'Hitman: Absolution' Review: Stealthy, But No Game Of The Year

Hitman: Absolution is finally in stores, but is it worth a purchase? Here's our look at the PC edition of Agent 47's latest adventure.
Hitman: Absolution is finally in stores, but is it worth a purchase? Here's our look at the PC edition of Agent 47's latest adventure. Hitman.com

Hitman: Absolution is finally in stores, and now finds itself fighting for attention among a slew of other holiday 2012 releases.

Six years after the release of 'Blood Money', back in 2006, fans of the Hitman franchise finally have a chance to step back into the shoes of Agent 47 in Hitman: Absolution. The game has been highly-publicized, and anxiously awaited by gamers across the globe, but did IO Interactive deliver a new classic or the latest dud of 2012?

Hitman: Absolution Review - Graphics

Hitman: Absolution looks great, and does a great job flexing the muscles of IO Interactive's Glacier 2 engine during its latest outing. The game's lighting and shadows look great, and scale well for use on lower budget gaming rigs, as do close-up shots of Hitman: Absolution's many characters and environments. The game was designed with consoles in mind, so don't expect photo-quality graphics here, but Hitman: Absolution easily stands toe to toe with just about any game currently shipping for the Xbox 360 or Playstation 3.

Light creates shadows and glares off reflective surfaces, fires crackle and burn with impressive visual quality, and the attention to detail on the game's many environments is high. Levels feel like real-world locales, complete with wandering citizens, a variety of hiding places, and objects like glass bottles and discarded tools to use as distractions. Blood splatters, downed enemies, broken or disturbed background items like glass bottles or trash cans remain where you leave them, and various other changes to the environment persist until you complete each stage or level. While it's a relatively minor detail, I know I personally have always felt a slight loss of immersion whenever watching a defeated foe disappear like a deceased Jedi. Unfortunately, this added bit of detail seems to have come at the expense of level size, though some missions do still feature expansive environments.

Hitman: Absolution looks fantastic on the PC, easily outpacing the already impressive looking console edition, though you'll need a decent rig to run the game with graphic settings turned up to "Ultra". The game can also be used as a benchmark tool, and Hitman: Absolution even offers gamers a Steam achievement for testing your PC with the software. Unfortunately, graphics alone don't make a game, and Hitman: Absolution is no exception.

Hitman: Absolution Review - Gameplay

Before we get to the negatives, of which there are many, Hitman: Absolution should be praised for offering a huge array of difficulty options aimed at a variety of play styles and experience levels. Those looking for a game that requires maddeningly-high levels of concentration and attention to detail will inevitably be drawn to the "Purist" setting -- which removes the game's HUD and other warning systems -- while casual gamers and/or newcomers to the series will likely stick with the easier settings.

The level design in Hitman: Absolution feels far more linear than the development team at IO Interactive would have you believe, but players still face a number of choices when executing a hit. A variety of obvious and non-obvious methods for dispatching your victim exist on each level, and the game will reward you for accomplishing your mission without disturbing the rest of the NPCs in attendance at the time. Unfortunately, as many others have noticed, the game has a startling lack of silent weapons, and the folks at IO Interactive seem to be pushing players towards a much stealthier play style than previous games. While the series has never been about run and gun action, it feels like players are punished much more heavily for taking the life of anyone but the target in Hitman: Absolution. That might be ok if the game didn't throw increasingly high numbers of guards at you, but it quickly begins to feel like IO is doing little more than forcing players to listen to the hours and hours of dialogue recorded for the game.

Don't get me wrong, I love seeing the dedication to the game world, but let me discover it on my own. I found that I rarely had the patience to play more than a level or two in one sitting because I quickly grew tired of listening to NPC conversations. A nice touch quickly becomes annoying when its both unavoidable and incredibly time consuming.

Most players would also agree that the disguise system found in Hitman: Absolution is horribly broken at best, and possibly the game's biggest mechanical weakness. Players will find themselves using virtually all of their Instinct points - the Hitman: Absolution equivalent of mana or weapon charges - to avoid the detection of enemies that in some cases must have been looking at you from across the map with binoculars. While this is obviously what they were primarily intended for, it does make the inclusion of Hitman: Absolution's "point shooting" system curious at best considering you'll virtually never have the Instinct available to make use of it. In fact, the only time I've used the point shoot system thus far was during the equally confusing/unnecessary target practice mini-game found early in the campaign.

The "Hide" command, used frequently to avoid being spotted in heavily guarded areas, allows you to elude your potential aggressors by...doing random things with no apparent benefit. I avoided the detection of multiple patrols on one level simply by staring a computer screen while in their presence. On another, I ducked some goons pursuing me by reading a hotel brochure.

To be clear, I didn't duck around a corner, retreat back to a room, or do anything besides pick up and presumably read the inside of said brochure. No real obstruction of Agent 47's face ever occurred, nor did the Hitman engage in an activity with any purpose. Apparently, the mere possibility that I could be wondering how many pools can be found on hotel property obviously means I'm not a threat to the man that dozens of men are guarding. Don't mind the guns.

While none of the above issues completely break the game -- far from it in fact, because Hitman: Absolution is still quite fun -- they are unavoidable issues that drag down what could otherwise be a phenomenal game.

Hitman: Absolution Review - The Story

Here's where the game begins to show real cracks in its armor, which is disappointing because I personally always felt the game could benefit from a more cinematic story-telling experience. Then again, I never imagined they'd tack 10-20 minutes of cut scenes onto every level change. You'll also be watching more than your fair share in between sections of missions, after completing each level, and really just about any time that the developers could squeeze a few minutes of movie time in.

I'm a big proponent of story-telling in video games, but when your plot is little more than played out attempts at being shocking or grimy, maybe spend a little more time on gameplay mechanics and less time on movies. Had the story in Hitman: Absolution been interesting in the slightest, the near constant cut scenes may not be an issue, but for now they serve little purpose other than to give the devs another chance to parade one or more scantily clad women around for little apparent purpose other than amusing those who might be content to look at such things for hours on end.

Hitman: Absolution Review - Contracts Mode

The asycnhronous multiplayer in Hitman: Absolution, known as "Contracts Mode", is extremely fun, and will definitely extend the game's life for the vast majority of the those who purchase the game. Players have the option to create or play others' created Contracts, which will task you with killing various characters from the Hitman: Absolution Story mode with a variety of extra challenges related to costumes, kill methods, and more. Not only does it provide gamers with extra missions that are known to be passable, thanks to Hitman: Absolution's excellent play-to-create functionality, but it gives players a chance to re-visit and discover new kill methods on the game's many levels.

While some may not find much amusement in returning to the same levels they've previously traversed, or killing targets they've previously encountered throughout the game, but most will relish the new challenges to be found. It's unlikely to build the cult-like following that accompanies the Call of Duty or Halo franchises, but Hitman: Absolution's Contracts Mode is virtually guaranteed to give you a couple extra hours of gameplay.

Hitman: Absolution Review - Final Thoughts

Hitman: Absolution is an absolute blast, but the game certainly isn't without its flaws. A clunky camera will get in your way from time to time, and the aiming system leaves a bit to be desired as well. While I appreciated the ability to hold your breath to line up more accurate shots, the skill should have been mapped to a button that couldn't drastically alter the course of both your hit and your final score. On more than one occasion I found myself firing upon enemies earlier than I intended, because I apparently pushed the trigger on my Xbox 360 controller -- my preferred input for non-strategy/non-FPS titles on PC -- a fraction farther than I was supposed to.

The disguise system needs major work, which the studio has apparently acknowledged, though an overhaul of this one system would leave the game in drastically better shape. In truth, it feels like the entirety of Hitman: Absolution was built with the Contracts mode in mind, and leaving everything else (plot especially) an afterthought.

Levels like 'The King of Chinatown' or 'Streets of Hope' come close to recapturing the magic which made the Hitman franchise so popular in the first place, but Hitman: Absolution is a stark departure for the series. Many have made jokes about Agent 47 becoming Splinter Cell's Sam Fisher before their eyes., and therein lies the problem. While it's great series, I don't think many people bought Hitman: Absolution to play a Splinter Cell-like game. They bought it to play Hitman.

If you enjoy the Contracts mode, you aren't likely to be disappointed with this purchase, but those who don't prefer asynchronous multiplayer will likely want to make Hitman: Absolution a rental. It's certainly worth a playthrough, but few outside of Contract players and the franchise's most dedicated fans will find much to return to here.

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