Hitman: Absolution

The Hitman franchise saw a significant amount of attention in 2015. With another feature film just recently released last summer (a film that is not as bad as people made it out to be; not saying it’s particularly good, but you could do worse...except for that horrible ending) and a new game underway very soon, it may just be the biggest time in years for the bald assassin. However, following the release of 2006's acclaimed Hitman: Blood Money, the series saw a six-year long drought with absolutely no game titles produced. Hitman: Absolution broke that streak in 2012, but this time its reception from those long-waiting fans was somewhat negative. No one seemed to claim its quality was outright bad, but purists of the series found it to be severely lacking in the nature of its predecessors. After nearly four years on its back, I can say with certainty that this is a viable entry but that doesn't mean it's necessarily make it the best.

The Hitman franchise wouldn’t be given a greenlight from Eidos, this would have been just before their merger with Square Enix, to continue with a successor until 2009, which was when official development for the next stealth game would begin. The team was direct from the beginning that they wanted to have a more core narrative to string their sets of missions than they had before at that point, particularly focusing on some sort of arc for the character of 47 himself. The title was leaked and announced in the Spring of 2011, and following that was a long string of varying trailers and gameplay demos released for public consumption. After a free exclusive mission was given in the form of Hitman: Sniper Challenge for people who pre-ordered, with the actual full game of Hitman: Absolution coming in November of 2012.

You are Agent 47, a professional assassin with the notable characteristic of having a bar-code on the back of your head. Even though 47's a clone, his near-flawless reputation generally places him in high-demand amongst his agency. Absolution itself begins in Chicago, but the story takes it to parts all around the world. Situating in what appears to be modern day, you'll see levels themed from crowded city streets, to spacious factories in the middle of a desert. A majority of these mission locations provide a great sense of variety, ultimately complementing the Hitman universe in the same ways that its predecessors have.

47's handler, Diana Burnwood, is randomly condemned for betraying the agency and marked to be killed by 47 himself. After arriving, he fatally shoots her in the shower; only to instantly regret it and show a conscience. Comforting her in her final moments, he agrees to keep Victoria, a girl under Diana's care, safe from the agency. From there, the story spirals out into pure brutality and absolute oddity. While the narrative aspects of Hitman: Absolution are largely mediocre, neither good nor especially bad, it infuriates me with the amount of potential here. The pre-rendered cutscenes are still largely impressive and engaging, and the voice-acting isn't too shabby either. Not only that, but I found the writing to be commendable; it begins to beg the question: what went wrong? There are moments of sincere well-made story-telling to found here, particularly with Victoria. The answer to that largely lies with the fact that IO interactive chose a more "campy" focus with their plot, as made evident with the entire composition of the "Attack of the Saints" segment. Hitman has always strangled the line between goofy and grim, but I really don't think it was beneficial to lean more towards the former over the latter. Like I said, there are complete moments of storytelling here that would provide the impression that something more significant is being produced, but instead it falls flat on its face.

Stealth is the core gameplay focus of the Hitman franchise, and Absolution is no different. When fellow titles in the genre like Metal Gear Solid and Splinter Cell encourage to not be seen at all, Hitman has always been a twist on that model. It encourages you to be seen amongst the public, but not recognized - in which, there is a big difference. Your goal is almost always to kill your target in the most clever way without anyone ever knowing you had any part in it. However, this is the beginning of the unfortunate changes Absolution sees.

I may be mistaken, but I remember every Hitman level in previous games having only one goal: killing your target. Some missions in this game don't even have a target; you may just have to reach a certain person or obtain an item. These were easily the weakest levels available, which is ultimately irritating because of how good the main target kill missions are. I truly mean that too, the actual assassinations of Absolution are nothing short of terrific, even if that comes at a cost.

Blood Money's biggest downfall was definitely its controls, even on PC. In complete contrast, Absolution has near perfected the control scheme. Actually moving 47 is fluid, and getting in and out of the new cover system is intuitive. Much like every preceding Hitman game, Absolution has crafted a wide array of possibilities around this control scheme and the level design. Creativity becomes the name of the game here, encouraging pure improvisation from the player. You can uncover a great amount of entertaining disguises to sneak around in, and some of the kills you can perform are downright hilarious. Sure, you can go into an area guns-blazing, but where’s the fun in that? Out-smarting the AI is as rewarding as its ever been, thanks in part to the scoring system. The more methodical and careful your approaches are, the score improves. It’s not a monumental addition, but it’s cool way to track my stealth versus others.

From there, there are two main gameplay tweaks in which Absolution presents. The first of which is instinct, a useful feature that allows for the better predicting of enemy routes. The second is a reduction of the environmental aspects. Blood Money, for instance, always presented a single map that you had in order to devise a scheme to take down your targets. It consisted of a single map, with only an initial load into the level. Absolution unfortunately doesn’t really have that, as each scenario is divided into separating sections. This has been by far the biggest criticism that Absolution has received, and I see where fellow fans are coming from when they condemn it, even though I don’t fully agree. Yes, the overall level design in Blood Money was superior over this somewhat jumbled structure, but the core of Absolution still feels like a true Hitman game. I still prefer Blood Money’s approach, but that doesn’t immediately discount Absolution like some people did at the time of its release.

Hitman: Absolution also added the Contracts mode for the first time. An online-enabled mode where you can enter levels played through during the campaign, and mark your own targets for challenges. While it’s cool that they gave you the ability to modify a lot of elements from the main game, I admittedly didn’t invest much time into this mode. It’s just not what I come to this franchise for, and I’m perfectly content with sticking to the already-outlined levels the actual developers have provided for me.

It may be nearly four years old at this point, but Hitman: Absolution is still a visually appealing game. The artistic approach isn’t quite trying to grasp a full-on realistic feel, but it noticeably carries a bit of style with it that really goes a long way, especially in the rain. Add that with a constantly crisp frame rate and limited bugs, and it all coincides nicely with the full package. While the audio end of things may not be as impressive as its predecessor, who can forget that mesmerizing title theme, it still retains a competency that lives up to everything else that the game provides.

Core methodical approaches are still the premium recipes, and Absolution excels as much as Blood Money in that regard. Trust me, I yearned for entire free-roaming environments as well, and I still believe that Blood Money is the better game. However, while it mixes up the formula in ways that aren't entirely successful, Absolution is still nevertheless a fun and rewarding experience. Just because it’s not instantly the best Hitman title doesn’t make it unfaithful to the franchise. I played through this game on the highest difficulty, and I can say with certainty that the pure stealth is as tense and hindering as a fan would want. Hitman (2016) is just around corner, and from the looks of it, it seems like that more or less addresses the main issues plaguing Absolution for some, but in the meantime, this is still a worthy entry to dive into.