Hitman Absolution Reviewed By Stephen Pastic

Rating: 80% (Ratings Key/Explanation)

When one thinks of stealthy action games - aside from Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell - there is another series which immediately springs to mind: IO Interactive's Hitman.  Absolution is the latest game in the franchise, coming six years after Hitman: Blood Money in 2006.  

Given that IO's last big releases (Kane & Lynch: Dead Men and Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days) failed to garner much in the way of critical praise, it would seem a lot is riding on the shoulders of Hitman Absolution.  So then, is this release a worthy successor to the Hitman pedigree?  Or will copies of this game be clogging up retail bargain bins in the near future?

Personally, I haven't experienced much of the series (save for a very brief flirtation with Hitman 2: Silent Assassin) prior to Absolution, so potential newcomers to the franchise need not worry about any opinions or expectations coloured by the prior entries. The Hitman series casts players in the role of Agent 47 - a man created to be the ultimate killer in the employ of a clandestine agency.  Sporting a barcode tattooed on the rear of his bald dome and an ultra slick suit, Agent 47 cuts an imposing figure. 

Absolution kicks off with 47 being tasked with the assassination of a former comrade, and soon finds himself primarily concerned with keeping a young girl safe from his own employers at the dying request of his victim.

Narratively, Absolution does a good job in keeping the player engaged throughout, although there are more than a couple of hokey, halfbaked ideas throughout its running time.  Many of the antagonists in particular seem a little too over the top in terms of their dialog and motivations - whilst it is almost always entertaining, it just becomes much harder to take any gravitas the game presents seriously when players find themselves say, stalking a cadre of assassins dressed in BDSM nun outfits through a cornfield....fun?  Absolutely.  Even the slightest bit plausible?  Not so much.  

Ordinarily, this wouldn't be something to point out, but I just couldn't help but feel the game really wants you to take the major plot points somewhat seriously, and the whole thing just has something of a confused tone.  It is also worth pointing out that the NPC chatter in this game is quite interesting.  Sometimes overhearing conversations can reveal other options for progression, and other times the chit chat is a little more bizarre.  At one point, I recall a room full of guards kept mentioning things about a game controller, and I was unsure as to whether I somehow missed a guard playing a game somewhere or if it was meant to be a small fourth wall breaking piece of dialog.  Definitely worth paying attention to conversations nearby.

Visually, Hitman Absolution looks great - nothing mindblowing, but you are unlikely to be bored by what you see, and there is little to complain about in the controller department.  In terms of gameplay, Hitman Absolution presents players with two extremes - total stealth and all out third person shooting - and then lets you operate from moment to moment anywhere along that scale. 

Players are generally rewarded far more opting for the sneaky method, but going in guns blazing can also work most of the time.  Remaining undetected, leaving no trace of your prescence, and avoiding any casualties save for your targets serves to maximise your score on any given level and unlike many other games of this ilk, the feedback is instantaneous.  A score counter is continually being adjusted according to your actions as you move through the environments, so players can see straight away how efficiently their playstyle is serving them.

On the stealthy side of things - aside from simply sneaking and staying out of sight - players can make use of disguises from most subdued characters, create distractions (either by interacting with things in the environment or even throwing items to lure attention to a particular spot), hide bodies of incapacitated patrols, and even eliminate their targets in creative indirect ways (such as poisoning someone's food or drink).  

Disguises in particular are something you will want to get aquainted with quickly, as well as the system which governs their effectiveness.  Want to get into a garden past security?  Dressing as a gardener will allow you to achieve it with minimal fuss.  However, other characters of the same type as your current disguise will not be so easily fooled - by getting too close to others dressed like yourself, their suspicion level quickly rises and can lead to your disguise being totally compromised.  

In these circumstances, Agent 47 can attempt to blend in by holding the right bumper and give himself a little more time to move away from the suspicious parties, albeit use of this technique is limited by your "Instinct meter", which can also be utilised to see enemies concealed by walls and their immediate patrol routes.

For the more aggressive moments, Hitman Absolution plays like a competent third person shooter.  Taking cover, utilising appropriate firearms and positioning are the key skills players will need to survive a firefight.  Another ability at 47's disposal is "Point shooting" - somewhat similar to the "Mark and Execute" system in Splinter Cell Conviction, players can mark shots on as many targets as they like until their instinct meter runs out and then drop them all in rapid succession with the press of a button.  More often than not though, players will most likely resort to firearms only if caught, as playing the game via the sneakier methods is generally far more satisfying. 

Specific challenges also exist in each level (such as eliminating a target in particularly crafty ways, or not utilising any kind of disguise at all as well as collecting evidence and items), so any completionists will be playing levels over and over again trying to see everything each chapter has to offer.  On top of this, Absolution also features an online specific "Contracts" mode.  Here, players can set contracts for other players in any of the story levels by 'marking' NPC's as they play - by successfully eliminating these marks and escaping, other players can then attempt to pull off the same feats and gain bonuses if they manage to achieve the kills via the same methods and disguises (or lack thereof).  Whilst this might sound simple in theory, the more hardcore players will no doubt have a ball with this, as there are already numerous teeth clenchingly difficult contracts available for you to test your skills with.

Whilst Hitman Absolution is very enjoyable, it does have some minor issues.  The cover system seems a little hit and miss as to when it will work they way you intend it to - getting into cover is rarely a problem, but staying in cover as Agent 47 moves along feels like a coin toss at best.  Many a time I approached a corner thinking I was still attached to the wall only to find bullets heading my way as he stuck his bald head out in the open.  Another (perhaps inevitable) niggle is the very structure of some of the options presented to the player - often, rather than discovering things organically, the game telegraphs its intent ahead of time.  For example, if you happen to find a bottle of sleeping pills then you can be pretty certain that a nearby situation can be circumvented by putting said pills in someone's food or drink.  

To sum it up, Hitman Absolution is a damn fine game that contains a massive amount of replay value by virtue of the sheer number of options available to players throughout, as well as its Contracts mode.  I actually went through the game's story mode in one LONG sitting, and if that's not a tick of approval, I don't know what is.