Hitman Absolution is scheduled for release in early 2012 or in late autumn-christmas 2011.  The game will not be good, that is what i have noticed. From all the confirmed information, from all the gameplay from E3, from all the trailers, i have discovered sense of it ending up as a bad game. Let's start with the confirmed information:

• Jesper Kyd, the long time composer of the OST, has been dumped and replaced by Peter Kyed and Peter Peter.

• The actor who does the voice of Agent 47, David Bateson, has been kicked out, but the replacement's name is not confirmed.

• Players will no longer be able to manually save the game.

• The game will only take place in the United States, one place is Chicago, all other areas are unconfirmed.

• The main antagonist is revealed to be Blake Dexter, a new character to the series. He will be voiced by Keith Carradine.

• Players will be able to utilize a ''tag-and-kill'' mechanism during Instinct mode that is similair to the one in Red Dead Redemption.

• A new mode called ''Instinct'' works much like the detective mode in Batman: Arkham Asylum. It is powered by a bar that works similair to the ''Mark and Execute'' feature in Splinter Cell: Conviction as it is fueled by silent take-downs.

• There is no map screen. Instinct mode replaces it.

• Agent 47's handler, Diana Burnwood, has a 'close relationship' with Agent 47 in Absolution.

It'll be a different game, but not necessarily a bad one.

I hope it doesn't do what Conviction did to the Splinter Cell series.

I'm all for it being an action game. 

I hope it doesn't do what Conviction did to the Splinter Cell series.

I hope it doesn't do what Conviction did to the Splinter Cell series.

Nice use of 'fag', what're you fucking twelve?

Now he is replaced by two fags?

It'll be a different game, but not necessarily a bad one.

Do you even know those two other composer? And don't call them fags.

Also it's not really fair to judge the game so hard when you've not seen or played any of it.

 
Hitman Absolution is scheduled for release in early 2012 or in late autumn-christmas 2011.  The game will not be good  

Aw no Jesper Kyd? He's my favorite composer. A genius

Are you telling me that someone named their kid Peter Peter.  Wow

Here's something the new composer did:

Reading that has got me somewhat concerned now. Jesper Kyd being dropped could be huge as his music has always been fantastic throughout the Hitman series. Dropping the voice actor is neither here nor there, easily replaceable. No manual saves is fine, IIRC the higher difficulties stopped manual saves anyway. The game being based entirely on US soil is fine, as long as the locales are varied.

The thing that gives me mose cause for concern is this tag 'n' kill and 'instinct' mode. These seem to be a major gameplay shift (Although how major they are remains be seen) and ust doesn't seem very Hitman. Although to be honest I would just be happy with them releasing a game on the Blood Money engine with new story and levels.

I'd rather settle for another Blood Money with new levels. It's sounds to me like they're changing far too much.

WHAT!?!? Since when is it a bad thing to have fags making the music? They are great with that shit

I'm absolutely gutted about Jesper Kyd and Bateson being out. Lets just say I'm pretty concerned over what I've seen so far and leave it at that. The Hitman series is my favorite game series of all time and if they go the way of Splinter Cell, I'll be crushed. 

So... basically, you're annoyed because the game is changing somewhat? Just because Jesper Kyd isn't composing the soundtrack doesn't mean the soundtrack will be bad. The score for L.A. Noire was composed by nobody I'd ever heard of and that didn't stop me thinking it was absolutely brilliant. I liked David Bateson's work as Agent 47 but if someone else can do a convincing job as the killer clone then why not? The voice of 47 is not a major issue considering that 47 rarely talks, except to his ICA handlers who no longer will handle him. I won't be using Instinct - at least not often anyhow - because I'm a purist I guess. 
 
Also... you have a problem with the antagonist? What about Leland-Cayne? I'm fairly sure he was an antagonist during Blood Money due to the fact that he opposed ICA and Agent 47. The Mark X clones (Mark II Purayah and Mark III Parchezzi) also were antagonists due to the fact they were somewhat comparable to Agent 47 in terms of skill set. Even Ortmeier was an antagonist, right back in the first ever Hitman title, Codename 47. He created the Agent 48 series to beat Agent 47, but they were beaten during the final mission of the game if you remember it. In Silent Assassin then there was Sergei Zavorotko - he manufactured the scheme to bump off all the enemies by framing them for the abduction of Father Vittorio and letting 47 deal with them.
 
I'm not too bothered by the rest of it, because I just want another fix of the series. 47 would hit the junkie with his bong because that would look more like an accident than wounds around the neck, or a puncture wound in the neck. Even at times, Agent 47 was shown in other moments to massacre large numbers of people. Even in Codename 47 you couldn't sedate. You either strangled or shot someone to carry on. In the trailer shown when inactive in the Blood Money menus, the mission 'A House of Cards' is shown with Agent 47 starting a massacre. Even in a stealth game, IO Interactive allow for some action gameplay. Instinct is there for the people who want to use it. Just like Dead Eye in Red Dead Redemption. Beyond the moments where you're properly forced to use it, you can play the entire game without encountering it once I don't think.

Aren't opinions like this why game sequels are largely boring and unimaginative? When a developer tries something different, hardcore fans instinctively rage. It sounds like they've completely overhauled a franchise that's showing its age. That's a good thing. Yeah, I'll miss Jesper Kyd and Bateson, but I have no reason to believe that their replacements can't do a better job.

It sounds like they've completely overhauled a franchise that's showing its age.

@DillonWerner said:

I hope it doesn't do what Conviction did to the Splinter Cell series.

Are you telling me that someone named their kid Peter Peter.  Wow

@Akrid said:

It'll be a different game, but not necessarily a bad one.

exactly what i thought. although coming from someone who hasn't played a hitman game, these don't seem like things that would make a game bad.  
 
also, you haven't said anywhere that you've listened to any work by the two new composers. why are you acting like you know they're bad, or at least you give off the impression that you feel this way? seems kind of childish. 

Aren't opinions like this why game sequels are largely boring and unimaginative? When a developer tries something different, hardcore fans instinctively rage. It sounds like they've completely overhauled a franchise that's showing its age. That's a good thing. Yeah, I'll miss Jesper Kyd and Bateson, but I have no reason to believe that their replacements can't do a better job.

How about you wait until we know way more about the game. Saying the game won't be good based on your really small amount of information is stupid.

The information that I've read about this game from the internet and magazines isn't promising. 
Bloodmoney is one of my favourite games of all time. So many ways to carry out missions and it is addictive trying to get the silent assassin rating. Absolution seems like an unecessary evolution of the franchise.
 
Really wish this will be good but I'm incredibly sceptical from what we've seen and heard. Kane and Lynch influences will be seen guaranteed.

It does seem pretty unimpressive. I used to have a lot of a fun with Hitman on the PS2, good times.

I think its clear that you dont really know what you are talking about internetcrab. You half the things you said are not horrific, another fourth youve admitted could be great, and the last fourth you named actually are great changes to the game. For instance, no map? fuck yes. All anyone did in blood money was stare at a real time map for HOURS. Maybe this time we will actually look at the game

I had such an orchestral boner for Jesper Kyd.

I really hope the series remains a solid stealth game and doesn't turn into a generic third person shooter. I'm not too hot on the idea of being able to see where a guard will be before he goes there. Watching guards and learning their patrol routes helped with immersion.

@Azteck said:

@InternetCrab said: Now he is replaced by two fags? Fuck you.

Seriously, this. You act as if the new composers themselves forced the old one out. Also, please, for fucks sake leave your homophobic bullshit off of Giant Bomb.

Jesper Kyd, the long time composer of the OST, has been dumped and replaced by Peter Kyed and Peter Peter.

The actor who does the voice of Agent 47, David Bateson, has been kicked out, but the replacement's name is not confirmed.

Players will no longer be able to manually save the game.

   The game will only take place in the United States, one place is Chicago, all other areas are unconfirmed.

The main antagonist is revealed to be Blake Dexter, a new character to the series. He will be voiced by Keith Carradine.

  Players will be able to utilize a ''tag-and-kill'' mechanism during Instinct mode that is similair to the one in Red Dead Redemption.

 

A new mode called ''Instinct'' works much like the detective mode in Batman: Arkham Asylum. It is powered by a bar that works similair to the ''Mark and Execute'' feature in Splinter Cell: Conviction as it is fueled by silent take-down.

There is no map screen. Instinct mode replaces it.

Agent 47's handler, Diana Burnwood, has a 'close relationship' with Agent 47 in Absolution.

I hope it doesn't do what Conviction did to the Splinter Cell series.

@DillonWerner said:

I hope it doesn't do what Conviction did to the Splinter Cell series.

Agreed. While i think in spirit conviction was a good idea, i also feel that they went wayyyy too far with all those ideas and oversimplified everything. I hope Hitman finds a happy medium.

Don't we all see what's happening here? It's the same shit that went down with multiple franchises (DA, BFBC, ME etc) this generation - previous game in series sold allright, now there will be simplification to cater to the masses to make dat moolah. It might still be good (like BFBC and ME), but from what I've heard (heavy scripting :SSSS) it will not be that much of a Hitman game.

   Hell, all of the soundtracks from the Hitman games are amazing and it's a fact. Now he is replaced by two fags? 

@DillonWerner said:

I hope it doesn't do what Conviction did to the Splinter Cell series.

Agreed. While i think in spirit conviction was a good idea, i also feel that they went wayyyy too far with all those ideas and oversimplified everything. I hope Hitman finds a happy medium.

Conviction was simply a bad game. The change was good, but it should have happened in Double Agent, let's be frank here. It didn't help that they decided for some shitty, unimaginative character development for Fisher and making everything darker and edgier (like making Grimsdottir a sexy, redhead, ice-cold bitch working in the field).

Actually, I believe a switch to Conviction-like gameplay would fit Hitman a lot better. Still, I'm not exaclty excited after reading this thread. I'll wait for gameplays.

The game isnt even out, so how can you talk shit about it.

I think the reason why Jesper Kyd isn't working on this is because he is too busy with Assassin's Creed Revelation's soundtrack.
All these new action-y additions seem like something that would aid 47 if he is caught in a gunfight. The past games always did kinda suck once every guard in the vicinity started running towards your location just because you accidentally ran into the wrong area with the wrong disguise, forcing you to fight back (usually ending with 47 getting shot to death because of his low health) or to restart the mission. I guess they are trying to make guns more viable, because I recall there were only 2 useful weapons in the past games (the fiberwire and a silent silverballer, sometimes a sniper I guess).
While I am sad that there won't be a dynamic map in this game, instinct mode seems like it would help a lot. The first thing I do when I play a new level in the Hitman games is run explore every nook and cranny, memorizing the guard and NPC patrol patterns. Then I would restart the level and attempt my hit. Instinct mode seems to be a solution to reduce that method of trial and error.
I'm a bit wary about the bit with the scripted events though, hopefully they are between mission stuff and won't affect the actual missions.
Also, I think one of the post E3 Bombcasts mentioned Ryan failing a mission over and over again. That sounds like a Hitman game to me.

I'm hoping better. Even when Blood Money came out, it wasn't that great, so I think it's good that they're changing it up.

I never realized people took Hitman so seriously. Of all the Hitman games I've played through, I can't say it's story, characters, voices or soundtrack to be particularly memorable at all. The one thing I do remember is that the only fun I had in the Hitman games were the "avarage places" levels like the Hotel or the suburban house, etc. and hating the levels that were going to meaningless exotic places because those were usually the levels that were less than ideally planned out and usually resulted in less stealthy gameplay and more action, which wasn't Hitman's strong point.

The key components I want out of a Hitman game is open levels where you are left to your own devices to solve the mission, tools to make that happen in diverse ways and truly being able to "social stealth". I don't need maps for that necessarily, but perhaps a map that builds as you explore the level.

Also I'm surprised so many people dislike Conviction, while in certain respect it's a bit more narrow path, I found it a lot more polished, playable and overall enjoyable than previous Splinter Cell titles and I didn't mind it giving you tools that made you rather badass. And again, also a series where the story is so bloated I don't care about it, just play it for the stealth fun. Granted, I played Double Agent on PS3 and that's an unoptimized piece of shit.

So new David Bateson, no Map, no Jesper Kyd, Diana has a "close relationship" with Hitman..... The game sounds less than a Hitman game and more like a B summer action-movie, hoping to cash-in on the brand's name with nothing to show for it.

By the looks of it, unless I change my mind, I won't buy Absolution.

P.S.: Here a link to an online petition to bring back David Bateson.

@supermike6 said:

@InternetCrab:

Now he is replaced by two fags?

I stopped reading at this point.

As did I.

@supermike6 said:

@InternetCrab:

Now he is replaced by two fags?

I stopped reading at this point.

Same, everything you wrote became null and void with this on line.