Hitman: Absolution

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!

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.

Compared to previous entries in the Hit-man game franchise, this one trades a semi-open world game play mechanic with being, not required, but strongly encouraged to sneak around from place to place. However, it still has the core elements of a traditional Hit-man game in it. With things like being able to change disguises, specific targets to kill, and being able to use the environment to your advantage (accident kills can be some of the most satisfying in the game.). Hit-man: Absolution's storyline is also the most personal of them all for the legendary Agent 47. Set after the events of 2006's Hit-man: Blood Money, 47 is given a task that will force him to turn on the only person he's ever cared for: Diana Penelope Burnwood. Before passing on from a grave bullet wound inflicted by 47, Diana uses her final, dying breaths, to ask 47 to look after one thing: a young girl that she stole from "the doctors." 47 chooses to fulfill his only friend's dying wish, setting up the remainder of the game for a cat and mouse chase as The Agency attempts to retrieve both 47 and the girl. Gameplay features a new "scoring system," which either rewards the player points for playing stealthily, or punishes him/her for making mistakes. However, if you are the type of player who prefers to go guns blazing, then you will find your score well into the negative. This could have been improved by playing as the Silent Assassin (leaving one's environment untouched and unaware) the most rewarding, and players who prefer to put a bullet in anyone that is carrying a gun will have the least rewarding experience. Each level also contains challenges, which, when completed offers a permanent score modifier to the player, but some of these challenges are also repetitive, such as "Find the Evidence" and "Wear All of the Disguises." Contracts mode allows players to challenge other player from around the globe to create in-game contracts using the game's levels. By doing this, players earn money for upgrades and they also receive scores based on their individual performance, which are then compared to other players. With new contracts still being created every day, this can be an exciting opportunity to improve your skills. However, the weapons upgrade system feels somewhat forced, because none of them can be used in the single-player story. So, overall Hit-man: Absolution is a very good game, it's just the repetitive challenges and the forced upgrade system that bring it down. PS: This game is also extremely vulgar at parts, so I would not recommend parents buying this game for young children.

I'm not a huge fan of stealth games, nor have I played the other Hit-man games, being a guns blazing kind of gamer. However, I gave this a try and I was amazed at how much fun it was to skulk around and being rewarded for killing only your target. The stealth isn't particularly difficult, especially on easier difficulties. Regarding the other aspects, I loved the atmospheric environments, the interesting conversations you can eavesdrop on and the dozens of ways the game presents you with for eliminating your targets and eluding everyone else, including the guns blazing way. Running and gunning takes all the fun out of it though and you'd miss out on the great rewards. All in all, solid game that I'm proud to own.

A stealth game with an interactive story makes this game one of the best in it's genre. The story of the game is perfectly mixed with the gameplay. Each level brings new challenges and new way to execute the kills. Each level puts you in different scenarios which makes the game more and more interesting. Every kill is special in it's own. The interactive story makes you feel like Mr.47 yourself and each level brings some character development. Highly recommended for all stealth and hitman franchise lovers.