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.

Once again, we are in the shoes of 47 as he makes a living off death. Hit-man: Contracts is the third game in the Hit-man series from Eidos Interactive.

In the opening sequence of the game, we see 47 wounded in a hotel room fading in and out of consciousness. The various in-game missions are played as flashbacks in 47's mind.

If you have played the original Hit-man: Codename 47 game, you will no doubt recognise some of the missions such as Traditions of the Trade or Deadly Cargo. Thankfully, most of these mission levels have been redesigned to give them a fresh feel.

There are some great new missions as well, such as Beldingford Manor and the Meat King Party. These take place over a variety of locations and cover a variety of different environments, from slaughter houses to biker hideouts.

Most of the missions are very open ended, giving numerous ways for the player to take out the target. This adds to the replay value of the game, trying to discover interesting ways to make the hits.

Another great feature of Hit-man: Contracts is the score by Jesper Kyd. He manages to make a good and dynamic score that fits a variety of gameplay situations, and he makes it different from the previous games while still giving it that Hit-man feel.

The most noticeable improvements over the previous two games is in the graphics department. Graphics have been improved with the inclusion of reflections (including in pools of liquid), post-processing effects and excellent use of real-time shadows and lighting.

Beyond that not much has been changed save the inclusion of some new hand weapons, and the return of the minigun. While this is good as it keeps true to the Hit-man lineage, there could've been more innovation to keep gameplay elements fresh.

This is a definite purchase for fans of the other games, but players new to the series will enjoy it just as much.

Pretty decent game considering it was released in 2004. The story links up a lot with some missions from hitman 2 and blood money, which is always good and gives a sense of continuity to it. Surprisingly i didn't run into any crashes or any major bugs that could ruin the experience, exept for some weird bug that made the camera shake a little during dialogues with npcs. Overall a good game

When I first played this game I found it hard and didn't want to play it but then a friend helped and I completed it in a number of weeks. It is a complicated game i can assure you of that. Very good game though. Enough violence to satisfy me. Could use more language though. Excellent graphics with the blood to make it look almost real. The first level is intense, picks up after the end of Hit-man Codename 47. Dead clone agents everywhere. 8/10 is a definite. 9/10 for the blood. Great game you should play it. The plot was the thing I din't get but it was a hard game. Buy and play it, the second level is really confusing.

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