PixlBit

The Hitman series offers one of the most in depth experiences I have ever played on a console. The options available to the player, the design and detail of the levels, the way a hit can be carried out with anything at your disposal is something that I have had countless hours of fun exploring. That’s why I have to say that this time around square enix’s offering falls a bit short of the timely experience I am used to playing, but non the less offers much needed improvements to some of the game play mechanics.

 

The game starts off very promising, throwing the player right into what appears to be classic Hitman game play. Opportunities to garrotte enemy guards are a plenty here and the ‘hide the bodies mechanic to avoid detection’ is ever present. This is where one of the first major improvements is recognised in Absolution, 47 moves very well. He’s quick and stealthy and for the first time in a Hitman game you have the option to ‘jog’ when in crouched mode. Dragging bodies around after strangling some hapless sap proves to be a time efficient affair (unheard of in the previous titles) where the clunky slow pull of the deceased often meant you were seriously exposed for a length of time that could quite often put you in danger. Using your environment in Absolution has also been tweaked with more objects than ever available for pick up and can be used to create distractions. Books, bricks bottles and lots of other artefacts beginning with B can be thrown to allow you distract the guards and creep past undetected.

 

Should you fail to stay hidden you also have more options in gunplay, again one of the improvements that Absolution offers. A cover fire system akin to Gears of War can quickly develop from a very placid atmosphere and 47 can quickly pop up to deliver some well aimed shots (particularly from the new ‘instinct’ mechanic but we’ll get to that later). Unlike Gears of war however you can use the sneak tactic to fool your enemy into firing on the wrong spot, I gad a lot of fun sneaking around cover to move in behind them and plant bullets into the back of their heads when they were spraying a flower bed in the opposite direction, you really do feel you can cause them a lot of confusion by using the layout of a level to your advantage.

 

Of course another staple of the Hitman diet lies in disguises and fooling those around you that you are one of them. This is where in my opinion Absolution starts to shows some of it failings for one key reason…. All the enemies this time around, no matter what difficulty you play on, have the eyes of an eagle and spot you for a fake at a100 paces, if you wear the same disguise as them. The only way around this is to use 47’s instinct which is applied in a similar fashion to Batman’s detective vision mode in the Arkham games. Instinct is earned by working the level in a true Hitman fashion, hiding bodies, taking out the enemy silently, using the environmental kills available, going undetected all earns you ‘time to burn’ on your instinct meter. Pressing the LB button 47 will tilt his head to the side whilst the guards make comments about having seen him somewhere before. This is all well and good but it often feels a little disingenuous as they can often recognise you with your back turned at quite a distance, but just tilting your head seems to work. The only other way around this is to have to keep changing disguises as dressing as a janitor will mean guards will not recognise you at all but other janitors will instantly know you are not one of them. It’s an interesting idea that is implemented a little too harshly for my liking.

Not the most useful disguise in the game! 

For the most part the mechanics work well enough but I must confess that I do sorely miss that ability to wander about the levels at your own leisure knowing that a disguise would be enough to see you through, perhaps turning your back on people would have been a better system of lowering suspicion. Strangely you can run around everywhere, complete a stealth roll right in front of someone who is blatantly staring at you and get away scot free. These inconsistencies drive you away from the immersive experience that it should be and mean that Absolution has to be played in a rather linear way.

 

The levels themselves are beautifully detailed but considerably smaller. This means that game play is more focused but ultimately the ‘sandbox’ effect is sorely missed. On the surface it appears that you have more options than you do, having to move from one point to the next so quickly takes away much of the strategy and eventually leads to the realisation that this game is a bit too cinematic for it’s own good. That’s not to say that the game does not deliver some effective levels but they are much smaller than pinnacles of series such as ‘house of cards’ and ‘Murder of Crows’ from the Blood Money’ game.

 

The story is the final stop for the single player focus here and it’s…… ok. It builds on the Agencies use/ creation of 47 but the placement of ‘sexy nuns’ and sadomasochism just seems out of place (though admittedly the nun level is probably the best in the game). Any one looking for award winning writing here is going to be disappointed, the voice acting however is excellent all round with cut scenes worthy of visual praise.

 

the catholic chrch, we've made a few.......changes!

Finally Absolution offers something unique for Hitman games, customisable contracts where you get to create you own based on the single player levels. You can set the mark, add bonus points for timing and skill style, even stipulate what weapons have to be used . This is interestingly one of the most promising aspects of Absolution and I had lots of fun competing against my friends to see who was worthy of the title ‘silent assassin’  

 

If you’re a fan of Hitman then this is definitely worth a good playthrough though be prepared to be disappointed in the overall feel of the game. The way 47 controls is vastly improved however Square Enix has sacrificed quite a lot of what made Hitman games so enjoyable. Personally I feel an ‘ArkhamCity/ GTA’ approach would have been much better with a large sandbox city with suburbs to complete your hits. Vegas springs to mind! Imagine 47 let looses in the city of gambling! Either way this game does leave me hopeful for the future games, it’s just a shame they didn’t quite get it right for this one.

 

Score   7/10