Hitman: Tueur à gages

If you are not familiar with the Hitman series and do not know which part to start with, then I ask you: DO NOT START WITH THIS ONE! This will make you lose the desire to play the next parts, without fully understanding what the charm of playing for Johnny Sins is, who is tired of the routine of the porn industry, and decided to switch to killing big shots in the criminal environment.

The truth is that the developers did not yet fully understand how exactly the game was supposed to come out. Counting on the fact that you will want to go through everything stealthily is impossible, and there are moments where the game begins to represent a banal third-person shooter, and an extremely inconvenient one at that. The methods for completing certain missions are also extremely inconsistent in their own way, where you are forced to go through the way the developer himself intended without having any hints.

I suffered a lot from this game, but in the end I completed it. To say that I am proud of this is to say nothing. This was my craziest playthrough, where in terms of hardcore even Max Payne is inferior to it.

Here we have a perfect example of a good game that, with a few minor adjustments, could have been so much better. It's one of those games that feels like it should have been great, but when you've finished with it, you've still got that annoying feeling that something's missing.

I don't mean to say that HITMAN isn't any good, because it is. Once you get into it, it's a really engaging experience, darkly atmospheric and full of style. As the nameless contract killer you play, your missions are interesting and varied, and although you'll have to accomplish all goals to get through the game, the way you execute them (no pun intended of course) is usually up to you. Stealth is key, and one of the coolest features in HITMAN is the ability to don the clothes of anyone you kill, allowing you the fun experience of using disguises to get closer to your targets.

Despite being quite an interesting and unique experience, HITMAN is not without its flaws. By far the most annoying is the fact that you can't save your game. Ever. The only time your progress is saved is when you finish a level successfully, which means that if you make even one mistake at the very end of a mission, well, it's all the way back to the beginning with you. Programmers, are you listening? This is not okay. It leads to a lot of resentment and frustration, especially if you're having trouble getting used to HITMAN's awkward and complicated interface. The game tries to make up for it with an odd system of reincarnation, but even that's not very helpful, and only seems out place. The point is, you're going to need a lot of patience to enjoy this game. And you probably shouldn't keep your computer anywhere near the window.

HITMAN's plot is sketchy at best, and comes dangerously close to the whole cliched mad-scientist thing near the end, but does manage to save itself and stay interesting. The writing is quite clever at times, the music is well done, and even the voice acting isn't *too* bad. As for graphics, they're about on par with the standards at the time it was released, and although they're technically nothing special, the game's programmers did a great job turning them into some genuinely beautiful environments, such as jungles and ornate hotels. In fact, when HITMAN makes use of those massive maps and gorgeous surroundings, that's when it's at its best.

My advice? Give it a chance -- but play the sequel first. HITMAN 2: SILENT ASSASSIN has all the style of the original and almost none of the problems, and playing it first will make its predecessor a lot easier to deal with.

I'm a big Hitman fan. I've played all the games but not in release order.

Hitman is a beautiful game and series. Its the only game besides Pokemon and gta that I've played religiously.

It started with Silent Assassin which was alright. Then Blood Money was a game changer and I fell in love with the game playing and replaying it for years.

To go from Bloody Money to Codename 47 feels terrible. Codename felt too clunky and lacked the greatness of Blood Money.

I played first mission, turned off the game and never returned to it.

Verdict: I'm sure if I had played it first I would have enjoyed it.

What a great game! So often, games are just easy shoot 'em ups, with no challenge; just walk in and blow everyone away. Hitman however, is a complex game that requires thinking, strategy and precision. Despite a couple of small glitches, graphics are good, gameplay is sweet and the game itself cannot be beat. Highly addictive, this game will put you behind the scope... so pull the trigger.

Definitely an original game that puts the player in the shoes of a hitman. At first the game has you killing Hong Kong Triad members and drug lords, but that all eventually leads to the awesome conclusion of your origin. Despite the lack of in game saves and A.I. problems, the atmosphere and tension in this game are second to none.