Hitman: Absolution

[Mr. Analog]

So I picked up Hitman over a week ago, here are some thoughts.

First off the game is quite cinematic (obviously from Square Enix there was no doubt), they manage to make everything seem very cool and slick within its own visual style (kind of reminded me of Bayonetta that way), it exudes "cool" at all times. Bottom line the visual style and gameplay really clicks with me, so much like Mirror's Edge it looks so good that I forgive it for SOME of its faults.

Gameplay:
The missions are based on achieving goals by being as stealthy as possible, you are rewarded for not being seen and for non-lethal ways of resolving your missions. You can just go through and run n' gun but your score will suffer for it as well it's deadly to run n' gun through a map, there are a lot of enemies you need to dodge and if they are alerted and converge on you it's game over.

You get a basic set of items like a garrotte wire, sometimes a weapon, the ability to find or take a disguise from a fallen foe and Instinct, which lets you see through walls and highlights enemies, enemy paths and useful items. Instinct is limited but builds up the sneakier you are. Instinct can also be used to bluff when you are in disguise.

So far I've seen missions that involve eliminating targets, infiltration/collecting items to reach a goal, and trying to escape people actively searching for you.

Each level consists of "zones", each zone has a group of enemies who will either be stationary or move in a pattern. Zones also have items to help you in different ways, such as things you can throw to attract guards attention just enough to slip past them or places you can hide bodies in so if you take them down you won't draw attention. There are environmental effects such as crowds or smoke that make it easier for you to hide/blend in, you can also trigger distractions (like pulling fuses or shooting out lights).

The name of the game is patience and staying calm, keeping an eye out for anything you can use to solve your problems. As handy as instinct is it really doesn't show you the whole picture and sometimes you have to have your eyes open, however you are also tasked with trying to avoid enemies so you will find the challenge to this game is multitasking between not getting caught, trying to find a means to an end and keeping your eyes open for anything and everything.

The Downsides:
This is where the game kind of falls down for me, and it's mostly because the enemies follow patterns / react to triggered events. Hitman is less about thinking on your feet and more about learning patterns and going where the game wants you to go (although you get to choose how you get there it is still somewhat limited in areas).

Hand to hand combat is done as a quicktime button mash rather than giving you punches and evades as moves, you're expected to press [Q] [W] [E] in various combinations at the right time. I can't think of a dumber way of doing things, even if it is slowed down in "bullet time". Normally I avoid direct confrontations anyway but the game has put me in a bar brawl type situation and it's very difficult to avoid fighting.

The way disguise worked has me scratching my head, when you put a disguise on it's usually a faction (police, gangster, grocery store worker, etc), once you have a faction disguise on other factions will not see you as an enemy however if you encounter an enemy from the faction you are disguised as you can only get so close without raising suspicion or use Instinct to bluff your way past them. This feature seemed to work well in the training level but afterword just doesn't seem to work at all. I was halfway down a hallway disguised as a cop and I could not bluff my way out of being detected. This puts you in an ugly position when you have to get into restricted areas because no matter if you are disguised as a member of that faction or not you are going to be a target in that area, bluff doesn't work which makes disguise a lot less valuable.

The last annoying thing is how punishing the game is at times, you will spend a lot of time waiting for people to be in the right positions to do things and if anything goes wrong there's generally no way out, which means one thing: QUICKSAVE, TRY AGAIN. Once or twice this isn't bad, but when you're stuck waiting so long and have to do the same thing over and over... it's frustrating and it breaks immersion because you realize you are playing the game.

Conclusion
This is my first Hitman game, so I came in with no expectations. Sneaking around, problem solving and being a total badass are so much fun it makes up for quicktime punching, memorizing enemy patterns and the many bugs.

The good news is that there is supposed to be a big patch coming soon that fixes a number of things (including disguises).

Overall I like this game, even though its frustrating at times I find myself coming back to it again and again. There's just the right amount of tension to keep you on your toes but it's still fun and cartoony enough to laugh at times. (Fun and cartoony like Pulp Fiction and/or Leon)

[Melbosa]

Thought you might like to see these: http://ca.ign.com/wikis/hitman-absolution/Easter_Eggs

[Mr. Analog]

GAH spoilers lol

I really didn't see the trailers before so, some crazy stuff ahead it seems haha

I got the recommendation from a friend of mine who lives in Denmark lol