We’re going to start this review off by saying that Hitman: Absolution is one of the most courageous games of the year. At a time when most developers choose to rest back on familiar elements and follow formulaic conventions, we definitely see this one as a winner for its outright originality in terms of most of its aspects. IO Interactive has tried at every step to give us a realistic assassination experience, advocating patience over frenzy. For fans of the long-standing series, this is what its USP is. What we’ll be talking about further will be able to determine if the developer has been able to retain it with this game or not.
The title’s narrative is tightly bound, and although it’s a pleasantly long one, during no point does it feel indolent. Agent 47 isn’t a pawn of the Agency anymore, for on the contrary, he’s trying to escape from its clutches for most of the part. He has gone all rogue only to protect a girl the Agency’s after to feed its own evil intentions. How our beloved bald friend goes about doing his job of pursuing the girl while avoiding the Agency – who wants his bar-coded head on the platter at any cost – is a task that completely depends upon you. Your approach to the game is of vital importance to determine the kind of experience you’re able to extract out of it.
You can play Hitman: Absolution while wielding guns and killing enemies one by one to reach and shoot your targets, but if you do not wish to invite derisive laughter upon yourselves from hardened Hitmaniacs, we’d suggest you take the classic route and play the game the way it’s meant to be played. Jokes apart, although IO Interactive has infused it with a decent third-person shooter model, the title in no way encourages you to make use of it. It wants you instead to scavenge for the many different ways that you can neutralize your targets with, while remaining unnoticed all the while. Abide by its rules, and the game bestows you with points that you can flaunt on your online profiles to make your presence felt on its leaderboards.
Patience is the key here, and waiting is the name of the game at times. But Absolution can rightfully be called a rewarding game, as executing targets with synchronized and signature assassinations are challenges that it throws at you, and these are a treat to complete. IO Interactive’s main aim seems to be making it as complicated for you to take down your targets as it is in real life. We hail this approach, and although gaming realities do make their presence felt every now and then, the game does come excruciatingly close to delivering the said experience. The points system is a great addition, and it fulfills its purpose of pulling you back in the game now and again.
One thing fans have been concerned about is the toning down of the difficulty that was being talked about prior to the release of the title. Let us tell you that it is by no means what it sounds like. The developer has divided the options into a group of five settings. The first two are Easy and Normal, while the other three are aimed towards sticklers. The way you want to tackle Hitman: Absolution is thus left up to you. Everything from the AI, to the number of enemies, to the assistance mechanisms change according to the setting you choose to apply. You might want experiment with the game a bit before selecting what your final choice will be. The Purist mode is the most difficult among the lot, and it does pose mighty challenges ahead of you.
The one thing the highest difficulty doesn’t have is the new Instinct mode. This feature serves two main purposes – granting you an idea of enemy behavior and blending you in while you employ the game’s imperfect disguise system which we’ll be lashing out at later. More than anything, Instinct gives you clues as to what are the different approaches you can go for while Agent 47 does his thing. It can even be used to mark multiple targets and trigger cutscene shootouts that are aimed at granting you the sadistic pleasures of watching folks die in slow motion. Your Instinct meter diminishes however, so you need to use it sparingly.
The disguise system is a trait that sadly bogs down the game with its theoretical neatness but abrupt inconsistency. The special outfits that you’re in give you away only to those folks who’re wearing the same clothes as yours. For instance, if you’re dressed up as a plumber, security guards, policemen and all others will ignore your presence, but another plumber will blow the horn about your real identity if you get too close to them. So the trick is to find distinct and hidden outfits in each stage that are worn by little or no amount of people. The annoying part however is that some rare outfits fail to exude such characteristics, leading to the inconsistency which leaves you all frustrated at the mechanic.
In the visual department, Hitman: Absolution shines like few other games did this year. Brilliant lighting does wonders to the looks of the environments, and the grindhouse theme only enhances its exuberance. The game performed well on our PS3 for the entire duration of its campaign, and once we were done with that, we decided to give its new Contracts mode a go. Saying that this mode is one of the simplest creation tools ever to have been created won’t be overstepping. It provides you with stages from the campaign, and asks you to roam around and play with them in the way you want your contracts to be. They can then be taken online for others to revel in. The best and the most challenging part about these contracts is that they will be as difficult for others as the complexity with which you decide to play them yourselves.
Final Word: For all that was evident throughout the entire course of this title, one thing is sure – IO Interactive hasn’t chosen to rush with the game at any point. There’s a certain vibe of finesse that’s apparent all the while. The new engine that the developer has prepared handles the AI, the crowds and all other aspects without any hassles. But on the downside, like the game’s disguise mechanics, its checkpoint system too proved to be disappointing. Rewarding patience is one aspect that this game hasn’t let of go, and fans can definitely bank on this statement. Hitman: Absolution is an excellent effort with the kind of gameplay that guarantees multiple playthroughs. The brilliant year that 2012 was has been brought to a close by this beauty which deserves to be played by all stealth fans out there.
Graphics: 9.5/10
Sounds: 8.5/10
Environments: 10/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Replay Value: 9/10
Overall (not an average): 9/10