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Games of the Decade: Expansion Pass #22/Blog a Day #9

Hello everyone, how are you?

When it comes to gaming, one of the the rules I abide to is if I'm interested in a game and if it's from an established franchise, then I'll need to play all those games if I'm able to. That way I can get the full story, especially if the game is a direct sequel to a previous game and it directly takes place after certain events. There have been times when I had to break that rule due to factors like I simply didn't have the hardware that was home to the previous games in a franchise or the games were no longer available in any format. One franchise I had always been interested in was Hitman and today we are going to look at Hitman: Absolution.

                    The music in the game really matches the atmosphere well

Hitman has always been a franchise I had always been interested in but I never had the system they released the games on. The "perks" of being strictly Nintendo for most of your gaming life. I remember 1up had a Hitman themed contest where Hitman related goodies were up for grabs. Among them from what I recall was the Hitman Collection for the PS3, the newly released (at the time) Hitman: Absolution, and Agent 47's red/burgundy tie. I randomly entered, I wanted the collection but I'd be fine with anything if I ended up winning one of the prizes. Hell, I'd even take the tie. It was a cool looking tie. I ended up winning Hitman: Absolution out of everything. Huh. At that point there was nothing I could do so the only thing to do was dive into my very first Hitman game.

In the game you assume the role of the world's greatest, most discreet, sharply dressed, and baldest assassin known as Agent 47 or as some call him The Hitman. In this game Agent 47 takes on his most personal contract while also being betrayed and pursued by the ICA (International Contract Agency) while at the same time trying to redeem himself. How many lives will you take to save one? So how is the game?

One thing that really impressed me is that you have free range on how to take out your target. It literally doesn't matter how you do it, what you used, as long as that target is dead. Like you can kill your target silently with your signature Silverballers, or you can shove them off a cliff or window if you want. Perhaps you want to take the direct approach and want to bludgeon your target to death. Or if you want to get creative you can add some poison to the food of your target. These are just some of the few ways you can eliminate your target.  You can use your environment to your advantage to think of some creative ways to take out your target. Or if you want a more action oriented approach rather than stealth, you can use various weapons at your disposals to ones you can find in levels. Agent 47 is nothing if not resourceful.

 

                   "I wonder if I can get something to eat?" - Agent 47. Probably.

Agent 47 might be the most fashionable assassin ever since you can change outfits in each level to disguise yourself. The disguises you find depend on the theme of the levels and they'll come in handy when assassinating a target. Some you can find lying around while others can only be obtained from someone you killed. In a level you can dress as a barber and you can give one of your targets a really close shave. Disguises are also used for gaining access to areas you couldn't get to before and blending in obviously. But be warned since there are outfits that stand out that won't make you blend in no matter how hard you try.

The game's scope when it comes to the levels is really impressive. Some levels are open, some are linear and they vary in size but they all offer free range on what to do. The levels and environments are really well detailed and I think this is one the most visually stunning games on the PS3. There is this one level that takes places during Chinese New Year with a huge crowd of people, which I thought was going to lag a lot but to my susprise it never did. It was so impressive to see.

"But Captain N, where can I play this game?"  Well you can play it on PS3, 360, PC or you can opt for the remasted version on PS4 and Xbox One that also includes Blood Money. It's pretty cheap on last gen consoles, I haven't played the remastered version of the game but I feel like that would be your best bet if you want to play this game. The game has an online mode called Contracts and here you can create your own missions for others to try. You can set requirements, the targets you can assassinate, and how to do it. You can even try the ones other people have made. It's a really fun mode but I think that has been shut down according to Steam.

                          They aren't dead, they are simply taking a really long nap

Final Thoughts: For my first Hitman game, Hitman: Absolution left me really impressed. I've heard that this is the weakest entry in the series but eh, I don't care. I had a blast and that's what really matters in the end. I even got the platinum trophy for it as well and I normally go for the platinum on games I really enjoyed. One thing I loved about this is that many of the characters think Agent 47 is nothing but an urban legend and they freak out at his sudden appearance, simply referring to him as "The Hitman". The game is definitely one of the best looking PS3 games I have ever played, it released a year before the PS4 and Xbox One released but even so i still looks great to this day. Some of the best looing games do come out towards the end of the lifecycle of a console.

The thing I loved the most is the freedom of choice that it gives you. At that point I hadn't played a game that offered that much freedom to me, at least on how to complete an objective. Since then I've tried to make it a point each year to at least try a new game or series that I haven't tried yet. So far that has been working well for me as I got to try many different games.

Would I have played Hitman: Absolution if I didn't win it though? Probably not since I would of stuck to my rule. I would have eventually gotten it if I got the collection first and played those games. Am I complaining? Hell no. Free is free. Besides I got to try a really great game I otherwise wouldn't have gotten.

               Hope you are ready for your gritty Alvin and the Chipmunks reboot

There are times we do things we aren't proud of and they aren't our finest moments. Sometimes we do the things we do simply because we must or it's our only choice. And you now what? That's okay. The important thing is that we can choose to be better. The best we can do is to take something away from that and grow so we won't ever have to do it again.

Well that's it for this one. next time we are going to take a trip down to memory lane to where we started before all the madness began. Thanks for reading and...