Hitman: Absolution Review

 

INTERFACE - 3.5 out of 5

VISUAL - 4.5 out of 5

CONTENT - 2 out of 5

AUDIO - 4.5 out of 5

CONTROL - 2.5 out of 5

 

 

Many titles during the console wars have been able to survive the test of time. The Hitman franchise, regrettably among them. This new iteration of a tried and tested series developed by IO Interactive and published by Square Enix, attempts to "Refresh" the pile of memorable games before it, but sadly to say falls short of expectations.

 

In this "Re-Imagining" of Hitman, Agent 47 is sent under the command of the "Reformed" Agencies new leader, Agent Benjamin Travis, to assassinate 47's former "handler" Diana Burnwood, whom deemed it necessary to publicly expose "The Agency" to rob them of their anonymity. After barely completing your mission and inherently abandoning The Agency, you find she leaves a young girl named Victoria in your capable hands. Victoria is special and an important asset to the agency and anyone else who might know her secret.

 

After leaving Victoria in a "Secure" location, you set off to find out who wants this girl and why in a series of perplexing environments and impossible situations. (Yeah, that's about it.......seriously?!!)

 

INTERFACE



 

The menu system in this game is all too familiar as one would expect. A title page with your main options as in most games. (Besides the sexy shower scene depicted behind the text) The inner game interface is one more often than not has been seen before. Weapons and ammunition are shown using the D pad and there are multiple slots within for your stored armoury. In an easy, although somewhat derivative manner, weapons are accessible on the go, giving 47 a lot of choices.

 

VISUAL

 

Hitman Absolution is a game to be remembered by its graphical textures and impeccable environments. 47 himself looks fantastic. Although seeming limited in facial expression, (47 and everyone else) the mood and emotion of the characters still shine through. Enemy combatants are well rendered, but have a lack of variety one would hope for. It seems as though developers were expecting you to focus more on 47 visually than on whom he was killing. Aside from this, the environment textures and civilians brought a sense of a world that was "lived in", so to say. Weapons and kill sequences gave a great variety for me, making my experience occasionally worthwhile.

 

CONTENT

 

Hitman Absolution seems with this title that they want to take a new "stab" at this franchise by introducing some new gadgets, but also falling back to what they "assume" their core fanbase would like. In doing so, IO totally alienates anyone who has never played a Hitman game before. Lets go over the pro's and con's.

PRO: The weapon system in this game is remarkable. Almost anything can and will be used as a tool or weapon/projectile. From drug syringes and baseball bats to axes and fire extinguishers, can be your ticket to a satisfying termination. Also, the disguise system is an exceptional part of Hitman. Being able to wear the clothing of a man you've killed to bypass others like him is a welcome mechanic and can create many fun challenges. Hiding or disposing of corpses is also a fan favourite. It can be very rewarding and allows for more options for tackling an objective.

CON: The cons are ashamedly the same as the pros sorry to say. The weapon system, a lot like many other titles, suffers from over exposure. Too many options leads to either confusion to a casual gamer or favouritism in a seasoned vet. You find yourself using the same weapons over and over to take out enemies, because unlike other big name titles, Hitman decided to use a board to board campaign. At the end of every "Chapter", you are scored on what weapons you were able to use, costumes you wore and level of kill you were able to achieve. To some this is the spice of life.......to the other 95% of gamers......hell in a hand basket.

I was taken out of the game completely after every acheved goal in order for them to tell me how bad or good I was doing. Most games leave that part until the end and/or have a selection in the menu screen allowing me to track my challenges and point level. Then I encountered the "Disguise" mechanic. On the surface this idea seems like it would make for a phenomenal advantage for our unstoppable assassin, but what lies underneath is a total fail. Sure you can change clothes and blend in with your enemies.....for about 3 seconds. Somehow everyone on the police force for a metropolis knows what every other police man looks like. Even using the "Instinct Mode", which is supposed to hide your identity as you cover your face and slink past, doesn't fool these guys. Its frustrating to a large degree in my opinion. Not only did these things ruin the game for me, but the staggering incline in difficulty was unsustainable.

I didn't feel powerful like an ultimate assassin or super human, until I changed the difficulty from normal to easy. I feel as though IO Interactive was waining on familiarity for former Hitman players and were not trying to make advancements to the degree most "Re-Imaginings" are taking these days. ie; TombRaider (check previous review) The game also has an "Assassination" mode, where you take on individual and/or multiple targets in competition for the leaderboards. Although an interesting addition, I for one did not want to play anymore after finishing the main story.

Okay...enough with my rant.

AUDIO

 

Hitman in the audio department, aside from its lack in game play ingenuity, hits the right note. From the main score down to the situational ambiance, they are on key. The proper emotions are depicted at the proper time as you would hope. The weapon report are astonishing against the flat and at most times boring VO's (Voice Over). All weapons sound and look as invasive as they should. If only the actors weren't so slow and robotic during main scenes. There seems to be an attempt to bring out emotion and variety in the characters, but they fall short. I've had a hard time connecting to our protagonist Agent 47, as one should seeing as how he shouldn't emote, but from the "get go" he emoted way too much. (Spoiler Alert) After he didn't finish off Diana at the beginning of the game for some untold emotional reason, I just fell off caring. Probably another reason why I just went to easy mode and started blowing f*%kers away. The enemies are by far the worst. Great scripting with shitty actors = shitty story. All I wanted to do by the end of this heap was just get it over with so I could find out how the story ended.....not unlike skipping to the last chapter of a crappy book cause you've already invested time in reading it.

 

CONTROL

 

Controlling 47 was about as fun as a root canal. Being a cover based shooter, I would have expected more. The cover system did have its advantages, but was also flawed in many ways. For instance; coming to the edge of cover, instead of stopping with the option to turn the corner, 47 automatically turns the corner opening him up for bullets. Having to inch forward trying not to turn and be seen was distracting, especially in a game where strategy is the key. Hitman acts as many 3rd person shooters do, with an over the shoulder reticule, able to switch from left flank to right with an analogue click. This is familiar, so in most ways the combat was easy to adjust to. Trying to sneak up on an enemy and "Garrote" him with your wire left me almost sitting on his left shoe panicking that he would see me...scrambling to get behind him.....AND THEN HE DIDN'T EVEN SEE ME!!!!

Up your life game IO Interactive.......all your bass are belong to us!!!



 





OVERALL RATING - 2.5 OUT OF 5 

 

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