Hitman Absolution is one of the most anticipated sequels of 2012. It has been seven years since the last title, and IO Interactive has delivered a sequel that should keep even the most rabid fans happy.
The game focuses on the iconic hero of the franchise, Agent 47, the top hitman of the International Contract Agency. In the first mission, he is asked to kill his former handler and things quickly unravel from there. Unfortunately, the narrative suffers from a short attention span - Agent 47 is asked to complete missions that are not central to the plot and I often felt disconnected from the story.
While Agent 47 is capable of going in guns blazing, the game favours a stealthy approach. Typically, he can survey the area and then take out one enemy at a time. Immediately hiding or dumping the body is essential to not raising alarm. After subduing an enemy, Agent 47 can disguise himself in their clothing, though the effect is limited. For example, after changing into a cop's uniform, he will raise suspicion if he passes too close to another policeman. Fortunately, he has 'instinct' to help him get out of hairy situations.
Agent 47's instinct can be activated at the press of a button and helps him to decrease the suspicion from in-game characters. Instinct helps to survey areas on the map, anticipate where NPCs will move, and highlight useful items. While it can used up, finding ways to distract or kill enemies in inventive ways replenishes his 'instinct' levels.
Agent 47 also has a number of weapons available to him. While the traditional fibre wire can be used to strangle enemies from behind, he also has access to a number of silenced guns that can be used quite effectively. In similar fashion to Splinter Cell, Agent 47 can tag and target multiple enemies in the same room and take them out simultaneously.
There is a scoring system on each stage that rewards the player for efficiently finishing the mission. Players are penalised for killing characters unnecessarily and are also rewarded for using more of the environment to their advantage. To help the player along, there are mini-challenges on each stage that provide clues on how to best progress through the level. At the end of the level, it tallies a score and challenges players to beat the highest score on their friends list, in the country or the world.
Overall, Hitman Absolution is an enjoyable game. While it has a weak storyline, the brilliant stealth gameplay more than makes up for it. The gameplay is fun, and social aspects of the contracts mode and leader boards make for massive replay-ability. It is a must-play for fans of the franchise.
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