Hitman: Tueur à gages

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.

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.

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.

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.

Over the years computer games have just kept getting better and better. In fact it is hard to call some of them "games" anymore. "Pong" and "Tetris" are games. You press buttons in a patterns and with each beep you watch your score go up. Sure it's fun and "Tetris" is a great classic, but all that seems to be gone now. Games have no score and many are ditching the "powerup picking up" gimmick. You pick up realistic looking guns, sneak around realistic looking locations, with increasingly realistic, but still fun consequences. These games are simply becoming bent on realism. Or at least a fun version of something that we call "game realism." As much as I played and enjoyed "Tetris" my pulse never quite raced as much as it did when I was infiltrating a powerful mob boss's headquarters, getting passed his body guards, and finally doing him in. "Doom" was somewhat like this and it is too a classic, but in retrospect, "Doom" is hardly real. It's a horror action game. "Hit-man: Codename 47" actually makes you feel that you are in Kowloon and tracking targets that are just as lethal as you.

In short, it's nothing short of thrilling. The selection of guns and equipment allows you many approaches to each mission. The John Woo/Chow Yun-Fat approach may be a good (and FUN!) idea, but so might be the sticking to the shadows and armed with a knife strategy. The beauty is that you decide. You get the report at the beginning of your assignment and you decide how to handle it. You might have strict guidelines so you might not be able to cause fireworks right away, but sometimes you can literally wage a one man Rambo style war on a camp of soldiers. Whatever you do, it's a blast.

However, there are some faults that need to be mentioned. First, you can't save mid-level. With some of these levels getting pretty big and teeming with bad-guys all packing lots of firepower could result one false move being your last. That adds to the tension, but also the frustration and could tends to encourage calmer approaches to game especially if it's your first time through. Also, the lack of info become increasingly frustrating. Some missions, especially towards the end are sure to give you some major surprises that you didn't see coming. Frustration will inevitably accompany these since there are hardly any clues to you figuring your situation out. But hey, I guess the life of a Hit-man ain't easy...

... and in the end this is a great game with an awesome premise. Both a smart game requiring strategy and calculation and a good action game with many possibilities for intense shootouts. --- 8/10

Rated MATURE for violence