Hitman: Absolution

OK, this is going to be a bit long, so read this if you have..well, a bit more time.
To those who don't know it (who else should read this review ? ) : this game basically evolves around the theme of assassination. It seems that the "Hitman" series is not as well known and popular as, for example, the "Assassin's Creed" series - and I can't really make any comparison between the two to that point (since I just played the beginning of Assassin's Creed 1).

But anyway, the protagonist of the game, the bald man in the black suit with a red tie, is called 'Agent 47'. I'm not giving away too much of the storyline, but throughout the game, you control Agent 47 in a fight against his former employer, 'The agency' and their elite assassination squads. In addition, you have to face a few high-profile criminals and their henchmen along your way...

The basic structure of the levels is fairly "linear"; meaning there's almost always just one 'prescripted' way you have to go in order to complete a level. This has led some people to label the game as 'boring', since in the last Hitman game (released in 2006) you had more freedom. As far as I'm concerned though, I don't see this as something too important; but of course that's a matter of taste.

Before starting a mission, you have to choose a difficulty level; the level you choose basically determines the availability of checkpoints, the skill of your opponents, the option to display 'hints' (interesting items, special ways to evade opponents, etc.) and your 'instinct', which allows you to make out opponents, weapons and other items near from where you're standing.

In most levels, the goal is to kill a specific 'target' and/or evade the police or other nasty thugs. Now you could theoretically just pull out your gun(s), directly go to your target, kill it and then "shoot your way to the exit of the level". But don't think this is easy, even at lower difficulty levels this strategy is a pain in the a**. Therefore, you might want to prefer some stealth: namely eliminating opponents only at certain places (by strangling or stabbing them from behind, or with a silenced weapon). You could or even should also use a variety of methods (throwing things in a certain direction, explosions,..) to distract your opponents and make them leave their post so that you can sneak past them. There is also the possibility to change your clothes, so that you're not so easily detected...so if you dress as e.g a cook, you won't be recognized by the police unless you openly attack one of them. However you can be detected by other cooks, which I find a bit unrealistic, but OK...

What I especially like about this game, is that you are indirectly encouraged to use skills such as anticipation and patience to complete your tasks. Which is rather unusual with most FPS games. If you play that game you will soon realize, though, that using violence "only where necessary" is quite a challenge in this game. But then, if I just want to gun down everything that's moving except my comrades, then I'll play Battlefield or Call of Duty (which doesn't mean I don't like these games).

After each mission there is a score, depending on how well you performed, but that doesn't have any influence on your ingame progress. What could have been added is perhaps the option to choose your weapons before a level, but that would probably make the gameplay too easy.
I have to admit that I haven't used the other ingame-track, namely the "Contracts Mode" too much; but here you can create your own "contracts" by re-playing the missions (of the regular mode), this time however with goals that you define. You can share contracts online, and only in this mode you can choose your guns (including customization) from the beginning.

By the way, these are my favorite opponents in the game:



They are called "The Saints", one of the Agency's assassination squads you have to eliminate towards the end of the game. Facing them was the only time when I thought: "what a waste" (I hope I'm not offending anyone here).

That's it, people. Have fun !

Hello there,

Thank you for your nice review!

My fiance finished this game in a day and I watched him play it. It is a nice game. You change your clothes very often,you try not to be noticed and it was a little puzzling. In some stages, he needed to restart from the checkpoint because he didn't kill the target as the game requires

LOVE your review
Haha, the saints are my favorite antagonists as well. But the girl (Victoria) Is FREAKING EPIC

The Saints huh?




Saints chicks = marketing. Nothing more. Maybe they should have invested more in guns and less in nun disguises if they planned on killing someone lol. Anyway, It's not nearly as complex as Blood Money, or even Hitman 3. But other than that I can't find anything particularly bad about Absolution apart from the fact that it's too story-heavy.

I like 47's new face, he's like... like... "I'm gonna kill you", lol. Good review.

BitterSweet wrote:LOVE your review
Haha, the saints are my favorite antagonists as well. But the girl (Victoria) Is FREAKING EPIC

Happy to hear that .

TUN3R wrote:

Saints chicks = marketing. Nothing more. Maybe
they should have invested more in guns and less in nun disguises if they
planned on killing someone lol. Anyway, It's not nearly as complex as
Blood Money, or even Hitman 3. But other than that I can't find anything
particularly bad about Absolution apart from the fact that it's too
story-heavy.

I like 47's new face, he's like... like... "I'm gonna kill you", lol. Good review.

Thank you too .

But do you folks know what the biggest in-game "mistake" of the Saints was ? Correct, it was their HIGH-HEELS. Why ? Well, you could hear that "tock-tock-tock" sound of their heels from very far away...which is tactically not so smart, to put it nicely. Besides: how can these girls actually run for extended periods with such heels ?! So yes, the "Saints" were included for marketing reasons.

Carlos G. wrote:
But do you folks know what the biggest in-game "mistake" of the Saints was ? Correct, it was their HIGH-HEELS. Why ? Well, you could hear that "tock-tock-tock" sound of their heels from very far away...which is tactically not so smart, to put it nicely. Besides: how can these girls actually run for extended periods with such heels ?! So yes, the "Saints" were included for marketing reasons.

*TUN3R learned that Carlos G. is Perceptive.*

High heels can be used as weapons tough, like Catwoman does. Or like any normal high heel, saw a guy get smacked with one once. Two words: brain hemorrhage.

TUN3R wrote:

Carlos G. wrote:
But do you folks know what the biggest in-game "mistake" of the Saints was ? Correct, it was their HIGH-HEELS. Why ? Well, you could hear that "tock-tock-tock" sound of their heels from very far away...which is tactically not so smart, to put it nicely. Besides: how can these girls actually run for extended periods with such heels ?! So yes, the "Saints" were included for marketing reasons.

*TUN3R learned that Carlos G. is Perceptive.*

High heels can be used as weapons tough, like Catwoman does. Or like any normal high heel, saw a guy get smacked with one once. Two words: brain hemorrhage.

LOL. Victoria is my favorite because at the end she literally took out a group of around 10 (Possibly more) Heavily armed muscular men. You go girl!

I love your favorite opponent! Haha