OK its game review this time just for a wee change from the films, and this one will be on the latest game in the Hitman series, Hitman Absolution, which was released last year on what is rather amusingly the 47th week of the year! (its true!). Anyway so let's have a closer look at the game, so get ready with the fibre wire and the baller pistols....
Right so the game's plot starts with Agent 47 (voiced by David Bateson) who is tasked with having to kill his former agency handler, Diana (Marsha Thomason) who has gone rogue. On entering Diana's apartment, 47 shoots Diana while she is in the shower and 47 comforts her as appears to be dying, she hands him a letter saying and pleads with 47 to keep a young girl named Victoria safe from the Agency. 47 agrees to protect Victoria and he hides her at a catholic orphange and contacts an informant named Birdie, who asks his to perform a hit on a Chinatown gangster. 47 does the hit and in exchange Birdie informs 47 on the whereabouts of Blake Dexter (Powers Boothe) who may have more information on Victoria, Dexter being the corrupt and very wealthy CEO of Dexter industries. 47 learns that Dexter is staying at the "Terminus" hotel and as 47 enters the hotel and evade's Dexter's men, and eavesdrops on a conversation Dexter has in which it is revealed that Dexter intends to auction Victoria off to the highest bidder. 47 tries to strangle Dexter's large bodyguard, Sachez, who knocks him unconscious and Dexter has 47 framed for the murder of a housemaid. Dexter then sets the hotel room on fire and leaves 47 for dead who eventually regains consciousness and evades the patrolling police. And from here the plot thickens even more as 47 must try and find out why the agency want Victoria so badly and also fend off his enemies in the process.
After a six year absence, Hitman Absolution sees the game series return in fine style as this game definitely has alot going for it and it manages to largely keep with the same tone as the previous Hitman games. It also manages to keep the balance of stealth and action just about right although with its more free flow movement system than the relatively static movement in the previous games, it feels at times more like playing a Splinter Cell game than Hitman, however this is no bad thing. Absolution also explores an interesting theme in 47's character where he is now put in the position that he must care and protect for someone rather than just be a cold calculating killer who acts purely on orders. It also shows the Agency in a more negative light too as they wish to kill off Diana and obtain the young girl Victoria, who turns out to be a genetically enhanced clone who was bred for killing, and Diana wished for 47 to stop that from happening. And 47 even realises this himself that a young girl such as Victoria should not be allowed to become a killer at the hands of an amoral agency and this does show once more that he does have some morality and decency in him.
Moving onto the game's control system and gameplay which are both excellent and the movement is a big improvement on the previous games as 47 can now walk and run faster around the environments. 47 also has some melee attacks such as close one on one combat with enemies where you have to press a button at a specific time in order to retaliate. In addition to this 47 can now also subdue his victims with a chokehold or he can also snap their necks, as well as this 47 can also pick up objects such as a screwdriver, wrench or a bottle to kill or knock out his victims with. Objects in the game can also be used by 47 to create distractions so he can bypass guards or whoever else, so 47 can throw a bottle for e.g. to distract a guard from his post so 47 will sneak by. Similar to the previous games, 47 can also hide in dumpsters or cupboards and take a sneak peak as to see if someone is nearby. 47 can also use dumpsters or crates to dump dead or unconscious bodies in them and usually you can fit two bodies in there which is quite handy!
Weapons wise 47 has quite a large array of guns to choose from in the game as you can use 47's classic silver baller silenced guns, or sub machine guns, rifles, shotguns and machine guns. 47 will also access his trusty old fibre wire as well, which has always been 47's classic method of dispatching enemies silently and effectively. The game also introduces a new feature in combat called point shooting where 47 will go into a slow motion mode and target his marks and he will execute them in a chain automatically.
Also in addition to 47's use of disguises, such as when he takes the clothes of a person he has killed or incapacitated, he can also use his senses to blend into his environment. An example of this is when 47 may have subdued a policeman, after he takes his clothes and walks into an area where there are cops he will holds his head down to conceal himself or pretend to go on his police radio. And while this happens 47 will have a bar which measures the suspicion level of others, which will reduce as 47's enemies grow more suspicious of his disguise. 47 in this mode almost gives you the impression that he can see through walls, as he will see normal targets in yellow, targets to be killed in red, and targets to be subdued in blue.
Moving onto the game's graphics they are simply superb and as the game series has had a complete visual overhaul the environments look stunning. There is also a great deal of variety in the environments such as hotels, diners, bars, public buildings, industrial factories and even open desert. The character models are also excellent and Agent 47's familiar bald visage looks that bit more lifelike and refined than before (although he appears to have heavier eyebrows!). The voice acting in the game is also really good with David Bateson once again doing a great job as 47 as he delivers that assassin's dialogue in a very cool, calm and logical tone. The supporting cast is equally impressive as there are some well known names here such as Keith Carradine as Dexter the main baddie, Powers Boothe as Travis the Agency head, Vivica Fox as Lasandra Dixon (not a far cry from her character in Kill Bill!) and Steve Bauer as Birdie, 47's informant. The game also has a very good music score written by Thomas Bartschi which while it isn't in the same league as the previous scores by the superb Jesper Kyd, it is still worth paying attention to.
As for the game's flaws does it have any??? Well perhaps one or two but nothing much, first off I would have to say that in its new format the game does seem to borrow heavily from Splinter Cell in its new more free flowing movement, and while that isn't a bad thing it does make it does detract from the qualities that made Hitman unique in the first place. Some of the features of the game don't really come much into play during use either, such as the pointing shoot mode, which is only really used sparingly in one or two scenes and in that annoying mission where 47 has to compete and win the best score in a shooting competition, which in itself is a real pain in the ass! Some of the inane chatter from the characters in the game can also be a bit annoying, such as when 47 uses his sense mode to blend in and for e.g. someone may look at him and say "Do I know that guy from somewhere?? Isn't that guy the guy that...." and so forth. I also felt the game has a rather lengthy and at times tiresome final mission where 47 must try and save the day for Victoria and in doing so you either have to stealthily kill off the guards or risk getting involved in a no-win gun battle, which quickly becomes mighty frustrating to avoid!
Regardless of all that though, Hitman Absolution is very solid, entertaining and worthy addition to the Hitman series and it does a fine job in keeping with the tradition of the previous games. And if you liked the previous game then there will be plenty here for you to enjoy as well.
And with that I shall leave yee there.
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