for displaying the holstered/equipped weapon icon.
Full: Show weapon HUD for equipped and holstered weapon.
Minimal: Show weapon HUD only for equipped weapon.
Off: Don’t show weapon HUD.
Immediate Intel
Added an option for players to access the intel menu immediately after finding new intel.
Dropped Items
Disguises, weapons and items that are dropped are now shown on the in-game map.
Holstering animation
Added an animation for 47 holstering a small item, such as a pistol.
Escalation Contracts Improvements
– The list of complications and objectives are now viewable during gameplay and the planning phase.
– Players can now easily see from the in-game menu how many stages of each Escalation Contract they have completed. (e.g 3/5)
General improvements to stability
PC Specific Notes
Recommended Settings
The Game Launcher will recommend graphic settings based on player hardware.
Windowed Mode
The Game Launcher now allows players to change their resolution in Windowed Mode. (Useful for streamers)
Audio Levels
Audio levels during cutscenes and briefing videos now match the in-game audio.
Key Bindings
Fixed minor issues with inconsistent key bindings
[/su_spoiler] [/su_accordion]
Episode 3 Details:
[su_accordion] [su_spoiler title=”Marrakesh”]
New Destination: Marrakesh
From the busy souks and shisha cafes, to the angry mobs calling for justice outside the Swedish consulate, Marrakesh promises HITMAN players the lure of voyeurism and the thrill of infiltration.
- New Story mission: A Gilded Cage
- 8 new Opportunities for ‘A Gilded Cage’
- 20 levels of Marrakesh Mastery, with the following unlocks:
7 new Marrakesh Starting Locations
8 new Marrakesh Agency Pickup locations
6 new weapon/gear unlocks - New suit for Marrakesh: Summer Suit
- 70+ Marrakesh-specific challenges
- 7 new trophies/achievements
- New ‘The Sarajevo Six’ Contract. Target 3: The Extractor. (PS4 Exclusive)
Live Content for Marrakesh will include: New Escalation Contracts, Elusive Targets and New Featured Contracts (Contracts Mode)
New Gameplay Options
Weapon Balancing
Firearms
Re-balanced headshot damage for all pistols. Pistols should now be more lethal at longer ranges, when performing headshots.
Minor re-balancing and bug fixing of several firearms, including damage models and recoil patterns.
Shotguns
Re-balanced Enram HV shotguns. Fire rates, ammo carrying capacity and recoil patterns have been adjusted. The Enram HV rewarded in Sapienza Location Mastery now comes with extra ammunition.
Fixed an issue regarding gunshot audio synchronization.
NPC and Target Information
Instinct Mode now displays the name of NPC’s.
In Contracts Mode, kill conditions (weapon / disguise) are shown.
This option can be turned off in the Gameplay Options.
Inventory Wheel Perks
The perks associated with each weapon are now displayed on the in-game inventory wheel, allowing players a better overview of the weapon they are choosing to equip.
Mini Map NPC Indicators
Added an option to allow players to turn off the NPC indicators on the Mini Map. Targets are still shown. This option is set to “on” by default and can be toggled in the Gameplay Options.
Game Menu Improvements
Improved Leaderboards
The Top 100 scores are now loaded immediately in a scrollable list and each leaderboard entry shows the detailed score associated with it, meaning all players can see the score awarded to all leaderboard entries.
A player’s own leaderboard position is always shown on the leaderboard screen, allowing them to easily see how they rank against other players.
Featured Contracts Tile Update
The Featured Contracts tile now displays the location of the mission and the most recent Featured Contracts are shown as the first in the list.
Save Games
Manual and Auto saves are now shown on a single menu screen. Previously, players would need to tab between two separate screens.
Challenge Saturation
When viewing challenges in the menu, those that have not been completed are now displayed in greyscale to clearly show the completed and not-completed challenges at a glance.
Game and server version display
The game and server version are now displayed in the ‘Options’ Menu.
Fixed Issues
Fixed an issue where subduing NPC’s could result in a non-target kill.
This was mostly occurring in small/tight spaces.
Fixed an issue where the use of savegames could result in incorrect calculation of the time bonus.
Fixed an issue where the “Escalating the Situation” challenge would not unlock after completing the requirements. Players may be required to complete one more Escalation Contract for this to unlock.
Changed the unlock requirements of the ‘Master of Disguise’ challenge, specifically removing the requirement to equip the location-specific Italian Suit.
Fixed an issue where the “Rock On” challenge in ‘The Enforcer’ Sarajevo Six mission would not unlock, despite completing the requirements. (PS4 only)
Fixed an issue that would allow items in Agency Pickups to be duplicated.
Fixed an issue where the non-target penalty would not be applied in some Escalation Contracts where the “No Pacifications” complication was enabled.
Fixed an issue where the ‘Body Found’ score penalty would not be applied if the body is found at the same time as the player enters the ‘combat’ state.
Fixed a rare issue that would cause a framerate drop in Paris when equipping a weapon inside the palace.
Fixed an issue where the information about being recorded by a security camera would not be shown in languages other than English.
Fixed an issue where the ‘Over Here…’ challenge in the ICA Facility would not unlock if a guard finds a coin on his way to the generator.
Fixed an infinite loading bug that was occurring when players would sign out of the game during a mission and then sign back in with the same account.
PC-specific Improvements
The Game Launcher now displays resolutions higher than 2560×1440. These options were previously available but only via the in-game graphics settings.
Fixed an issue where the FPS may lock to 60 after alt+tab
Performance and framerate improvements, particularly for DX12.
Fixed various crash issues when loading and restarting missions.
[/su_spoiler] [/su_accordion]
Summary
Okay so you know what you can do, it looks pretty good, sound is all around you so keep alert to your surroundings and the physics are pretty good. What’s not to like? Frustration that’s what! You’re making great progress, alert one wrong person and BOOM you’re compromised, mission over! Start again (yes you can save progress) but if you get stuck and believe me I have been known to, checking YouTube, or asking friends will be your best option and there are only so many times you can relive groundhog day!
I enjoy these games until I get inevitably stuck and although the graphics are sub standard if you like a challenge, stealth and some open world play with taxing options then Hitman will keep you entertained for many a silent killing. It has so much to offer especially the continuing episodes.
UK CHI3F
9th June 2016 at 7:28 amCant say how much this game has grown on me as more episodes have come out, also quite easy to jump in and out