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Hopefully Hitman: Absolution Is Nothing Like This Trailer

Awesome, it's the new Saints Row: The Third DLC! Wait, what?

May. 30 2012

Posted by: Jeff

In This Episode:

Hitman: Absolution

463 Comments

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SpicyRichter

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Edited By SpicyRichter

Man.... what the fuck.

I thought the article title was a little harsh, but after watching the trailer, it's well deserved. Christ

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Agent47

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Edited By Agent47

@Phouchg: David Bateson isn't the model nor voice for 47 no more.

@Foggen: What Hitman games have you been playing?

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Gordo789

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Edited By Gordo789

@chrispti: I think you misread my post. Only the second part was directed at you. The part after the @Chrispti.

The first part was just a sarcastic comment, not really directed at anyone in particular, and it was about video games, not gamers who play them.

Have a nice day!

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Jonny_Anonymous

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Edited By Jonny_Anonymous

did John Woo direct this?

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Acornactivist

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Edited By Acornactivist

First off, this is not the worst, most disgusting trailer I've seen. That being said, I did find it uncomfortable and ultimately unproductive. Public marketing material like this does absolutely nothing to disprove the stereotypes and stigmatisations of video game culture. And yes, those still exist.

To most of the world, we are fat, lazy, sex-starved, anti-social geeks who lust after violence and sex in games and media because we are not able to achieve those desire in the real world. That, or angry spoiled 14 year olds screaming into a mic while playing call of duty and treating their parents like crap. It doesn't matter who you actually are ar what you actually do or don't do with your life. those are our labels.

Going back to the trailer, the only two things being used to promote this product are violence ans sex. Regardless of whether or not you think its appropriate or gratuitous or whatever, those are the two marketing methods being used in this trailer. There really is no gettin around that, between the extreme detail cutaway shots of agent 47's pistol's, the slow motion close ups of the most stylish hits during the fight, the transition between two stereotypically sexualized costumes, and the obvious framing of shots of the women walking to the hotel. And then take into account the extreme calm and cold manner in which Agent 47 handled the situation.

In context, knowing the history of the Hitman series, and knowing the style of the games, this makes a lot more sense, and may be somewhat less extreme. Even knowing those things, I personally find it fairly gratuitous, but that's an opinion and I am able to see why others might not find it that way.

But removed from context, seen by a viewer with little interaction with gaming culture, or even simply with DIFFERENT interaction with gaming culture, all of that reference to established style and theme is gone, and all that remains is this odd 45 second scene of a large, silent man graphically fighting and killing a group of really pissed off s&m/nun assassins. That information is all that is provided. There is no story, no introduction to the world (even his barcode is covered in the trailer, yet another detail reserved only for viewers 'in the know'). Anything else that might ground the trailer is the responsibility of the viewer; and that's a lot to put on your audience.

The less information you have prior to seeing the trailer, the more shocking it's going to seem. And no, this is not their TV spot or their 30-second youtube clip. I certainly hope that when they do start putting out those trailers, they will not feature scenes like this. (A great example of a developer of graphically violent and sexual games that knows how to edit their promotional material for various audiences is Rockstar) But this is a pretty big trailer for them regardless (I'm assuming it's their E3 or pre E3 teaser), and it's more public than say, a developer diary or something else more internal to gaming culture. There's a much greater chance of this being seen by someone in passing who is going to be very taken back by this. And once they figure out that what they just saw is promoting a video game? Well, they're certainly not going to think we buy the magazines for the articles...

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chrispti

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Edited By chrispti

@Gordo789 said:

@chrispti: I think you misread my post. Only the second part was directed at you. The part after the @Chrispti.

The first part was just a sarcastic comment, not really directed at anyone in particular, and it was about video games, not gamers who play them.

Have a nice day!

I indeed misread. My apologies!

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zdgro

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Edited By zdgro

You guys are all pretentious. That was hilarious and awesome... Just like the Hitman series.

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Catarrhal

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Edited By Catarrhal

This trailer would've been way cool if Agent 47 had gotten his ass kicked.

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BaneFireLord

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Edited By BaneFireLord

Replace the nuns with normal mercs and that would be pretty good trailer.

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Gordo789

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Edited By Gordo789

@chrispti: No worries whatsoever. I thought the trailer was kind of fun, but unfortunately it is the type of thing that idiots who don't know anything about games are going to drag out of the closet so that they can "prove" their horrible points about how video games are either without artistic merit, or worse- warping people's minds. I don't think that should stop people from making stuff like this though, it just requires a little self awareness, which this arguably has. I don't think it is even POSSIBLE to make a trailer featuring S&M assassin nuns without expecting everyone to laugh along with you.

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uhtaree

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Edited By uhtaree

I don't know what these uppity games journos are getting their panties in a bunch about, it's a fun trailer.

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Grimhild

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Edited By Grimhild

Again... as I stated in my post, my issue is not with Mr. Tarantino. What is grating to me, is when people don't dig a little deeper into the roots of what they find appealing to see what they could be missing out on, and make more succinct references. It's like a Christian that's so enamored with the King James version of the bible that they never bother to look further. Their choice, yes, but by most scholarly accounts, inaccurate.

You basically just repeated my post back at me, assuming I was bashing Tarantino.

@Grimhild said:

I don't have a problem with Tarantino, per say. He makes entertaining homage films. But CHRIST I'm so tired of the manic section of his fanbase thinking every 70's genre or trapping (of which there are many) he regurgitates onto screen is original cinema gold.

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Vodun

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Edited By Vodun

@Grimhild: Oh, how silly of me. Of course, I myself often use the term "regurgitates onto screen" when praising my favourite directors. Sorry!

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Grimhild

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Edited By Grimhild

@Vodun: It's also how birds feed their young. How beautiful and reciprocal the circle of life is, isn't it?

Mr. Tarantino is doing just fine. I wouldn't worry about semantics so much.

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jakkblades

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Edited By jakkblades

@Bummey said:

@jakkblades said:

What's not Hitman about assassins using surprising costumes to hide their true identities?

The fact that they discarded their costumes (which were ill suited to the location to begin with) about 200 yards from the target and then blew it the fuck up with an RPG, completely ruining their element of surprise.

I'm concerned this game won't be anything like the originals and will have all the interactivity and player choice as Deus Ex Human Revolution. A modern sequel to an old classic, that is.

Human Rev. was a great game so invoking that doesn't really do much to put the fear of God in me. If you expected the new Deus Ex game to have all the player choice and customization of that first game, just stay in your room all the time and hang Papa Roach posters and pretend that HR didn't cost 3-4 times the budget of the original game.

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superscatman

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Edited By superscatman

How horrible! hitman has never been weird and sexualized.

I for one am completely appalled. I am not going to buy this game anymore based solely on this CG trailer, which is clearly marketed towards people who have always enjoyed the series, even though I liked all the other games and there was another trailer that came out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzTHY3eiWVs) that said you can be a silent assassin or go in guns a blazing. I am far to classy to be pulled in by such smut

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Incapability

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Edited By Incapability

@superscatman: You forgot the completely overt fetish sex party with a morbidly obese man in the 3rd game. Everyone who gets their little pink panties twisted over this need to shut up and enjoy some absurd naked ladies with guns.

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superscatman

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Edited By superscatman

@Incapability: That never happened. Hitman was always deadly serious.

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elko84

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Edited By elko84

Those Nuns mean business.

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CatsAkimbo

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Edited By CatsAkimbo

This is a very uncomfortable trailer. Sexy nuns? sure fine. Killing evil women? yeah, an assassin would do that. Combining them to sexualize the killing of women? no... that's not really ok. Keep them separate please: I don't want your violence in my sex.

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AssInAss

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Edited By AssInAss

@CatsAkimbo said:

This is a very uncomfortable trailer. Sexy nuns? sure fine. Killing evil women? yeah, an assassin would do that. Combining them to sexualize the killing of women? no... that's not really ok. Keep them separate please: I don't want your violence in my sex.

Violence and sex have always been interlinked in media. Never seen any movies that contrast a violent scene with a sex scene in jump cuts?

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Dagbiker

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Edited By Dagbiker

I cant wait for another FPS. At least this time i can shoot something other then space aliens, space marines, or guy with gun. Now i can shoot girl with gun too.

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Genxalo

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Edited By Genxalo

Gunkata bondage nuns? Sure why not!

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coribald

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Edited By coribald
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berterbertez

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Edited By berterbertez

I like how he closes their eyes so the bondage nuns can die with dignity.

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outerabiz

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Edited By outerabiz

@coribald said:

@monkeystick said:

Am I a scumbag misogynist for liking this trailer?

apparently. apparently i am too. obviously we both support rape:

https://twitter.com/BRKeogh/status/208365201123315712

haha that's one of the dumbest articles i've read in years, thanks for linking that.

But you're still a bad person for liking the trailer as it is simply horrible, and hopefully has nothing to do with the game.

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Diachron

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Edited By Diachron

W.... TF

Now, this looks like a game I'd love to play, but it's not the Hitman I want to play.

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Seedofpower

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Edited By Seedofpower

@SmilingPig said:

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Noting sexyer than an nun!

Ha!

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Pytor

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Edited By Pytor

47 is a silent assassin, not a butcher. This might me cool if it were someone else.

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ICF_19XX

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Edited By ICF_19XX

The trailer is fucking AWFUL on a number of levels.

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Gregomasta

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Edited By Gregomasta

I'm in.

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Krystal_Sackful

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Edited By Krystal_Sackful

@Pytor:

Well, it was kinda butchery when he killed all those clones end of Hitman 1. Not a whole lot of stealth then.

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deactivated-5e49e9175da37

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The sad thing is that for all the equality we strive for, you still can't interact with a woman like you would a man. Which is to say, shooting men is just business. Shooting women advocates violence against women. Nathan Drake has shot 800 men in the last few years. If he shoots a single woman he'll be an anti-hero.

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deactivated-60ae53b407571

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What differs from the other Hitman games, I would think, is the notion that while they contained some fucked up levels, those were never used for marketing purposes. Not what I can draw to mind at least.

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SupberUber

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Edited By SupberUber

Somebody obviously pissed off the ripoff church.

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Geoborealis

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Edited By Geoborealis

Take that Lady Gaga!

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Dagbiker

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Edited By Dagbiker

@Brodehouse said:

The sad thing is that for all the equality we strive for, you still can't interact with a woman like you would a man. Which is to say, shooting men is just business. Shooting women advocates violence against women. Nathan Drake has shot 800 men in the last few years. If he shoots a single woman he'll be an anti-hero.

I agree, we need to kill some woman for equality sake.

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The_Joker

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Edited By The_Joker

@ThatFrood said:

yeah he didn't get silent assassin on that mission. guy's kind of a bad at this game.

this.

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Scodiac

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Edited By Scodiac

Whatever. That was pretty cool. It reminded me of something crazy you'd see in a Quentin Tarantino movie.

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Recall

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Edited By Recall

It is the exact same type of trailer we have seen hundreds of thousands times before and now...suddenly people find it offensive and do their whole "I've never done anything ever, I'm a good person" speech.

Hypocrites are the mother fucking worst.

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universalize

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Edited By universalize

black chick died last... not first

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deactivated-5e49e9175da37

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@Dagbiker said:

@Brodehouse said:

The sad thing is that for all the equality we strive for, you still can't interact with a woman like you would a man. Which is to say, shooting men is just business. Shooting women advocates violence against women. Nathan Drake has shot 800 men in the last few years. If he shoots a single woman he'll be an anti-hero.

I agree, we need to kill some woman for equality sake.

Aside from being snarky, they've pretty much set it up that killing armed hostile women is morally dubious and killing armed men is okay.

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Christoffer

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Edited By Christoffer

If nothing else, it's a damned nice looking trailer. And, no, there's not much else.

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Undeadpool

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Edited By Undeadpool

I think Tycho over at Penny Arcade put it best: "But I don’t do compulsory, and I also don’t do infantilizing chivalry."

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napalm

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Edited By napalm

@outerabiz said:

But you're still a bad person for liking the trailer as it is simply horrible, and hopefully has nothing to do with the game.

And you have played Hitman: Absolution to completion and have understood a majority of the ways you can play through and complete each level, correct? No? Shut the fuck up.

It's a cool action set piece. That's all it is. For anybody who appreciates well-choreographed action scenes, they should enjoy this in some capacity, maybe.

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hatking

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Edited By hatking

@AssInAss said:

@CatsAkimbo said:

This is a very uncomfortable trailer. Sexy nuns? sure fine. Killing evil women? yeah, an assassin would do that. Combining them to sexualize the killing of women? no... that's not really ok. Keep them separate please: I don't want your violence in my sex.

Violence and sex have always been interlinked in media. Never seen any movies that contrast a violent scene with a sex scene in jump cuts?

Does it make it okay?? I mean, guns are pretty good at killing people, does that mean I should go pick up a gat and start offing people I see?

This trailer was gross for many reasons. Everything from perpetuating the skewed stereotypes made by anybody unfamiliar with video games, to having zero thematic consistency with the rest of the series. The one cool moment was seeing the grotesque scars on 47's back - that actually built something.

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NegativeCero

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Edited By NegativeCero

What was the point of the nun costumes if they were going to not give a crap about blowing that place up? What's going on anymore?

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coribald

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Edited By coribald

@outerabiz said:

@coribald said:

@monkeystick said:

Am I a scumbag misogynist for liking this trailer?

apparently. apparently i am too. obviously we both support rape:

https://twitter.com/BRKeogh/status/208365201123315712

haha that's one of the dumbest articles i've read in years, thanks for linking that.

But you're still a bad person for liking the trailer as it is simply horrible, and hopefully has nothing to do with the game.

Oh I could care less about the game, I've never played a hitman game (should I?), I just thought the trailer was hilarious.

And that article was RT'd by Ben Kuchera. That guy has really let it all go to his head since starting the Penny Arcade Report.

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ThatIndianGuy7116

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Well.....Hey......at least the black person dies LAST this time, right??

But seriously, I didn't think it was going to be that bad but MAN was that bad!

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wintermute

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Edited By wintermute

When will they make Hitman: Teddy Bears? That's what I want to play.