Hitman: Contracts

Once again you take control of Agent 47, the infamous Silent Assassin. This time his world is amazingly intricate and incredibly dark. Something that I say really reflects the overall motif that the previous two games were trying to achieve. In "Contracts" there are no daytime missions like in the previous two games. The second game had a few, but this time, it's all about rainy nights with plenty of dark corners to lurk in as you hone in on your target. It is a slightly unrealistic touch as it seems to conveniently rain whenever Agent 47 is given an assignment, but no matter, because it supplies a great atmosphere to your surroundings. Also in an interesting touch the game is shown in flashback. The opening sequence is actually Agent 47 stumbling into a hotel room in an as of yet undisclosed city with a bullet in his gut. As he passes in an out of consciousness during the painful surgery he remembers his previous contracts.

The levels, aside from being remarkably ambient visually and aurally, are filled with possibilities. If "Silent Assassin" had many, there is a multitude here. You can even use a pillow to smother someone in their sleep. A truly sneaky and merciless way to get at a target who doesn't even know you're there, but like I said, this is probably the first game that reflects the very dark nature of Agent 47 himself. There are no rules, only the completion of the contract. There are, however, ramifications. For instance in one level you can either poison your target's drink or throw a gas can down the chimney and into the fireplace by which he is sitting. Result is the same: contract complete. However one way will leave you with collateral damage as well as everyone in the mansion scouring for you. I'll leave you to figure it out.

The flashback structure also has a potential letdown, in that many levels are remakes of levels from the first game. The levels are redone very well with a serious boost in design, but something totally different would have been nicer. Also, you start each mission with a preset gear set. Unlike the first two games you can't choose anything for any mission until you complete the game. Then you're finally awarded a level select as well as weapon select for each level and this is where you can finally use all of your bonus weapons that you receive with the "Silent Assassin" rating. Each level has it's own bonus weapon and even if you don't first complete the game with Silent Assassin on each level, you can go back level by level and get your rating to the high enough until you have all the bonuses. There are also several secret weapons (like the infamous MiniGun from the first game!) which can only be found through this process. This also provides room for replaying past levels and enables you to try different approaches to for them. Or it lets you go on a rampage with that MiniGun once you find it.

Intricate, tense, and very re-playable this is Agent 47's best outing yet. I have yet to play "Bloody Money" and I am really looking forward to it. --- 9/10

Rated "Mature" for violence.

Right from the get-go, this sets the tone as a darker, bleaker entry. Atmospheric. Psychological. There is also strong violence and sexuality, and in larger quantities than before. Cronenberg and Fincher would probably love this. Some of these attributes remained in these, beyond this one. This is the first... and thus far, only... sequel to have a stand-out concept. Granted, it is potentially gimmicky... and seems to run out of steam about a third from the finish... but it is interesting. This also makes the most sense as far as playing missions again goes... though about half of the original Hit-man is remade in some of them. That would be less unimpressive if there was a higher number in this. A dozen. Also, you can't pick what to bring on your initial run through them. Now, what does make that better is the fact that, once again, this is the one released where you can always earn Silent Assassin, the greatest rating to attain. Every single one is a "hit", and all can be executed with expertise and planning. They're all gloomy, as well. The level design leaves little to be desired, almost invariably. On doing well... getting SA is actually worthwhile here. Not just a handful, if that, of times, as the second one. If there is an exception to that here, I didn't see it. How, you ask? Two words: Bonus guns. We're talking, dual and/or silenced versions of ones easily found. In general, the weapons here look and work well, and are remarkably well-chosen. Heck, they honestly went all-out on that. The firearms in this are just plain awesome. There also may be more pistols in this than at least the earlier in the series. The interface is modified somewhat, and will take a little bit of practice to get used to, for those having tried the rest of these. The plot of this is good, and can be intriguing. This is where it starts getting so confusing, in the way of overarching story, that there, among us fans, are several reasonable and credible theories as to what exactly the time-line and such is. The next one adds to that. One can't help but wonder if this was rushed, and possibly half-hearted. I have heard that this was to tide us over, until Blood Money came out. I can see why, that one definitely had rather a lot of new features that were worked, and thought, through. The loading screens, while purdy and all, tend to be nondescript. And this doesn't have that much that wasn't already there. I've heard this described as basically a polished version of HM2. That would be the proverbial nail on the head, with bullseye precision. About all that was in that has been altered, usually for the better. Stealth is made more attractive, apart from the incentive I mentioned before, sneaking is also faster, by a considerable degree. That nifty jump from Codename: 47 makes a comeback, and is used more, if it could still be more frequent, especially considering the length of this, but nevertheless, a welcome return. Back to it not all being positive... a thing or two are made worse in this, or even disappear. In the latter category, there is the compass. Or, rather, there isn't. Why was it removed? Navigating is now way harder than it ought to be, and you now have to stop moving, check the map, and go by what direction our dear agent is pointed in on there, and use that to determine which direction to turn in to, you know, be headed the right way. The different setup for the map doesn't aid in that area. It's nice that they now actually made deceased characters be reflected as such there, but for crying out loud, in a game so complex in detail, with tons of rooms and such, you need to be able to tell where, you know, the doors are and where they lead, which isn't always true in this, and all obstacles in the way would be pleasant to see, also. Yes, I realize that they're, apparently, supposedly, satellite, and that even showing the indoors is a fallacy, if we're talking about realism, but that's how it's always been, and this is not the way to change them. Thankfully, both of those were back to the way they should be in the next one. This doesn't introduce any enemies that we haven't gone up against before, group, people or type. Not particularly, anyway. As far as I could tell, at least. There are some well-written lines in this. The finale is spot-on, and a successful homage. It's all quite fun. This poses a solid challenge, as well, in part because there is almost not even one of the 12 efforts to off that hold no more than one target. Yup. Several to take out, mostly. The difficulty settings assist in ensuring that all get an experience fitting their skill. The saving system is the same as the previous one. The sophistication of this is seldom threatened, although there are a couple of crude things in it. This is where the camera begun to get less constricted, and it was taken further in BM. The graphics are magnificent, if they do hold several glitches. The lighting is improved again, rendering it excellent. The cut-scenes are incredible. Almost exclusively full animation, supplemented with a few in engine, and they're smooth, stylish, crisp and cool. They tell the majority of the goings-on, and almost sans any dialog, through the visuals, that are marvelous. They're well-directed and effective. The audio is another strength. Every sound is as it should be. The music is fantastic... Jesper Kyd has yet to disappoint me. Do note that it is more focused on the eerie nature of this, than the action. This retains the "open-ended" game-play of the preceding follow-up(so yes, you can still blast everything away). I recommend this to anyone that all this appeals to. 7/10

The strongest aspect of the latest Hit-man game is its visual element. Running on a new graphics engine, which seems to suggest Japanese Anime, "Hit-man: Contracts" delves deep into the mind of a professional killer. Set before the events of "Hitman 2: Silent Assassin", it opens with Agent 47 seriously wounded in a Paris hotel. He's haunted by the memories of his past killings and the game takes place almost entirely in his head.

It's the psyche of Agent 47 that brings this title to life with a surreal atmosphere and the disturbing presence of the macbre. Unlike "Manhunt", which bordered on the pornographic in its depiction of violence, this game is more of a psychological shocker. Every level is a variation on the "it was a dark and stormy night" scenario and the first mission establishes this with a very bizarro style.

It takes place in a strange European nightclub/slaughterhouse. The owner is an overly obese man who's twin brother tortures a young girl upstairs while listening to oldies on a .45 record. Agent 47's assignment is to kill the owner and his lawyer who dopes up in a private room. The whole place is a like a Halloween party gone bad where the clients dress up in S&M-like attire and get wrapped up in lapdances.

"Hitman 2" was a huge improvement over the original and proved to be a great stealth game in the vein of "Splinter Cell". However, this third installment, while it does visually impress, isn't as innovative. It merely smoothes the gameplay of its predecessor and has made the missons more open-ended. Stages now have at least two different ways of how to neutralize the "mark", but this can be either a blessing or a curse depending on the player's tolerance for self-discovery.

In fact, Hitman fans will either love or hate the programmers' decision to include only a few number of original levels for "Contracts". The bulk of the game consists of recreations of assignments from "Hitman: Codname 47". This is disappointing considering Eidos' had first said it was not interested in doing a remake of the first game. The best mission is a new one set at a British manor which the company claims was inspired by Robert Altman's "Gosford Park" (Go figure).

If I seem to be negative in this review, rest assure, I am giving "Contracts" a thumbs up. This is a good game, I did like stepping into Agent 47's shoes once again and its strenghts certainly do outweigh its weaknesses. I only wished the title had been a complete original, then it would've been a great game. 3 stars out of 4. Grade: B

Coming 2 years after Hit-man 2 it's hard to believe that a game from 2004 could look and feel so 1998. The story has Agent 47 collapse in a Paris hotel room where he has flashbacks to previous missions (including 4 remakes from the first game) while an unseen doctor helps him recover. The tone is darker and more personal, and it feels tighter, I just wish the lazy programming didn't spoil it.

There are 12 levels in total, and if you're just in it for the 'thrill' of mass murdering then you'll whisk though the entire game in a single day. If you're going for the 'Silent Assassin' rankings then you'll get a bit more mileage out of it. Your efforts might be spoiled by security guards and cops seeing through your disguise FOR NO REASON! You better be rock solid on your controller with no twitchy fingers if you want those rankings, and be prepared to scream at the monitor until your larynx disintegrates.

Hit-man: Contracts came in at the tail-end of the Sixth Generation of console video gaming and thus became dated very quickly. It's a lot tighter than the expansive, and slightly overwrought, Hit-man 2, but IO Interactive really should have refined the programming.

Graphics C Sound B Gameplay B- Lasting Apppeal C

I had very high expectations for this game and it delivers 75% of what I was expecting. The graphics are great, but when you enter 1st person mode they just look ugly. Second the computer controlled enemies are unpredictable, they just open fire on you for no absolute reason which leads to major frustration. Though the voice acting is still stupendous, the music sounds like it's out of a cheesy 60's spy film. One thing the series is still good at is allowing the player to kill the target in numerous ways, either by poison, a bomb, the old sniper rifle, going in John Woo style, the list goes on. Finally the controls have been redone and finally their is a training mission.

Final Score 7.1/10