Hitman: Absolution

The fifth run in baldie's franchise, Absolution packs new features and even a competitive leaderboard mode.

As in previous installments, you play the scary man with the lustrous head. In case the name is not clicking yet, the story follows 47 as he tries to right some wrongs and protect a kid with a mysterious past tied to the Agency. A babysitting contract killer. Fancy that. Being the sequel that it is, if you've never played at least one of the other games in the series before, you're probably going to miss out on a lot of references, but the narrative is still entertaining enough by itself that you don't *have* to.

The thing that stands out the most is how the general presentation and vibe have changed. Better art style, atmosphere and level design make for a much more cinematic experience. Simultaneously, Absolution favors more linear stages than its predecessors (something that's gotten a lot of flak for), but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The most significant difference is the tweaking of structure in assignments. Where before you had one big level per mission, in Absolution, each level is broken down into separate screens, each one with their own objectives. It's true that this compromised the freedom that, say, Blood Money gave the player, but it also helps in not getting overwhelmed in huge maps if exploration is not your thing.

There are also quite a number of mechanics that have been introduced to 47's repertoire, most notably, the Instinct feature and upgrades tied to your mission performance. While we've all seen sequels that basically add new features to make an extra buck, all of the additions in this one are actually well thought out and make gameplay much more varied and interesting. They feel organic to what the game needs, they're well executed and are just plain cool to engage in. Mix this with the fact that the HUD is very clear plus contextualized commands (a la Heavy Rain, sort of) and you get something that is extremely easy to sit down and play. Regrettably, they also took some neat things out, such as choosing your loadout before each mission, the ability to buy equipment and hiding weapons within other portable items. My uncle Bob used to say: 'if it ain't broke..." and he was a wise man.

The cool bit about all of these new things, though, is that you're not forced to use them. There are five difficulties when starting (or continuing) a save that range from a very easy mode, where the Instinct gauge regenerates automatically and guards have Down's, to a 'Purist' mode, where not only you lose the Instinct button and checkpoints, get a more snappy AI and a much less forgiving damage threshold, but you also don't even get a HUD. If you're worried about the challenge, Purist will keep you busy for a long time.

Lastly, the prominent Contracts mode is a mix of create-your-own-murder and some multiplayer competition. Basically, Contracts lets you load up an objective-free level and 'create as you play'. Kill whatever mark you choose, under whatever conditions (murder weapon, disguises, exit path) you choose and make a mission out of your choices. Through an online voting system, other players can tackle the contract you designed and try to beat your score fulfilling the criteria you set. While I can appreciate the effort to add some online competition to the game and the idea behind a reverse whodunit is certainly great, it would've been nice to have some more variety when setting up your own contracts.

The core and substance of the game are basically left untouched: you sneak around, kill stuff in whatever way you so choose and walk away.

Of course, there are some faults.

Besides the occasional getting stuck in a wrong angle when trying to move behind cover, a corpse bouncing about because the physics engine decided to be naughty and some other seldom glitches, I've seen a lot of reports on low performance, poor FPS or instability, usually coming from people with nVidia cards. I myself (an ATi user) haven't experienced a single stutter with everything on max but it seems to be hit or miss in terms of performance.

Glitches aside, there are some other issues. It's weird because the sum of Absolution's parts make up a very robust and polished product. Yet, there are aspects to design, like baddies spotting you in disguise from a mile away, certain missions sort of pushing a balls-to-the-wall, guns-blazing approach while at the same time penalizing you in rating for not being stealthy enough or the constant crutch on the new Instinct feature, that detract from the overall enjoyment. The way the scarcely-available checkpoints work are also a bit of a problem. While the general direction seems to build upon the good stuff from the previous games, some sections could've been fine-tuned better.

Summing up, Absolution is a more accessible and linear mix of what worked in its predecessors plus some decent new features, a much cleaner design and pretty visuals to boot. The caveat is that the franchise seems to be taken in a different direction, so don't expect a second Blood Money. It could've been better, but it still is a high quality title.

Not at all following up on the one actual bit of setup that they've been dangling in front of us since 2004, Diana, your former handler, commits the cardinal sin of the profession... she starts the story with an unwieldy exposition dump(why couldn't some of that have happened prior entries?)... oh, and she betrays the agency's trust and destroys it. Benjamin Travis(Boothe, intimidating as ever) rebuilds it, and sends 47 out to take her out, because he hadn't gotten to that chapter of "what not to do in a piece of fiction". I won't tell you if she dies or not, but we do finally learn a little about her... like... well... she gets a face! She... she has some junk in the trunk... ah, and, she was hiding Victoria, a young woman who the ICA(who are no longer living up to the International in that... Blood Money at least had one bit outside of the US, and other than that went different places in that country, now, I guess in response to the TSA, you're always in either gloomy, slummy Chicago or the humid, hick-y Midwest; you stay in the same area for so long that you get sick to death of your surroundings) were grooming to become like, well, our anti-hero. He sympathizes, and hides her, taking out people to protect her, and going against his former employers... and they're not the only ones hunting him: he's framed for murder, and the police are looking for him with a vague description of him, meaning that you have to hide from everyone. You hide(some behind smoke(and, once or twice, in plants... yeah, if they didn't have more places to use it, why'd they bother?)) more than, or as much as you, blend in(you more or less choose which to use, at least at times), and to aid in that, we get a cover mechanic(it's common these days), one fairly similar to Deus Ex: Human Revolution. You can move all the way around that piece of furniture, etc., you're hugging, with ease, you can roll from one to the other if they face one another, and this can be used for the gunplay, as well, complete with blindfire. You can use Point Shooting(if you haven't been seen yet), as well, where you tag where and who to take out, and see it done in a cinematic fashion. This does cost Instinct, one of the best features of this. There is a meter of it, and it's refilled by progression. Other uses? Predict patrol paths, see enemy positions through walls(yes, you do also have a person-only radar(replacing the map and intel... because, hey, why not get rid of trademarks that give this its unique identity?), it can still be useful), get hints, and finally, trick someone in the same clothes as you're wearing as a disguise(keeping the tension intact, whilst still making that a benefit... it's the greatest balance of that so far), if you're close to them(and only for several seconds!). You can now dual-wield any pistol or SMG, as soon as you've picked up at least two of the same type(and can choose whether or not to, as well as take silencer on/off), and can carry pistols, SMGs/assault rifle/shotgun(only one), your Silverballers, a sniper(no case, though, instead, it and every other two-handed one, hides comfortably in your clothes... I guess that Italian suit was created by Guybrush Threepwood's tailor; because, hey, why not get two birds with one stone? Beloved aspect? Nah! At least someone finally taught him to hold his friggin' breath, and that can be done regardless of what you're armed with), your fibrewire(which must be laced with cyanide, it's got a "touch of death"... at least it goes directly into dragging the corpse, and hiding it is easier, combining hiding places for that with, well, the ones for you, room for two people now, and you can be one of them) and one item. What's that last one? Anything from a brick to a vase. They can be used for one up-close(except for the ones that are knives) assassination or thrown(with a good system) to create distractions(and some of them break from that!). While levels are tiny(one mission often made up of several of them; repetitively sneaking to and from where you waste the target... and you're too often stumbling onto even Silent Assassin kills, there is no patience required, no forming and carefully executing a plan), they are full of atmosphere, and the graphics are beautiful - particle FX, weather, lighting, everything. Controls expect you to remember way too many keys(yup, coddling console users, what else is new), I haven't seen this many that you, well, forget the ones you use less, for over half a decade. I thought we were streamlining? At least do a "switch" button that activates a secondary set of abilities, like the Assassin's Creed series. Heck, they're already taking so many notes from those... disappear in a crowd(...how's someone that distinctive, not to mention, wanted by the cops, supposed to...?), use a "hiding place"(that are all different, and thus, impossible to spot until you're right in front of them, which is a theme in this one), and both are all static, even though the latter could easily be mobile. With the 5 difficulty settings, the top one removing the HUD(other than the crosshairs) and offering no aid, this provides a challenge for newcomers and veterans alike. Hand-to-hand combat is QTE's, and though learning them is a tad awkward(prompts shown before, during, *and* after you have to press the button...), it's a lot of fun once you get into it(and yes, tougher foes are better at it, and miss a few hits, they'll knock your ass out! Using play-to-create to allow you to craft and share your own, well, Contracts(the one truly worthwhile thing in this). There is a lot of strong language, bloody, violent and/or disturbing content and sexuality in this. I recommend this to fans of stealth(not of Hit-man). 7/10

Quite an anomaly in the Hitman catalogue, Absolution plays very differently to the previous games. You'll experience action sequences and level designs that would better fit the Arkham games, and it's hard not to notice that Agent 47 is forcibly steered down many more courses of action than we're used to seeing. Still, there's enough of what we enjoyed about the earlier Hitman games to please fans of the franchise.

This is purely masterpiece, the story in this game is very best aspect in this game, the characters, the plot is awesome. The graphics i think very good than the new hitman game and this very amazing game

As a longtime Hit-man fan, I was eager to play the follow-up to 2006's "Blood Money," but as the years ticked by, I began to think it wasn't going to happen. Either that, or the programmers would take too long and we'd end up with a product like "Duke Nukem Forever." Luckily, the time spent making this latest installment of the Hit-man franchise was well worth it! The graphics are amazing, the music is haunting, and the possibilities are endless. 47 has never looked more real, and his character development is both realistic and engaging. The storyline might be more in-depth than previous Hit-man games (which some critics have scoffed at, strangely), but it just engrosses the gamer even more into this dark, awesome world.

Without giving too much away, the gameplay is basically the same as "Blood Money," but with a new focus option that allows you to see through walls and focus in on the patterns of the AI around you (think of it like Batman's sonar vision from "The Dark Knight" - it's basically the exact same thing). There's also an option to "point shoot," which is identical to the "Dead Eye" target-shooting from "Red Dead Redemption." Hey, if another game made it cool, why not put it in Hit-man? The only real complaint I have is that it's very, very difficult - even on the "normal" mode. The AI are extremely aware, and if you disguise yourself, chances are someone will notice. You can use your "instinct" to blend in and avoid detection, but it's hit-or-miss. And if you blow your cover, you're going to have a hell of a time finishing the mission. Still, it's a blast! And I can't wait to go back and complete every mission in every which way possible!