Hitman: Absolution - PlayStation 3

Agent 47 Returns At The Peak Of His Game

Jeff Marchiafava — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 13:00:00 GMT

After a six-year hiatus, IO Interactive’s consummate hitman is back in business. Just like its titular assassin, the developer has honed its skills to a razor’s edge, providing the best gameplay the series has seen to date.

Hitman’s clone-filled narrative has always been the series’ weakest link. I was left with mixed feelings about Absolution’s story, which focuses on Agent 47 protecting a young girl from his shadowy agency at the behest of handler-turned-target Diana Burnwood. On one hand, the story ditches most of the sci-fi nonsense of past installments for a more personal narrative and features a solid voice cast. On the other hand, most of the characters are insufferable exaggerations, the dialogue is erratic, and many of the sensationalistic twists are just plain offensive. I get that unsavory henchmen might be prone to using homophobic slurs, but that doesn’t make their usage any less detestable, especially when they’re delivered in a joking manner. The ham-fisted narrative ultimately succeeded in making me dislike the characters I was meant to kill, but the constant attempts to court controversy are unnecessary and unwelcome distractions.

Thankfully, the rest of the game has been improved in virtually every way. Absolution features a lengthy campaign (it took me more than 20 hours to complete) that offers significant incentives for replaying missions. The levels are sprawling, gorgeous, multifaceted playgrounds to hunt down and kill your targets in, and feature some of the most impressive crowds seen this generation.

Better yet, the environments feature numerous kill options, including dropping a massive whale skeleton on an unsuspecting target, impersonating an insane criminal to get thrown into a courthouse jail, and sabotaging an electrical box to zap an unsuspecting henchman as he takes a whiz – sometimes the best hit isn’t the classiest. You also have an armory’s worth of firearms and improvised weapons to take out targets with.

Absolution offers two divergent mission types. Most assassination missions are accompanied by one or more levels where your objective is to infiltrate or exfiltrate a target location. Unlike the original Hitman’s mediocre action diversions, these escape sequences play to the series’ core strengths: using distractions and disguises to traverse the environments sight unseen. These levels are shorter and more linear than the assassination missions, but are still fun.

Absolution adds even more deadly techniques to 47’s repertoire while simultaneously simplifying the series’ cumbersome control scheme. Your instinct power, which lets you spot objects of interest and enemies through walls, cuts down on much of the frustration and radar watching of past installments. Likewise, the new blend ability provides an invaluable security net for evading nosy guards. Even when a botched mission turned into a killing spree, I always felt in complete control of 47, who now performs like the unstoppable killing machine he’s always supposed to have been.

The challenges, environmental kills, and Easter eggs built into each level provide a good deal of replayability, but the new Contracts mode is the real boon in this regard. Creating and uploading your own mission is as fun as playing other players’ contracts, and the scoring system and global leaderboards should be compelling to hardcore fans. It’s still a far cry from an actual level/mission editor, but I can envision spending plenty of hours creating the perfect contract – and many more completing the missions of others.

Despite all of Absolution’s improvements, Hitman still isn’t for everyone. The pace remains slower and more methodical than most action games, and you’ll find yourself reloading checkpoints countless times, in part because they are frustratingly tied to physical locations. If you take a different approach than what the developer had in mind, you may miss them completely. Attaining the rank of Silent Assassin still requires patience, skill, and more than a little trial and error. But while Hitman is still slower than most games, it’s also smarter. Devising a strategy, using the environment and disguises to your advantage, and leaving before anyone knows you’re there are the hallmarks of a perfect hit, and Absolution proves Agent 47 is still gaming’s premier hitman.

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Hitman: Absolution Ultimate Assassin Trailer

Kyle Hilliard — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 20:09:51 GMT

Hitman: Absolution's release date is sneaking up on us, piano wire in hand, and the latest trailer tells us why you will never be as good as Agent 47.

Hitman: Absolution releases for PlayStation 3, PC, and Xbox 360 and November 20.

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Agent 47 Loosens His Tie In Hitman Absolution's Cinematic Trailer

Kyle Hilliard — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 15:55:31 GMT

We're all pretty excited about a certain assassin with a white hoodie releasing on Tuesday, but that doesn't mean we should forget the one with a red tie who came first.

Check out the cinematic trailer below, and get ready for Hitman Absolution for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC on November 20.

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Stalk Through A Contract In Hitman: Absolution Walkthrough Video

Jeff Cork — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 15:06:00 GMT

A new 18-minute video shows off the game's new contracts mode, from picking a target to challenging a friend to beat your score.

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Agent 47 Neutralizes The Cougars In New Video Walkthrough

Jeff Cork — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 18:04:00 GMT

Agent 47 definitely made his presence known at E3 2012. In addition to showing off the King of Chintown mission, IO Interactive highlighted another extensive section. Publisher Square Enix has released a full walkthrough of the Streets of Hope mission, narrated by game director Tore Blystad and Travis Barbour, from IO Interactive's community team.

In this demo, Agent 47 has to kidnap Lenny "The Limp" Dexter to learn where Victoria has been taken. Lenny is leader of the Cougars street gang, a group of local toughs who like to wear matching letterman jackets and work on hot rods. While the mission may seem as though it was ripped out of Pleasantville, the action is anything but. Watch the clip below to see Agent 47 use environments and improvised weapons to deadly effect.

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Look for Hitman: Absolution on the Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 3 on November 20.

Learn More About Those Sexy Nuns In New Hitman: Absolution Trailer

Jeff Cork — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 14:37:48 GMT

A recent trailer for Hitman: Absolution showed Agent 47 facing off against a group of assassins dressed like nuns. They carried a variety of weapons, including rocket launchers and submachine guns. They also happened to be wearing revealing vinyl/leather outfits under those habits. A new trailer not only shows off where the mysterious group, call the Saints, came from -- it also addresses their controversy-baiting nature head on.

The video below explains how the Saints were recruited from both prisons and strip clubs, and then honed into an elite fighting force. Their job is to eliminate rogue field agents, including Mr. 47. It didn't turn out so well for them when they approached the motel where the Hitman: Absolution protagonist was hiding out. Or did it?!

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The clip also has a few fun freeze-frame moments, including the shot below, which shows that even factions within the ICA bureau had issues with the group's appropriation of religious symbology and fetish outfits.

As a bonus, take a look at this behind-the-scenes look at the making of the game, featuring actress Vivica Fox. She plays head nun Lasandra Dixon, and something tells us that we haven't seen the last of her. Well, that something is the trailer you just watched. It's not exactly subtle.

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Look for Hitman: Absolution on November 20 for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Five Details That Will Make Hitman Fans Happy

Jeff Marchiafava — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 23:36:00 GMT

Agent 47 has been out of the game for more than six years, but come this November, the silent assassin is looking to return in a big way. I just got done playing a level of the game, and although I failed miserably at killing my target and escaping unscathed, I still walked away happy. Here are five details I noticed that should bring a smile to any fan of the series.

More Feedback:
One of the stumbling blocks of the Hitman series has always been the feedback players receive for their actions. Much of the gameplay revolves around hiding in plain sight, and nothing is more frustrating than having your cover blown for reasons unknown. As I played through a level that required me to locate and kill a man dubbed the King of Chinatown, the game provided a number of on-screen notifications to make life as a cold-blooded assassin easier. There were environmental hints that could be triggered with the push of a button, warning messages that alerted me when I was trespassing or visibly armed, and arrows that would point out the direction of enemies and how suspicious they were. These clues didn't make me any better at the game (I died. A lot.), but they did notify me when I was about to do something that was going to make my life a lot harder.

New Tricks:
During my playtime, I noticed a number of new moves Agent 47 had at his disposal. When brandishing a firearm, 47 has the ability to tag and execute enemies. Grabbing people from behind gives separate options for knocking them out or snapping their necks. Engaging in close-quarter combat brings up QTE prompts, which change up the way 47 takes out foes. 47's Instinct power helps identify targets and allows you to blend in with your surroundings. Which brings us to our next point...

Instinct Doesn't Break The Game:
As a longtime fan of the series, I was skeptical of 47's new Instinct ability, which allows the assassin to see the silhouettes of enemies through walls, along with their patrol routes. After trying it for myself, I'm no longer concerned. I rarely used the ability, and the perks it provides felt more like they were leveling the playing field than giving me an unfair advantage. There will also be a higher difficulty level that will disable Instinct and various other assists.

More Challenges:
One of the cool and addictive parts of the Hitman: Sniper Challenge pre-order game was the inclusion of optional, Easter Egg-type challenges that you could undertake. A quick flip through the menus during the demo revealed that the level I was playing also had built-in challenges, along with bonuses for tracking down various disguises. These should provide a lot of replay value for revisiting levels even after you've pulled off the perfect kill.

More Kill Options:
One of the most entertaining aspects of past Hitman games is finding and performing alternate environmental kills on your target. Why walk up and shoot the lord of a British manor when you can poison his brandy, or drop a gas can down his chimney to ruin a peaceful fireside chat? In the Chinatown level I played, I ran across a number of ways to take down the target. You could poison the food at a local booth where he stops off for a quick snack, contaminate his drug supply, snipe him from a nearby building, rig his car to explode, or do something involving a gas canister (I found the can, but wasn't sure what to do with it). I can't wait to figure out each level's lethal puzzles for taking out targets.

For a comprehensive rundown of the E3 demo, check out Dan Ryckert's impressions.

Agent 47 Explores Kill Options In Hitman: Absolution E3 Demo

Dan Ryckert — Wed, 06 Jun 2012 22:18:00 GMT

If you saw our Test Chamber episode on Hitman: Sniper Challenge, you know that we’re eagerly anticipating the upcoming Hitman: Absolution. Square Enix has brought Agent 47’s newest assignment to E3, and I had a chance to sit down with game director Tore Blystad for a guided demo.

Titled “The King of Chinatown,” this assignment tasks Agent 47 with taking out a shady drug kingpin in a crowded marketplace. The assassin spots his target early after turning on Instinct, a filter that outlines your hit in red and other enemies in yellow. Considering the King is standing in a gazebo in the middle of the marketplace, there’s no immediate and safe way to take him out without attracting plenty of unwanted attention.

After surveying the situation for a bit, 47 receives a tip that the King is about to meet up with one of his regular drug connections. Working on this info, 47 starts to head down the alley towards the dealer’s apartment. A guard is positioned at the base of the stairs, so it’s not quite as easy as walking up and knocking on the door. To distract the guard, 47 sabotages a fuse box, bringing down the lights in the area. When the guard leaves to investigate, 47 is free to approach the drug dealer as he exits his apartment.

At this point, Blystad decided to shadow the dealer instead of immediately dispatching him. He follows the gaudily-dressed criminal down a dark alley and begins to choke him out from behind. The player is given two choices in this situation: jam on the square button to knock him out, or press triangle to snap his neck clean in half. Blystad opted for the merciful route, which left the dealer unconscious in a dumpster instead of dead in an alley. Before laying the dealer to rest, 47 goes through a drastic change of appearance by donning the sleeping foe’s tracksuit, hat, and glasses.

With his newly-acquired disguise, 47 is able to walk directly up to the King. Blystad does just that, which triggers a discussion between the two. The King wants to sample the product before he purchases the entire stash, so he follows 47 to the dealer’s apartment. Once the King is safely out of public view in the drug house, 47 pulls out a silenced pistol and puts a few rounds in his chest. After stuffing the kingpin into a locker, the assassin is free to casually exit the area without tipping anyone off to his existence.

With Blystad’s closeness and experience with the game, he was unsurprisingly able to breeze through the assignment. Anyone who’s played a Hitman game before knows that your first (or second, third, fourth...) time on an assignment doesn’t always go quite as smoothly. A certain amount of trial and error is at the core of the series, and experimenting with new methods is usually a blast. One look at the in-game challenge list makes it clear that the mission can be accomplished with approaches that are wildly different to what Blystad demonstrated. One involves dropping several sacks of corn onto the King’s head, while another rewards you for shoving him into a manhole. Even if you take the same approach Blystad did, it’s possible to kill the King by poisoning the drugs before he samples them.

Each mission concludes with a score that tallies your silent kills, civilian deaths, alerts, and other statistics. The game doesn’t feature any traditional multiplayer, but the team wants to foster an atmosphere of competition by showing where your score stacks up against your friends (and your country’s average score) at the end of each level. Coupled with the variety of ways you can approach a kill, there’s sure to be loads of replayability in Hitman: Absolution. We’re looking forward to its November 20th release even more after our time with it at E3.

Hitman: Absolution Is Really Pushing This Whole Religion Thing

Jeff Cork — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 20:53:29 GMT

Square Enix has just released a new batch of Hitman: Absolution screens, showing Agent 47 dressed like a priest. It's pretty handy, since he can now perform last rites himself.

Of course the game's name is Hitman: Absolution, so all these religious references are part of the deal. You know, like sexy nuns.

Take a look at the screens below and prepare to be outraged or something. C'mon controversy, where the heck are you?!

Agent 47 Takes On Sexy Nuns In New Trailer

Jeff Cork — Wed, 30 May 2012 13:48:00 GMT

When you're as good at your job as Agent 47 has become over the years, you're bound to attract attention. This new Hitman: Absolution trailer shows a squad of sexy nuns/assassins paying a visit to Mr. 47 in a seedy-looking hotel.

You could argue that dressing like a nun makes sense in this situation. After all, those habits do a great job of concealing those submachine guns and rocket launchers. On the other hand, you'd be forgiven if you dismissed this as a cheap way to inject sexuality in the game while courting controversy. Take a look at the video below and judge for yourself.

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For more info on the actual game, take a look at this nun-free gameplay trailer. Look for Hitman: Absolution on November 20 for the Xbox 360, PS3, and PC.

Agent 47 Does His Dirty Work In New Hitman: Absolution Screens

Matt Helgeson — Fri, 04 May 2012 17:57:59 GMT

Square Enix has published another issue of its faux newspaper Hope News Times, which shows a couple of new Hitman: Absolution screens.

The new issue of the Hope News Times, details an "accidental" death in Hope, South Dakota. According to the article, a man named Gavin LeBlond met an untimely end when he touched a chain link fence that had been hooked up to a high-voltage electric generator. The newspaper dubbed the incident a "mindless prank," but somehow it seems that there might be something suspicious going on here. Oh well, that big police officer with a shaved head on the scene will get to the bottom of the case, right?

Have It Your Way In Hitman: Absolution's Bloody Sandbox

Jeff Cork — Wed, 02 May 2012 14:14:00 GMT

Agent 47 has earned a reputation for being an efficient and merciless assassin. If you're not familiar with his games, you may not know that he's also a great improviser. A new trailer for Hitman: Absolution shows Agent 47 in action, doing his best to remain undetected and also attacking his targets head on. You'll see how he takes advantage of his environments and whatever else is handy in both situations.

The clip below shows how Agent 47 operates in the field. Some of the highlights include using a noisy toy to lure a thug toward his explosive demise, chucking a syringe at an unsuspecting enemy, and using the ever-present red barrel to blast a foe into oblivion. Some of the footage is from an earlier gameplay demo, but there's enough new content in the video to make it worth your time.

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Keep an eye out for Hitman: Absolution on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC later this year.

Two New Hitman: Absolution Screens Show Agent 47 Relaxing At A Barbecue

Kyle Hilliard — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 16:54:46 GMT

I like to think that this is just how Agent 47 prefers to socialize when it comes to hanging out at a barbecue. Hiding in the shadows from high above.

Apparently, this is Mason McCready's get together, and Agent 47 is upset that he wasn't formally invited. Either that, or he's been assigned to kill him.

Hitman: Absolution doesn't have a firm release date, but hopefully it will be out this year.

Video Briefing Provides Background On Agent 47's New Handler

Jeff Cork — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 14:04:50 GMT

Diana Burnwood has been one of the constants in Agent 47's professional life, in addition to his shaved head and barcode tattoo. Thanks to some spoilery circumstances, her role in Hitman: Absolution is diminished, and Agent 47 has a new ICA handler to take Burnwood's place. Benjamin Travis is Absolution's new voice on the radio, providing mission support and updates, at least temporarily.

Square Enix has released a pair of new videos for the game, both focused on Travis, who is voiced by veteran actor Powers Boothe. In the first clip, you'll get a briefing on Travis, including his military history and how he was recruited by ICA. After that, Boothe and Shannyn Sossamon, who plays Travis' assistant, Jade, talk about their mo-cap work for the game. Boothe highlights some of the challenges, which are include trying to figure out how to naturally mime smoking a cigarette while wearing a camera-equipped headset.

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Hitman: Absolution is due out later in 2012 for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

Learn All About Hitman: Absolution’s Diana Burnwood

Tim Turi — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 23:23:09 GMT

Even the most solitary covert operatives need a trusted lifeline to secure new intel and gear. For Agent 47, this person is Diana Burnwood. These two videos from Square Enix highlight Agent 47’s mysterious better half via a trailer and interview with the actor portraying her.

Check out the video below to catch up on Agent 47’s shady past:

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This video interview with Marsha Thomason reveals interesting tidbits about Diana’s personality and what it’s like to capture her essence:

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Agent 47’s mission continues this year on 360, PS3, and PC.