Hitman Absolution Review - This time it's personal

By Sam Coles:

Hitman is a series I love with it’s fun although be it clunky stealth gameplay, however there is a title that has people split some site it as a downfall for the series where others find a great game due it being a more personal and emotional title for Agent 47. That game is Hitman Absolution, a game that I rather like and this is coming from someone who is a veteran of the series who has been playing them since 2003 with Hitman 2. Yes it is rather linear compared to other titles, but it is the tightest in terms of story and gameplay compared to the other games, with some fun methods of taking out a target.

Hitman Absolution begins with Agent 47 taking a new contract, but this is no normal contract as it is rather personal because he is tasked with assassinating his former handler Diana Burnwood who betrayed the Agency. Agent 47 has a change of heart just as he shoots her, oh the inconvenient timing of the human heart, he is then tasked with protecting a young girl named Victoria as the agency have a special interest in her as she is as deadly as 47. A lot of people don’t seem to like this game due to the more personal story of 47, but I liked how IO Interactive gave 47 an actual character rather than him being as relatable as a slab of tofu.

The gameplay is where it has everyone divided, on one hand the controls are refined and it doesn’t feel like you’re controlling someone with a stiff sheet of plywood jammed up their backside, on other hand people are not pleased with the more linear structure. I like the gameplay as they fixed a lot of the clunky issues that the last three games prior had, Agent 47 can now take cover which is great when you’re sneaking around or if you want to get a quick headshot with his trademark Silver Ballers. Shooting feels more precise and actually feels like you’re playing as an expert marksman, compared to the drunken shooting controls of the older games.

Agent 47 has a focus mode which seemed to be a trend in third person games back in the day with Splinter Cell: Conviction starting the trend. What this entails is that you can slow down time aim at serval targets, and then 47 will gun down serval enemies at once not only is this convenient but it looks amazing with duel pistols and seeing people fly across room in slow motion.

One of the aspects that put veterans of the series off was the fact that you didn’t have access to all the fun gadgets and weapons, however that was intentional due to the fact that 47 is no longer working for The Agency and has to use what he can in the environment. I like this aspect as you have to be more cautious and utilise the environment, which can range from poisoning food, dropping chandeliers on people’s heads or dress up as a scarecrow and strangle people.

The big problem I have with the gameplay is the disguise system, how it works is that you can kill someone and steal their clothes or find them in a locker etc. like other titles in the series. However they botched it in this game, it was already an unreliable system but this game assumes that ever chef, cleaner or police officer know each other, how you avoid people is by utilising the instinct system. Instincts is for when you’re not sure what to do as well as highlighting high value target’s movement, it is also a way to walk past people with the same clothes as you.   

Considering this game is six years old it is still a beautiful game to look at, character models have aged considerably well with Agent 47 being the standout with his blue, cold and intimidating eyes that send fear down his target’s spines. Environments have a lot of detail with huge crowds, with my favourite level being the Chinatown section with crowds of people, as you stand in plain sight watching your target’s every move.

Hitman Absolution was a different direction for the series; however this doesn’t make it a bad game as some would like you to believe. This is a personal journey for Agent 47 where he is more human in this game instead of the stone cold killer that he is in the previous games. I would recommend giving this a playthrough it’s super cheap and if you have an Xbox One it is playable via backwards compatibility.